Founding members of Maida Withers Dance Construction Company and associates created Guerilla Action Art, often spontaneously, performing in locations in DC without prior notice and without permission. One events was improvising on the black abstract outdoor sculpture piece located at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Another Sunday, members of the group traveled to many public fountains in DC and performed with/for the public. Date TBD (?1970s?) Betty Tittsworth John Bailey and Brook Andrews JoAnn Sellars, Brook Andrews, Liz Lewman, Betty Tittsworth, Maida Withers, and John Bailey
View DUNE In Winds of Sand: https://vimeo.com/101621322 : (00:00:00 to 0:05:58)
Also view DUNE in Earth Spirit Rising: https://vimeo.com/9360613 9 (0:09:13 to 0:16:53)
Dune or Moving Earth Dune is created and performed by Maida Withers that takes place with the full body mostly on the floor. This solo originated out of her experiences as a child in Kanab, Utah, Withers place of birth, where the family visited the Coral Dunes National Park for family entertainment on Sunday. Maida Withers, dancer, and Verbal Call Cliff, filmmaker, create a thirty minute film on the Coral Dunes, Sands Cycles.
Moving Earth / Dune engages the entire body in a poetic sensuality of connection to the moving dunes that in subtlety are changing shape moment by moment. The Coral Dunes have been taken over by dune buggies that roar through the coral dunes disturbing both the sound and the moving earth. Isabel Luke Rust, Maida’s mother loved the various colors of the earth in southern Utah. The Rust family move from Kanab to Salem, Utah was a very difficult time for the entire family. Kanab was a magical place. Isabel gathered glass fruit jars and filled them with sands of the varied landscapes in Southern Utah. Today Maida has two jars of the Coral Dunes in her home.
At this time in dance, the relationship of the body to gravity was being explored….first with one body and the floor and then two bodies with each other and the floor.
Many of Withers dances have reference to sensuality of the body.
(2006) Rage
Maida Withers performed a dramatic solo, “Rage,” a female political statement that took place on the theatre stage, a political statement, an improvised performance for the New Arts Festival, Gloucester, MA.
Gloucester New Arts Festival, a free street and site festival in the costal city of Gloucester, Massachusetts, created and produced by Sarah Slifer, dance artist and educator. The Festival specialized in site-specific art on the street and various locations in the community including theatre performances. Sarah Slifer, Founder and performing artist, is a GW Dance Alumni, in Gloucester, MA – city on the sea outside of Boston.
Sarah, founder of the New Arts Festival, is a brilliant artist and educator. She performed and toured with MWDCCo internationally in Brazil and Korea.
Gloucester New Arts Festival (2005-2009) that specialized in site-specific art and theatre performances founded by Sarah Slifer, GW Dance Alumni, in Gloucester, MA – city on the sea outside of Boston.
See Works: Rage
Maida performed a solo, “Rage” in the theatre.
Rage was a “feminist” statement – Maida work for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution.
See Works:ICE Maida Withers and Vincent Cacalano performed an improvised duet, ICE in the refrigerator/storage room for large blocks of ice used by fishermen on their boats.
For “ICE” 2 or 3 audience members joined the dancers in the “ICE” cold refrigerator and, generally, stayed less than 20 minutes in the ICE HOUSE due to the frigid temperature.
Sarah, founder of the New Arts Festival, is a brilliant artist and educator. She performed and toured with MWDCCo internationally in Brazil and Korea.
For the ICE performance, Maida held in her raised hand the tiny open umbrella that often comes with a drink at the bar. The object was so tiny and so delicate…..a rescue.
December 8, 2014 – Chain of Events …sheer imaginative fallout of movement Presented by Kennedy Center Millennium Stage Date/Time: December 8, 2014 at 6:00 to 6:50 pm, FREE Location: Kennedy Center Theatre Lab; 2700 F Street, NW Washington, DC Tickets: FREE Contact: Jane Rabinovitz; JKRabinovitz@Kennedy-Center.org; 202-416-8044
Billy Andrews; dcc@maidadance.com; 202-994-0739
Maida Withers Dance Construction Company, “iconoclast of Washington Dance,” presents Chain of Events for their 40th anniversary celebration performance at the Kennedy Center Theatre Lab. Chain of Events offers a rare opportunity to experience a collection of selected excerpts from Wither’s “thought provoking” choreography in the past (Stall and Time Dance), present (Collision Course – a.k.a. Pillow Talk) and future (MindFluctuations). Live electronic music is by Steve Hilmy and John Driscoll with light design by Enoch Chan. Selected dance segments are presented as a continuous uninterrupted stream of dance movement stripped down to the stark and beautiful choreography performed by members of Maida Withers Dance Construction Company
Monday, December 8, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing ArtsDAVID M. RUBENSTEIN, Chairman
DEBORAH F. RUTTER, President
presents Maida Withers Dance Construction Company Performing Chain of Events Choreography by Maida Withers Music Composed and Performed by John Driscoll and Steve Hilmy Performed by Felicia Avalos, Ian Ceccarelli, Alicia Diaz, Anthony Gongora, Shannon Elizabeth O’Brien, Giselle Ruzany, Mary Heath, Sammi Rosenfeld, Angela Schöpke, and Matthew Thornton Lighting Design by Enoch Chan
About the Company: In 2014-15 Maida Withers Dance Construction Company celebrates its 40th anniversary. The Company is known for its evening-length works, performance events for stage, museums, and site-specific locations, dance films, and continuously generating choreography that speaks to current social, political, and artistic issues. Collaboration and innovation are two important hallmarks of the Company. The Company has a history of experimentation that has brought recognition to the Company in what became known as the revolution of dance from modern to post-modern dance. Music is created for all the works and always performed live. The company tours annually and has toured to more than 18 countries. Maida and the Company have received awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, D.C. Commission on the Arts, Virginia Commission on the Arts, Ford Foundation in Russia, the U.S. Department of State, many U.S. Embassies abroad, Lincoln Center (NYC), International Celebration Art, GoDown Art Center in Nairobi, Africa, and many other local foundations and individuals.
About the Work: Excerpts from Time Dance (1974), Collision Course – a.k.a. Pillow Talk (2012), Stall (1981), and MindFluctuations (March 2015) are presented in a continuous stream of dance choreography without pausing or without inclusion of visual elements or other theatrical embellishment present in the original works.
About the Artists: Maida Withers (Founder, Artistic Director, and Choreographer) has created a significant and distinctive body of original choreography – over 100 dances of breadth and vision for Maida Withers Dance Construction Company that involves a process of experimentation, innovation and collaboration. Her works reveal an ongoing interest in social and political issues and in juxtaposing dance and technology and interactive media. She has created dance works featuring rotating loudspeakers, laser beams, wireless cameras, and video installations – always with original music performed live. She tours annually internationally. Her dance films have been selected for showing in festivals in France, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Turkey, and in various festivals in D.C. and the USA. In 2014, she and the Dance Construction Company celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Company. Visit http://www.maidadance.com to view the recent publication of the Company ARCHIVES and an astonishing TIMELINE. Maida is a Professor at George Washington University, Department of Theatre and Dance. Maida received a “Special Recognition” Award at the D.C. 29th Mayor’s Awards Ceremony, October 29, 2014.
Felicia Avalos (Dancer) is from Huntsville, Texas where she received her BFA in Dance from Sam Houston State University. Her last semester, she completed the Dance Abroad Argentina program where she began her tango training. After returning to the states, Felicia moved to Washington, D.C., where she worked with Sharna Fabiano Tango Company, Mich Mash Productions, and Taurus Broadhurst Dance Company. In northern Israel she trained with the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company for ten months. Felicia is currently attending the MFA Dance program at The George Washington University, where she was awarded a University Fellowship. Along with dancing in Maida Withers Dance Construction Company, she dances with Maru Montero Dance Company.
Ian Ceccarelli (Dancer, Understudy) born in New York City, Ian began his study of dance at the Kennet School of Dance and Gymnastics in Goshen, NY where he danced in numerous recitals and yearly productions of The Nutcracker. Ian has studied with Mary Rotella as a part of The Masters School Dance Company, Ronnie Carney with New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Diane Madden of the Trisha Brown Dance Company. Currently, he is in his Senior Year at George Washington University. He has performed in Maida’s works Veiled Threat and Yesterday’s Garlands and Yesterday’s Kisses. He has choreographed for the George Washington University’s Spring 2014 production of Danceworks.
Enoch Chan (Lighting Design) graduated from Boston University where he received a BFA in theatre and a BA in art history. Enoch has served as Lighting Designer for various performance companies in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore areas including Classika, ClancyWorks, BosmaDance, baredances, and Baltimore Theatre Project and been a Lighting Director and Gaffer for video and film. He won the Metro D.C. Dance Award for Excellence in Lighting Design in 2006, and was also nominated in 2007 and 2010. His photographs have been published in The Washington Post, Dance Teacher, Pointe, and Dance Magazine. As owner and Artistic Director of DEVIATED THEATRE along with Co-Director Kimmie Dobbs Chan, Enoch writes modern fairytales and pioneers new “operas of movement,” interweaving acting, singing, dancing, and circus skills. Websites: www.deviatedtheatre.org and http://www.enochchanphotography.com
Alicia Diaz (Dancer) Originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Díaz is Assistant Professor of Dance at The University of Richmond and co-director of Agua Dulce Dance Theater (ADDT) with movement artist Matthew Thornton. She is also an MFA candidate at The George Washington University where she was awarded a University Fellowship. She has danced professionally with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Donald Byrd/The Group, Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theater, Andanza: Compañía Puertorriqueña de Danza Contemporánea, Alice Farley Dance Theater, and Contemporary Motions, as well as numerous independent choreographers. Her choreography has been presented in the United States, Latin America, and Spain. Recently, she has collaborated with choreographer Steven Iannacone and with Thayer Jonutz and Catch Me Dance Project in multi-media and site-specific projects.
John Driscoll (Composer/Musician) is a founding member of Composers Inside Electronics (CIE) and has collaborated on and managed David Tudor’s Rainforest IV project since its inception in 1973. Driscoll was musical director for Maida Withers Dance Construction Co. from 1974 – 1980, and has received dance commissions for his music including: the Merce Cunningham Dance Co., Douglas Dunn & Dancers, and Maida Withers Dance Construction Company. He has toured extensively in the U.S. and Europe with: CIE, Douglas Dunn & Dancers, David Tudor, numerous composers, and also as a solo performer. His work involves custom built electronics, robotic instruments, compositions, and sound installations for unique architectural spaces, rotating loudspeakers, and music for dance. He is currently an artist-in-residence at Harvestworks (NYC) creating a new performance work “Voices in My Head” using highly focused sound for presentation in summer/fall 2014. He was David Tudor composer-in-residence at Mills College in October 2014. Website: http://composers-inside-electronics.net/jdriscoll/home/BIO.html
Anthony Gongora (Dancer, Filmmaker, Visual Artist) is an interdisciplinary artist who is compelled by driving curiosity and imagination to create. His ongoing quest to fully explore and understand life has been expressed through his fingertips on computer keyboards, canvasses, and clay, and also through the soles of his feet dancing on stages that traverse the globe. Gongora is a choreographer, performer, visual artist, and educator, currently teaching at The University of the District of Columbia as an Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Art in the school of Mass Media Visual & Performing Arts and also at the George Washington University Department of Theatre and Dance. He has received several awards for his choreography, which has been performed in venues such as Joyce SoHo, NYC; Dance Center of Columbia College, Chicago; St. Mark’s Church, Danspace Project, NYC and The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Performance experience dancing includes Troika Ranch (NYC), Mordine & Company Dance Theatre (Chicago), Jan Erkert & Dancers (Urbana) and Bob Eisen Dance (Chicago).
Mary Heath (Dancer, Understudy) is an undergraduate student at George Washington University double majoring in Dance and Communications. She studied at Scottsdale School of Ballet for 10 years before moving to D.C. Her choreography has been performed by the Desert Dance Company (Scottsdale, AZ) and by peers at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater School’s summer intensive.
Steve Hilmy (Composer/Musician) born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Steve received his Bachelor of Arts, 1984, from George Washington University, and his Master’s of Music in Composition, 1991, from The Peabody Conservatory of Music of The John Hopkins University. He studied composition with William Albright at the University of Michigan and with Jean Eichelberger Ivey and Chen Yi at the Peabody Conservatory. Hilmy has been on the faculty of George Washington University Music Department since 1992, where he is Director of the Electronic and Computer Music Studio. He has won awards from such organizations as the Southeastern Composers League, ASCAP, BMI, the Peabody Conservatory, and The Virginia Center for Creative Arts, including First Prize in the Philip Slates Memorial Composition Contest for “Icarus Falling” (piano and electronics, 1989); the Gustav Klemm Prize for Composition from the Peabody Conservatory in 1991; and 2nd place prize in the Prix d’été II composition competition at the Peabody Conservatory for “Us” (tenor saxophone and electronics, 1999). Hilmy has worked with Maida Withers Dance Construction Company for more than nine years, improvising in events and creating music for evening length multimedia dance works and dance film shorts, and touring in Russia, Kenya, Mexico, Croatia, and India.
Shannon Elizabeth O’Brien (Dancer) graduated from George Washington University, 2014, with a B.A. in Dance and Speech-Language Pathology. She is passionate about the intersection of dance and disabilities. During her time at GW, she participated in a dance exchange with the Universidad de Chile, apprenticed for Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company, studied dance in Italy at the Academia dell’ Arte, and choreographed an honors thesis investigating the impact of physical limitations on creativity. She currently works in the speech therapy department of a special education school, developing alternative means of communication for students who can’t speak. She recently moved to NYC and is working for Heidi Latsky Dance
Giselle Ruzany (Dancer) was born in New York City and grew up in Rio de Janeiro until age 23 before returning to the U.S. She has been immersed in art and culture from a young age in Europe and Brazil. Art and Dance have been part of her life receiving performance and choreographic awards at the early age of 12 as well as terra-cotta sculpture prizes by age 18. She has been dancing professionally since 1987 and teaching dance from an authentic model, on and off, since 1990. She has worked with Maida since 1995. With Maida Wither’s Dance Construction Company, she has performed in Paris, New York, Seattle, and Brazil. Giselle is presently an adjunct professor in dance. She is also a licensed professional counselor with a private practice in Woodley Park where she works from an embodied base, treating trauma, depression, anxiety, and other psychological and somatic symptoms: www.gestaltdance.com. Giselle is a GWU alumni and a MA graduate from Naropa University with a post graduate degree in Gestalt Therapy and a certificate in EMDR.
Sammi Rosenfeld (Dancer) returned to her hometown of Washington, D.C. after completing a BFA in Dance with a minor in Kinesiology at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Rosenfeld has choreographed and produced the evening-length shows Shades (2012) and Nicking the OutsideEdge (2013) and has had her work, All Views Are Partial (2013), toured around eastern Michigan. She recently was an apprentice for Dana Tai Soon Burgess and Co. (2013-2014). She currently teaches creative movement to children of varying ages and developmental abilities. Rosenfeld is a Rehabilitation Service Specialist at a Virginia based psychiatric center. She joined Maida Withers Dance Construction Company in March of 2014.
Angela Schöpke (Dancer) received her BA in Dance and International Affairs at George Washington University in 2014. In Washington, D.C. she has performed with Susan Rethorst and Nancy Havlik Dance Performance Group. She recently choreographed and produced an evening-length performance, CableTable (2013). Under the mentorship of Maida Withers, Angela received two research fellowships from GWU to investigate the role and value of dance in conflict resolution in Northern Ireland and Afghanistan.
Matthew Thornton (Dancer) is a movement artist that combines dance, theater, somatic practice, martial arts, and partnering for training, performance, and choreography. Thornton performed internationally with Pilobolus Dance Theater in concert dance, commercial work, and at the 79th Academy Awards. He has worked as a performer and teacher for Pilobolus since 2003. Previous dance companies include Jody Oberfelder, Freespace Dance, Alice Farley Dance Theater, and Contemporary Motions. Matthew Thornton taught at Hope College and joined The University of Richmond’s faculty as Assistant Professor of Dance in Fall 2011 where he currently teaches Capoeira, Contact Improvisation, Outdoor Training, and sets choreography for University Dancers and UR Theatre Productions. Thornton co-founded Agua Dulce Dance Theater with dancer, choreographer and UR dance faculty Alicia Díaz, creating work for concert dance, outdoor environments, multi-media, and site-specific projects.
Upcoming Performances:
WORLD PREMIERE MindFluctuations March 19, 2015 at 8:00 pm
Lisner Auditorium
730 21st Street NW, Washington, DC 20052 Collaborators: Maida Withers, choreographer; Tania Fraga, computer artist / 3-D animation; (Sao Paulo, Brazil), Steve Hilmy and John Driscoll, electronic musicians and composers, Maida Withers Dance Construction Company. http://lisner.gwu.edu/
WPA – Early Works (Washington Project for the Arts)
1974 Maida involvement with Washington Project for the Arts as a new multi-disciplinary organization in Washington, DC established by Alice Denny, facilitated the Dance Construction Company rehearsing and performing in the WPA space. We improvised events with live music, John Driscoll and others. All the rules of tradition faded away as we made choices and developed a following.
This is a temporary entry until further research can be done on the names of the projects. Some projects are included in maidadance. Events here need further research from John Driscoll and WPA orgnization to locate titles, dates, etc:
Improvisation Performance: (Possibly an early version of White Mansions that eventually was performed at the Holy Rood Cemetery, DC)
In the WPA space with white fabric using the elevated space and live music:
(Dancers: Original MWDCCo dancers: Maida Withers, John Bailey, Brook Andrews, JoAnn Sellars, Betty Tittsworth.; Music: Steve Perlo on drums. This work became White Mansions, Holy Rood Cemetery site performance)
John Bailey and Steve Perlo
John Bailey
John Bailey and Brook Andrews
Christmas program:
Dancers put small Christmas Tree lights in all the holes in the large brick wall to create a visual environment. Dancers each brought 3 or 4 costumes, hats, etc. in the colors of red, white, blue, others. Each tim a dancer exited the stage. she/he went into an anti-room (studio) and changed costumes. Consequently dancers shared costumes and as you may guess, they did not necessarily wear them in the same manner. Some costumes became props as well. ((Dancers: Original MWDCCo dancers: Maida Withers, John Bailey, Brook Andrews, JoAnn Sellars, Betty Tittsworth and Beth Burkhardt (dancer and costume designer).
Maida Withers and Brook Andrews
Maida Withers, (unknown), John Bailey, Beth Burkhardt
John Bailey and Maida Withers
Maida Withers, Beth Burkhardt, John Bailey
SEE BOG WORKS John Driscoll created an environment of homemade loudspeakers that were hung on ropes. John sat in the middle of the room to perform his music. Dancers were part of the sound phenomena as well as dancing in the space.
2012- Maida Withers Dance Construction Company was invited to perform at a rock party at an extreme and very large dance club on the DC/Maryland border – Nate Bond, Giselle Ruzany, Maida Withers. The sponsors presented very curious events to the audience in breaks (an opera singer hanging upside down above the audience singing opera), along with MWDCCo. These sponsors moved on to presenting experimental performances in interactive spaces in three or four states.
Maida Withers and Vincent Cacalano performed an improvised duet, ICE a SITE WORK that took place in the refrigerator/storage room for large blocks of ice that would be used by fishermen on their boats. Gloucester is a fishing harbor in Gloucester, Massachusetts on the sea. 6′ long ice bars are stacked in the refrigerator room for seamen to keep their catch healthy and vibrant each day while fishing in the sea.
For the ICE performance, Maida held in her raised hand a tiny open umbrella, an umbrella that often comes with a drink at the bar. The umbrella was so tiny and so delicate…..a rescue for Maida in her “frigid” situation while performing in the ICE storage room, a “cool” duet with Vincent.
For “ICE,” 2 or 3 audience members would join the dancers in the “ICE” refrigerator storage room and, generally, each group stayed less than 20 minutes in the ICE HOUSE due to the frigid temperature.
Vincent has performed in several Maida Withers Dance Construction Company dance projects: Thresholds Crossed (Russia and USA), Utah * Spirit Place * Spirit Planet * Tukuhnikivatz, dance improvisations in DC International Improvisation Plus Festival performances, others. Vincent is noted for his ease and power in moving. Vincent has danced extensively in Amsterdam and Europe and been a university professor, author, choreographer in England.
Gloucester New Arts Festival, a free festival in the coastal city of Gloucester, Massachusetts, was created and produced by Sarah Slifer, dance artist and educator. The Festival specializes in site-specific performance, art, and music on the street and in various locations in the community including theatre performances. Sarah Slifer, dance artist and teacher, is a GW Dance Alumni. Sarah performed with Vincent Cacalano in Amsterdam. She performed and toured with MWDCCo internationally in Brazil and Korea.
The movements from Phase Tracing developed with four dancers. These moves became Catching Butterflies and Other things that Move. Need to do more research in the ARCHIVES. This is a holding station for these photos. Don, Maida, Diane
IN HOUSE, an online sharing with friends, historic dances by Maida Withers and The Dance Construction Company, during the global pandemic CoronaVirus (COVID-19).
Note: PAM’YATATY DANCE FILMS INTRODUCTION: MAIDA WITHERS Click INTRODUCTION to view Maida Withers at Taras Shevchenko Memorial Park in Washington, DC – remarks presented at Ukraine dance site film showings June 4, 2025, Lviv, Ukraine, and June 22, 2025, Kyiv, Ukraine.
PAMYA’TATY is the title of a project proposed by Anton Ovchinnikov, Ukraine, with Maida R. Withers, USA, in 2023-25, during the earliest period of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The project is funded by the Trust for Mutual Understanding with presentation by the Ukraine Contemporary Dance Platform. Funding supports the following:
< call for Ukraine choreographers to apply
< selection of four Ukraine female choreographers/dancers to each create and perform a solo
< dancer selects and negotiates for a site for rehearsal & performance
< research on self (Ukrainian) as subject with the topic
< creation of a site specific dance
< collaborate with Oleksiy Shmurak, composer/musician
< “live” public presentation of solo choreography “on site”
< collaborate with video/filmmaker
< public presentation of dance films in Lviv or Kyiv, Ukraine.
PROGRAM – Lviv, Ukraine – Thursday, June 4, 2025
EXIT
Nina Bulgakova – Choreography/Dancer
Oleksiy Shmurak – Composer/Musician
Dramaturg – Yuliia Hudosnyk
Anton Ovchinnikov and Maida Withers – Curators
Photo/Video – Oleksandr Dolovov
Performance – Helsinki, Finland
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15XBSdUjbIFm4KAYq8jiImFZwBxW1otv-/view/ (does not work here)
DROWSINESS
Kateryna Kuznetsova – Choreographer/Dancer
Oleksiy Shmurak – Composer/Musician
Yuliia Hudosnyk -Dramaturg
Anton Ovchinnikov and Maida Withers – Curators
Sasha Pletenetska – Videographer/Film
Performance – Dnipro River, Kyiv, Ukraine
PROGRAM – Kyiv, Ukraine – Sunday, June 22, 2025
IN A FRAGILE CIRCLE Olena Chuchko – Choreographer/Dancer
Oleksiy Shmurak – Composer/Musician
Yuliia Hudosnyk – Dramaturg
Anton Ovchinnikov and Maida Withers – Curators
Oleksandr Dolovov – Videographer / Filmmaker
Performance: Piazza Santa Cecilia, Savona, Italy
THE WARMTH OF COLD WALLS
Yuliia Hryshyna – Choreographer/Dancer
Oleksiy Shmurak – Composer/Musician
Yuliia Hudosnyk – Dramaturg
Anton Ovchinnikov and Maida Withers – Curators
Oleksandr Osipov – Videographer / Filmmaker
Performance – Kharkiv Media Hub and Yermilov Center, Kharkiv
DATA : 4 UKRAINE CHOREOGRAPHERS / SOLO SITE PROJECTS / 2025
INFORMATION: ANTON OVCHINNIKOV, UKRAINE MAY 2025
PROJECT: OLENA CHUCHKO
“In a Fragile Circle” by choreographer Olena Chuchko
The premiere of this site-specific performance took place on April 23 in Savona, Italy.
At Piazza Santa Cecilia, the audience witnessed a story that resonates with anyone who has been forced to start a new life in a new place. With anyone who felt small and lost when they were expected to be strong and self-assured.
“The concrete circle with its solid borders is open to all — and that means to me, and to you.” — Olena Chuchko
Olena joined the project to reflect on her experience of forced migration and the impact of war on her life.
For the performance, she chose a circular concrete platform in Piazza Santa Cecilia — a space commonly used for biking, rollerblading, and skateboarding.
“The fact that this is not a historical site resonates with me: here, as a foreigner who has only lived in this city for a short time, I feel I have a moral right to speak out.” — Olena
Duration: 30 minutes Team:
Dancer & Choreographer: Olena Chuchko
Music: Oleksii Shmurak
Dramaturgy: Yuliia Hudosnyk
Curators: Anton Ovchinnikov & Maida Withers
Photo/Video: Oleksandr Dolovov
Olena Chuchko is a dancer, performer, choreographer, and teacher from Kyiv, who, since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has been living and working in Savona, Italy.
The presentation of the Ukrainian choreographer’s work in Italy was supported by the Pokrova Association and the Municipality of Savona.
PROJECT: NINA BULHAKOVA
“EXIT” by choreographer Nina Bulhakova
The performance took place on April 28 in Helsinki, Finland.
Nina chose the stairway of the Cable Factory—a former industrial site transformed into a cultural center in the late 1980s—as the location for her site-specific piece. These stairs lead to the dance studio where Nina holds her rehearsals and training sessions.
“The stairs to the studio are my place of strength, a source of inspiration to continue my work and remain in the profession. Symbolically, the spiral shape of the staircase suggests both a beginning and an end—an exit. Through this path, through tangled stairs, pain, and struggle, I will search for my own EXIT.”
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Nina and the dancers of her company Ethno Contemporary Ballet have been living and working in Helsinki.
“I recently read an article comparing forced migration to the grief and stress of losing a loved one. The title of my solo, ‘EXIT,’ refers to the way out we all search for when trapped in difficult circumstances.” — Nina Bulhakova
Together with composer Oleksii Shmurak, Nina developed a unique spatial-musical approach: she carries a speaker in a backpack during the performance, allowing the sound to move with her as she ascends and descends the stairs.
Creative team for the performance “EXIT”:
Dancer & Choreographer: Nina Bulhakova
Music: Oleksii Shmurak
Dramaturgy: Yuliia Hudosnyk
Curators: Anton Ovchinnikov & Maida Withers
Photo/Video: Darina Rodionova
Nina Bulhakova is a choreographer, teacher, and co-founder of Ethno Contemporary Ballet, originally from Kharkiv, Ukraine.
“The Warmth of Cold Walls” by choreographer Yuliia Hryshyna
The performance took place on May 7 inside the Derzhprom building in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
Derzhprom, or the House of State Industry, is the first Soviet 13-story skyscraper, a Constructivist architectural monument, and one of Kharkiv’s three historic high-rises, built between 1925–1928.
“When I moved to Kharkiv for my studies, I felt like a stranger in the city—until I looked up and saw its buildings. Over time, my fascination grew and found like-minded souls. Now I can translate my sense of architecture into an artistic project,” says choreographer and performer Yuliia Hryshyna.
The audience witnesses a story that resonates with anyone who has ever fallen in love with Kharkiv—its unique history and architecture—and for whom the city has become a place of belonging.
“I’m in love with Kharkiv’s buildings. Slightly neglected but full of atmosphere, they inspire movement with their lines and rhythm. I want to draw the community’s attention to them—maybe this will be a step toward their renewal and restoration,” says Yuliia.
Supported by the Kharkiv Media Hub and Yermilov Center, the performance was part of the parallel program to the exhibition “Modernism in Ukraine: The Present and Legacy of Kharkiv and Lviv.”
Yuliia Hryshyna is a dancer, performer, choreographer, and lecturer at the Kharkiv State Academy of Culture. She also organizes educational and artistic events and programs. Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, she has continued to live and work in Kharkiv.
Creative team:
Dancer & Choreographer: Yuliia Hryshyna
Music: Oleksii Shmurak
Dramaturgy: Yuliia Hudosnyk
Curators: Anton Ovchinnikov & Maida Withers
Costume Design: Anna Matkova
Photo/Video: Oleksandr Osipov
About the performance: https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-culture/3990885-u-budivli-derzpromu-v-harkovi-vidbuvsa-tancuvalnij-performans-teplo-holodnih-stin.html
“Drowsiness” by choreographer Kateryna Kuznetsova
The performance took place on May 10 on the Dnipro River in the Kyiv region, Ukraine.
An abandoned restaurant-ship became the stage for dancer and choreographer Kateryna Kuznetsova’s premiere of the site-specific dance performance “Drowsiness.” “Drimota”
“Drowsiness” explores the impossibility of motherhood during wartime—or more precisely, the self-imposed prohibition, the internalized belief that it’s not possible now. The work draws from the artist’s personal experience, which continues to evolve and transform.
“This rust-eaten, abandoned restaurant-ship tells the story of dreams and expectations that were never realized—of something that has become impossible,” says Kateryna.
Creative team:
Dancer & Choreographer: Kateryna Kuznetsova
Music: Oleksii Shmurak
Dramaturgy: Yuliia Hudosnyk
Curators: Anton Ovchinnikov & Maida Withers
Photo/Video: Sasha Pletenetska
Kateryna Kuznetsova is a choreographer, dancer, and performer. She graduated from Taras Shevchenko Luhansk National University in 2015. From 2016 to 2022, she performed with Kyiv Modern Ballet. In 2022, she co-founded INSHA Dance Company with her husband Illia Miroshnychenko.
About the performance: https://espreso.tv/kultura-narodzhuvati-chi-ni-tantsyuvalniy-performans-drimota-pro-vidkladene-materinstvo-pid-chas-viyni
Maida Withers comments, 2025, for PAMYATATY project film showings in LVIV and KYIV, UKRAINE are included below. Maida chose the spectacular statue and tribute to “poet and fighter,” Taras Shevchenko in Washington, DC to record her comments for female presentations of films by selected female artists during war in Ukraine.
Maida Withers Text, only presented at film showings June 4, 2025 in LVIV, UKRAINE and June 22, 2025 in KYIV, UKRAINE.
Greetings!
*I join you today from the Taras Shevchenko Memorial Park in Washington, DC. It is a beautiful day in a busy neighborhood in the US capitol city.
*As you know, Taras Shevchenko was a brilliant Ukranian poet and artist revered for his literary works and self-sacrificing contributions to the people of Ukraine and much more! This is a beautiful monument supported by people with strong association with Ukraine, and beloved by those who live in Washington, DC.
*In 2018, I was invited by Anton Ovchinnikov, Ukranian Association Contemporary Dance Platform, to co-create a work in Kyiv, ”60 moves for Future Gaze…scattering the ruins of the past for the sake of the future…” That began a seven-year association with Ukraine that is very important to me. Thank you, Anton.
*It is and has been a great honor for me as a dance artist to part of the PAM YA TA TY project that brings us together today to celebrate and share NEW WORKS, strong and meaningful works of dance, of music, and of film by Ukrainian artists…..NOW, BUT MORE….FOR OUR FUTURE!”
*From 48 proposals, four brilliant and adventurous Ukranian contemporary dance choreographers/artists were chosen to identify and select a public “site” that could have meaning for them and for us, to create a new original solo about her life now…maybe the future, to collaborate with a NOTED Ukrainian composer, and filmmaker, to create strong/powerful personal statements, that capture our imagination FOR THESE TIMES – truly, a celebration of life that spreads JOY and STRENGTHENS OUR PASSION , COURAGE, HOPE, and LOVE as WE navigate life.
BRAVO! TO ALL INVOLVED, and all of you who are here today….
2011 Anthony Gongora and Tzveta Kasabova, MWDCCo dancers, danced throughout American University’s Katzen Center for the Arts, Washington, DC while taking clothes off and putting clothes on (no nudity) while doing a complex male/female duet for the Washington Project for the Arts 30th Anniversary Celebration. Dancers related to the exhibitions and the people sometimes blocking doorways, stairs, and bridges (exits) for brief moments during the evening-long event. Evening-long interactive performance.
Corcoran School of Arts and Design
Flagg Building, 500 17th Street, NW
Tuesday–Friday, 10 AM–6 PM, 2019
Saturday and Sunday, 1–6 PM
OPEN, an installation of lights and projections by artist Robin Bell, is a celebration of transparency, belonging, and accessibility. Bell is a Washington, D.C., video artist, filmmaker, and projectionist whose guerilla projections transform government buildings and hotels into conversation pieces.
Reflecting on the cancellation of the Robert Mapplethorpe exhibition at the Corcoran some thirty years ago, Bell intends for OPEN to serve as a counterpoint to decisions regarding censorship, erasure, and closure.
OPEN is a prelude to 6.13.89, an exhibition opening in 2019 that examines the climate that led to the Corcoran Gallery of Art canceling the Mapplethorpe retrospective. According to Bell, the decision to be open is not accidental or neutral. When you ask someone to open up, you are asking them to reexamine, rethink, and welcome change.
OPEN is a goal: open borders, open thought, open dialogue. This site-specific exhibition reinforces the fundamental rights of the First Amendment while acknowledging that the Corcoran exists at a cultural nexus across the street from the White House. Presented by the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design.
Photos by Robin Bell during Opening Celebration
Robin Bell and Maida Withers
Maida Withers created dances in the Flagg Building for the OPEN CELEBRATION on the Stairs and the South Atrium, dance improvisation with student dancers. Erica Rebollar and Withers created work in Gallery 1.
(1971) Laser I (Duet)
Laser I (Duet) was the first laser collaboration of Maida Withers with Rockne Krebs. Maida and Rockne were associates on the Board of Directors for Washington Project for the Arts, Washington, DC. The original choreography, by Maida, was with dancers Michael Killgore and Lynda Spikell. Later, Laser I was performed by Brook Andrews and Lynda Spikell. Music was a recording of George Harrison, British Beatles composer/musician.
Laser I (Duet) Premiere performance with Rockne Kreb’s laser installation was created and performed in Marvin Betts Marvin Theatre, Washington, DC. No photos are available of the Laser Installation.
The laser installation was created with red laser light about 3 inches off the floor. Dancers were not required to wear protective attire because the “red” laser was used. The large stage space accommodated Rockne’s large “W” structure (like the letter “W”). Dry ICE was used to create an onstage atmosphere that would accommodate and make visible the red laser light. Being close to the floor, the laser was interrupted by the dancers when they stood in the light or when they passed through in the choreography. It was a beautiful set and an exquisite environment for a performance. The original concept for the choreography required a casting of a male body and a female body that were identical in height and body image. The choreography was a strong statement by Maida regarding her “feminist” views of equality for men and women. The dancers were perfect in their physical equity. The choreography was extremely imaginative in creating moves, designs and other images that captured the essence of the perfect balance of men and women related to gender identity. The choreography was very inventive and intriguing, consequently.
The second casting was not based on the identical structure of the two dancers. It continued to be interesting, but did not have the visual power of the identical casting. The work was performed without a laser installation by Krebs.
Original cast (1971) – Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre with laser installation by Rockne Krebs.
Michael Killgore and Lynda Spikell
Brook Andrews and Lynda Spikell (no laser i
Brook Andrews and Lynda Spikell
JoAnn Sellars, Brook Andrews, Liz Lewman, Betty Tittsworth, Maida Withers, and John Bailey
Maida Withers created dances in the Flagg Building for the OPEN CELEBRATION on the Stairs and the South Atrium, dance improvisation with student dancers. Erica Rebollar and Withers created work in Gallery 1.
