Thomas Mason

Variety of celebrations in GHDT ‘Winterfest’

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By Wendy Carson

Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre gives us a shimmering delight with its presentation of “Winterfest,” paying tribute to pretty much every December holiday/celebration in existence.

This inclusiveness, combined with Gregory Glade Hancock’s style of choreography make this show a standout and must-see for anyone who enjoys dance of any kind. Plus, this year’s show highlights a new opportunity being offered by the GHDT Studio.

To “Welcome Winter,” we begin with three of the dancers showing off their ballet prowess in toe shoes, then move to a couple’s romantic encounters, and finally six dancers flitting about conjuring literally visions of sugarplums dancing in our heads. And that was just the first of the ten pieces being offered.

Primary male dancer Thomas Mason, who choreographs most of the sections of the program, highlights the younger student dancers in “St. Nicholas Day.” Their energy and grace brought a joyous warmth to the performance.

Hancock’s costuming sense hits a crescendo with the next two numbers: “Kwanzaa” has the dancers in black outfits with red and green stripes, highlighting the colors of the festival, while each has an individual emblem on the top representing one of the holiday’s seven principles. A simple white dress with an indigo ombre skirt represents the rebirth of light after the longest night of the year to celebrate the “Winter Solstice,” or Yule.

“Diwali” finds the younger dancers back and allows each one a short solo to highlight their individual abilities.

To expound on the opportunity I mentioned above, Guest dancers Zoe Maish and David Elser present a lively ballroom version of “Man with the Bag” to show off their skills and allow you to see what potentially waits for anyone signing up for Ballroom Dance lessons that they will soon be offering.

Mason’s choreography of “Saint Lucia Day” showed the somber spiritual grace and beauty that is also a solid part of the holiday celebrations.

Dancer and frequent GHDT program cover model Olivia Payton shows off her choreographic chops with “Las Posadas,” which celebrates Joseph and Mary’s journey to the stable in Bethlehem. These dances offer a flirty style and allows each primary dancer a chance to individually shine.

Hancock choses to highlight both the solemn history behind “Hanukkah” and the joy and humor of those of the Jewish faith.

The evening concludes with “Christmas,” choreographed by Mason, and allows for a few of the very youngest pupils to show off what they’ve learned as well as bring smiles to one and all. The whole troupe gets to shine throughout.

Dancers include Mason, Payton, Abigail Lessaris, Sophie Jones, Vivien Mickels, Josie Moody, Audrey Springer, and Nathalie Boyle, as well as students Eva Abanunova, Arden Brothers, Valerie Bussell, Magnolia Donaghey, Fiadh Flynn, Luna Garelli, Lera Griffis, Vivien Maresh, Hazel Moore, Morgann Rice, Isabella Webb, and Anya Willis.

After the show, there is a complimentary hot chocolate bar to help you keep the joyful moments going.

The entire night was spectacular and really gets you energized for – as well as remembering the meanings of –the Winter Holidays.

The best part is that this was not just a one-weekend production! See it for yourself Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, Dec. 12-14, at The Florence at The Academy of Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre, 329 Gradle Drive, Carmel. Get tickets at gregoryhancockdancetheatre.org.

GHDT ‘Casket Girls’ dance again

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By John Lyle Belden

Though shrouded in myth, the story of the “Casket Girls” is true*. In the 1720s, by order of King Louis IV of France at the urging of the Church, young women were sent to new Gulf Coast colonies to be wives to the men there in hopes of keeping them civilized and Christian.

These filles a la cassette (girls with suitcases) were eventually referred to with the word casquette, which conjured the more popular term. They were pale and delicate, it was said, sensitive to the sun and, perhaps, the magical spirit of New Orleans.

Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre has revived its production that tells the legend with “modern gothic vampire” flair, featuring original music by Cory Gabel. Choreography and costumes are again by Gregory Glade Hancock, with lighting by Ryan Koharchik.

This modern-dance ballet centers on the character of Catherine (Abigail Lessaris), a Casket Girl who lives with the Sisters of St. Ursula until she finds her beau, Jean (guest dancer Cody Miley). But supernatural forces strike, changing her forever.

The second act brings the undead Catherine back to New Orleans a century later, finding an ally in voodoo priestess Mother Ava May (Olivia Payton) and love with sweet Saraphine (Josie Moody). But evil Lucien (Thomas Mason) wants to rule the city, and if Catherine doesn’t join him, he knows the Casket Girl now has something to lose.

Dancers also include Nathalie Boyle, David Elser, Fiadh Flynn, Sophie Jones, Zoe Maish, Vivien Mickels, Hazel Moore, Audrey Springer, Josie Steinmetz, and Lucy Grontkowski of The Conservatory of Dance at Granger, Ind., with guest vocalist Tessa Gibbons.

Stunning and beautiful throughout, the music and movement embrace a dark atmosphere evoking the works of Anne Rice and the goth-punk aesthetic of the World of Darkness roleplaying games. Gabel, in close collaboration with Hancock, brings a Nine-Inch-Nails-esque percussion to the score, giving a relentless beat to the characters’ stilled and breaking hearts.

A unique danse macabre for this spooky season, “The Casket Girls” have just one performance remaining, 5 p.m. today (Oct. 25) as I post this, at The Tarkington in the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Carmel. Watch for this production to likely return in coming years.

With this, GHDT opens its 28th season. Next up is its next improvised collaboration in the “Melange” series on Nov. 15-16 as Mickels dances while vocalist Jessica Hawkins sings and Madhuchhanda Mandal creates a visual work of art. The full company celebrates the Holidays with Winterfest on Dec. 4-7 and 11-14. These performances will be at The Florence performance space at The Academy of Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre, 329 Gradle Dr., Carmel.

Full information and tickets at gregoryhancockdancetheatre.org.

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(*History and legend of the Casket Girls at NewOrleans.com)

Time to dance again: Footlite presents ‘The Prom’

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By John Lyle Belden

It’s not spring; still, any time is good for recognizing we need to let those around us be their authentic selves. In this spirit comes the latest production of “The Prom” at Footlite Musicals.

This Broadway hit – book by Chad Beguelin and Bob Martin, music by Matthew Sklar, lyrics by Beguelin, concept by Jack Viertel, inspired by actual 2010 events in Mississippi – is, as I’ve mentioned before, sort of a “Footloose” for our era, with hints of “Cinderella.”

Broadway stars, or at least they used to be, Dee Dee Allen (Karen Frye) and Barry Glickman (Sam Godsey) have their latest show flop so bad, it closes after opening night. Commiserating with their assistant, Sheldon (Isaac Becker-Chamberlin); Angie Dickenson (Abigail Okerson), who has been stuck in the chorus of “Chicago” for years; and unemployed former sitcom star Trent Oliver (Dustin Branum), who constantly mentions attending Julliard; they look for something to improve their public profile.  

In the (fictional) town of Edgewater, Indiana, the High School PTA cancels its Prom after learning student Emma Nolan (Marachey Fowler) plans to bring another girl as her date. While finding herself more bullied than usual, Emma has an ally in the principal, Mr. Hawkins (Shawn Hunt). Together they petition the PTA, led by staunch conservative Mrs. Greene (Katie-Rose Connors), to reconsider. But as they make their case, guess who comes barging in to “save” the day?

The cast also includes Claire Donnelly as Alyssa, Mrs. Greene’s daughter and Emma’s secret girlfriend; Zaylee Jaliwala and Nayima Hall as cheerleaders Kaylee and Shelby; Zaire Gladden-Williams and Conner Becker-Chamberlin as students Nick and Kevin; as well as Kevin Bell, Nate Copleland, Jerry Davis, Nathan DeMyers, Sophie Eastman, Kathleen Fox, Cari Gallagher, Emma Gedig, Josh Hoover, Kerrigan McSweeney, Michael Morrow, Gwendolyn Pickett Kenan, Tinnin, Katie Van Den Heuvel, Jennifer Zotz, and Thomas Zotz.

As events unfold for a teen who just wanted to dance, all characters confront uncomfortable truths, from the New Yorkers’ narcissism to schoolmates’ unquestioned beliefs. The musical was written as taking place in Indiana as a jab at then-Vice President Pence, but having Hoosiers play Hoosiers lends an authentic feel and softens the genuinely funny digs against our state (though the play does make Applebee’s look good).

Frye gloriously goes full diva, reminiscent of Patti LuPone at her most catty, as Dee Dee. Godsey’s Barry is like the sweet hyper child of James Corden and Harvey Fierstein. Donnelly’s dancer, “antelope legs” and all, follows her chorus instincts to help a fellow girl in trouble. Branum makes the most of a unique character with an interesting arc, whose unconventional thinking ends up helping.  Hunt plays Mr. Hawkins steadfast as the fulcrum on which the whole plot turns (I know I said this in a prior review, it still works). Isaac Becker-Chamberlin is charming as the one responsible for wrangling the various celebrity egos.

Connors is daunting as a woman whose mothering instincts have overtaken her compassion. Jerry Beasley, who directed with Claire Slaven, helped guide her actions at the show’s end, which suggest the possibility of healing.

As for the star of the show, Marachey Fowler is amazing! From her first song, she exhibits natural power, control, and stage presence. You can’t help but feel not just for her, but with her, in every scene. We are amazed this is only her second musical, and look forward to seeing whatever she does next.

Donnelly is also excellent, and nails Alyssa’s signature song. Her fellow students also sing well, and wow us with their dancing, choreographed by Thomas Mason.

The orchestra is led by Jeremy Kaylor.

Make a date for “The Prom,” with two more weekends, through Oct 5, at 1847 N. Alabama St., Indianapolis. Get info and tickets at footlite.org.

GHDT finishes season strong; watch for more

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By John Lyle Belden

This evening (June 7) Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre concludes its 27th season with bold works for “Summer Solstice.”

According to my quick websearch, earth.com notes the Solstice (longest day of the year, coming in just two weeks) is celebrated by many spiritual traditions, important for “setting an intention” for the coming months. With this weekend’s program, Gregory Glade Hancock and his talented dancers show their continued willingness to expand the use of movement to communicate feelings and stories.

In the world-premiere of “Let It Be Known,” poet Bruce Ford delivers a long monologue of hip-hop style verse that speaks to struggle and aspiration that draws on his Black experience and hope for humanity. As he speaks, dancers Thomas Mason, Sophie Jones, Abigail Lessaris, Josie Moody, Cordelia Newton, Olivia Payton, and Audrey Springer reflect and illuminate his words. Together, they make the “music” that we feel – no background song is played or necessary. Ryan Koharchik’s exceptional (as always) lighting design comes into play here with precise use of spotlights.

Another premiere is “Journey to Freedom,” a series of dances evoking the pain of a nation’s people being invaded, occupied, and displaced, as well as their bravery to overcome. The focus is on Eastern Europe, which Hancock is personally familiar with, including recent travels. The pieces honor Latvia, where residents once kept a secret “national anthem;” Poland, once invaded on two fronts attempting to erase if from the map; and, Ukraine, where their struggle continues today. The movement is strong and evocative, to music ranging from traditional to contemporary, as well as sublime work by Polish composer Frederic Chopin (a beautiful solo by Moody). The principal dancers are joined by summer interns Nathalie Boyle, Gwynevere Deterding, Tasha Sterns-Clemons, and Izzy Wolf, with Academy of GHDT student Hazel Moore appearing as the “flower girl.”

After the intermission, the mood shifts from the very serious to the exceedingly strange with an abridged version of Hancock’s 2006 “Alice and Her Bizarre Adventures in Wonderland,” envisioning Lewis Carrol’s classic story through a warped punk-Goth lens – as if to wonder, what would frighten yet enthrall a young girl today? Springer is our title character, bringing us with her down the rabbit hole to meet a fascinating edging on nightmarish cast. Highlights include Payton as the Cheshire Cat, Mason as the Caterpillar, Lessaris as the Duchess, Newton as the Mouse, Moody as Queen of Hearts, and Jones as the Mock Turtle. All the dancers are in Wonderland, including students Moore, Fiadh Flynn, Penelope Lomax, Josie Steinmetz, and Megan Webb.

As for the dance sequences, Hancock said he was once asked, “if you choreograph this while awake, what are your nightmares like?” It says something about our tastes, I guess, but we were thrilled, with Wendy hoping to see the full show staged again someday.

What we know will happen is the upcoming 28th season. It kicks off with the “Fashion at the Florence” fundraiser on Sept. 13 at 329 Gradle Drive, Carmel. Dance programs feature the return of “The Casket Girls” in October, “Exodus” in March 2026 and “Antony and Cleopatra” the following June. There will also be “Melange” presentations of improvised dance and art with guest vocalists the weekends of Sept. 20 and Nov. 15, as well as March 14 and May 16, 2026.

For all the details – and tickets to today’s 5 p.m. performance at The Tarkington stage of the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel, if you see this right after it’s posted – visit gregoryhancockdancetheatre.org.  

Footlite gets ‘Kinky’ in the best way

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By John Lyle Belden

With among its many lessons that you should be willing to pull together to try something wild with great potential, the all-volunteer cast and crew of Footlite Musicals present the fun and funny hit, “Kinky Boots.”

With book by Broadway legend Harvey Fierstein and songs by equally iconic Cyndi Lauper (making her the first woman to win a Tony for solo songwriting), the 2013 Broadway musical is adapted from the 2005 British film of the same name, in turn inspired by a true story from the 1990s. Set in that 20-ish year ago era in Northampton, England, a man who has inherited a failing shoe factory seeks to save it by filling an unmet need – sturdy but sexy boots for drag queens.

Charlie Price (Alexander Bast) had planned to move to London and take a lucrative marketing job alongside his fiancé Nicola (Nicole Sherlock) but is called back home when his father (Ted Jacobs) passes away. The shoes are well-made, but in a highly competitive market, nobody seems to want them. While seeking to strike a deal with a family friend (Derek Savick-Hesser) Charlie encounters Lola (Kevin Bell), the drag queen star of her own show. He notices her stilettos won’t hold up a man’s body and, after Price & Sons employee Lauren (Mara Fowler) – who secretly has a crush on him – suggests he find “an underserved niche market” to stay in business, gets the idea to make what will be known as Kinky Boots.

Reactions are mixed at the factory, though most buy in as the alternative is unemployment. Factory manager George (Ryan Bridges) is eager and creates a steel-reinforced heel. Foreman Don (Drew Kempin) considers himself a “man’s man” and openly mocks Lola, who is brought on board as designer. In three weeks, there will be a major fashion show in Milan that will make or break the enterprise, as well as the people involved.

We also meet, in the opening number, Charlie and Simon (who will become Lola) as boys, played by Sam Houghland and Ryan Thomas, respectively, as well as Simon’s disapproving father (Jerry Davis).  The cast includes Shari Jacobs, Awbrey Brosseit, Jessica Hackenberg, Logan Laflin, Louis Soria, Ruby Waliser, Jennifer Zotz, and Tom Zotz, who also cameos as Richard, Nicola’s boss.

Lola is backed by her cloud of fabulous Angels, performed by drag artists Conner Becker-Chamberlin, a/k/a Darcy Sparks; Leon Benbow-Blomberg / Miss Dominixxx; Caleb Francis / Penny Loafers; Cameron Grant / Anita Richard; Shawn Hunt / Artemis Da Goddess; Dalen Jordan / Donleigh Delights; Paige Penry / Bella DeBall; and Kenan Tinnin / Body Miss Morphia.

Joyfully directed by Jerry Beasley, we get a (much-needed these days) uplifting story of grit and acceptance. The characters are fairly complex – not just the obvious multitudes in Lola, brought out in glorious voice and expression by Bell. Bast gives us a Charlie who is well-meaning, sometimes off-base, yet easy to root for. Kempin’s Don is mostly bluster, a bloke who literally gets sense knocked into him. Sherlock plays Nicola as one who feels certain of her direction, coming to learn that Charlie doesn’t see success her way. Fowler makes her regular young woman Lauren, who goes from slinging shoes on a factory floor to being “executized” to help make the new line,   appropriately adorable.

Among the volunteers putting this spectacle together are set designers Ted Jacobs and Mary Lich, choreographer Thomas Mason, vocal director Ben Rose, and stage manager Melissa Yurechko. Costumer for the queens is Angel Olivera, assisted by Katie Van Den Heuvel and Michael Morrow. Jeremy Kaylor leads the orchestra.

EDITED TO ADD: Beasley messaged me this – “I would like to add that Claire Olvey Slaven also costumed The Angels as well as assistant directed, and Ben Jones created their hair and makeup look! The Price & Son workers costumes were designed by Edith Burton-Bandy.”

As a counter to current controversies, we get a reminder that for its community Drag is not just a lifestyle, but an essential part of life. Let the spirit of “Kinky Boots” raise you up, and remember: “You can change the world, when you change your mind.”

Performances are Thursdays through Sundays through May 18 at Footlite Musicals, 1847 N. Alabama St., Indianapolis. Get tickets (which have been selling fast) at footlite.org.

‘Spring’ anticipates more artistry from GHDT

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By John Lyle Belden

Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre had a beautiful two-day run of its program, “Spring Equinox,” on April 4 and 5 at the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel. Circumstances led to us seeing it on the second day.

I’m usually not comfortable writing up something you who read this cannot also enjoy. However, Gregory Glade Hancock’s company has much more planned in the coming weeks and months.

In “Spring Equinox,” which he said was themed around “beauty in unexpected places,” Hancock mostly brought back works he choreographed for a past generation, including “The Western Wall,” as dancers represented prayers flying up from the old Jewish Temple wall  in Jerusalem, using colorful costumes from the 1998 premiere; and “Contusion,” an abstract dance set to the percussion music of Australia, originally premiered in 1999 but now with updated costumes to better reflect Aboriginal culture. This latter piece, even with less of a storytelling element, was still a crowd-pleaser with its energy and rhythms that the audience spontaneously picked up, clapping to encourage the dancers.

This season’s company – Abigail Lessaris, Sophie Jones, Josie Moody, Cordelia Newton, Olivia Payton, Audrey Springer, and Thomas Mason – had solo opportunities in 1998’s “God’s Island,” with its country-folk soundtrack, and for Mason, an excerpt from the recent production, “There’s No Place Like Home.”

This program also presented a beautiful new work by Hancock, “The Lady of Krakow,” inspired by his recent visit to Poland during a tour of Eastern Europe. There, he saw a street performer singing, observing not only her but also how other people reacted, stopped to listen, or just walked on by. “And I thought to myself,” Hancock said in his pre-show talk, “what if they just started dancing?”

In this performance, acclaimed local vocalist Ashley Nicole Soprano stood center stage as The Lady, treating us all to sacred operatic arias as the GHDT dancers walked around and by, then one or two or more at a time, stopped, and swaying to her vocal spell, became the music visually.  Hancock student dancers Arina Bolotina, Magnolia Donaghey, Penelope Lomax, Isabella Webb, and Brittney Zhang joined the company in this wonderful spectacle. It had the feel of a street scene being elevated to a moment in a ballet or classic silver-screen musical.

Soprano will return to collaborate with GHDT in its next “Melange,” May 17-18 at The Florence performance space in The Academy of GHDT, 329 Gradle Drive in Carmel. In this show, as in past Melanges, our vocalist will be the only one with a planned program, but no rehearsal. She will be joined by Hancock company dancer Springer, who will interpret as the singing and music moves her, and visual artist Gaby Mojica, who will observe and create an original work in acrylic paint inspired by it all.

The company as a whole will return to The Tarkington stage at the Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Carmel for “Summer Solstice” on June 6-7 with another program of new and revived dances.

For information, and tickets to “Melange,” see gregoryhancockdancetheatre.org; tickets to “Solstice” are also available at thecenterpresents.org.

Cajun celebration with GHDT

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By John Lyle Belden

While the parties are rolling out in New Orleans – starting with a Super game and parading towards Mardi Gras – Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre indulges in some big fun “Down on the Bayou.”

Gregory Glade Hancock dusts off a couple of past works with the feel of southern Louisiana culture, starting with the title sequence. It kicks off with the Hank Williams Sr. hit, which the dancers take to with joyous energy, like a hot night on Bourbon Street. An eclectic mix follows, with various rhythms. Being the lone principal male dancer, Thomas Mason gets a huge workout, including pairing with Abigail Lessaris and Olivia Payton, and even a solo. Also we see the talents of Josie Moody, Audrey Springer, and new members Sophie Jones and Cordelia Newton.

A couple of numbers showcase the young students of the Academy of Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre: Abigail Arboleda, Arden Brothers, Fiadh Flynn, Penelope Lomax, Hazel Moore, Josie Steinmetz, Megan Webb, and Britteny Zhang. They already show great poise and potential.

The main company gets their mojo working with “Papa Legba,” featuring Mason as the titular Vodun character, as well as Newton, Springer, and Moody, before the others join in. Atmosphere (including lighting designed by Mason) and Hancock’s costuming contribute to this piece’s mystical feel.

The second half of the program brings out Hancock’s knack for visual storytelling with “Why Look at That Moon,” set to a series of songs by celebrated Louisiana-born songwriter Victoria Williams. Her unique voice and country-folk style provide the canvas on which the dancers bring forth movement suggesting the “Boogieman,” the woman at the “Clothesline,” the “Wobbling” bird, and even old “Tarbelly and Featherfoot.” Featured dancers include Lessaris, Moody, and Newton, and there is a sweet pas de deux with Mason and Jones to “Can’t Cry Hard Enough.”  

A celebratory and sensational program of dance, we have two weekends left “Down on the Bayou,” through Feb. 23 at The Florence at the Academy of GHDT, 329 Gradle Drive, Carmel. Get info and tickets at gregoryhancockdancetheatre.org.

Words, dance and visual art flow into GHDT ‘Melange’

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By John Lyle Belden

On the weekend of January 11-12, Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre presented its fourth iteration of “Melange,” a largely-improvised blending of artistic disciplines by three individuals who had not only not rehearsed, but met one another on the first performance day. At the center is a performer who sings or speaks – the only element that is prepared – while a GHDT dancer interprets the goings-on in dance and a local artist captures an impression on a canvas.

Actor Jean Arnold was at the center of the space, delivering a program of spoken word, poetry and song. At the start she gave a rhythmic recitation of the folk song “The Unicorn” to set the mood of wonder and introspection with a touch of humor.

Compiled and arranged by Arnold, these pieces include a mother’s reflections on children, one she called “Fearless and Fierce,” a passage relating inner peace to world peace, one on “The Dancer,” and one “on Loving.”

The source material, she said, was literally all around us as the big box of a performance space – The Florence at the Academy at Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre – before its recent renovation had various quotes, sayings, poetry, and scripture passages of numerous faiths written below the floorboards and behind the wall surfaces, under the guidance of founder and artistic director Gregory Glade Hancock. Arnold had seen these, she said, and included some in her performance – quoting sources ranging from the Bible to Jimi Hendrix.

GHDT principal dancer Thomas James Mason was a flowing force that moved throughout the performance. He ranged from pure interpretation to moments of interplay with Arnold, when she would, with a mischievous grin, join him for a step or two. At moments, an old-time microphone stand would swirl in and out by Mason at her beckoning.

The dancer seeming to be all over the stage was captured in a number of dynamic poses by portraitist Robert Maurice Smith. In his drawing Saturday evening, Smith also captured Arnold’s energy, including, in a moment of late inspiration, the pages of the script binder that she occasionally held appearing to flow out to merge with Mason’s outstretched limbs. At the end of the performance, host (and GHDT assistant director) Abigail Lesaris auctioned the impromptu artwork with proceeds going to the dance company.  

“I am many things, but I am not quiet,” Arnold said smiling during the performance. Afterward, she noted this was unlike anything she had done on stage and enjoyed the challenge. “I wanted to leave people with something,” she said of her inspired approach.

As with the previous Melange productions, there was an almost polished feel to the unrehearsed proceedings, a confident reflection of artistic professionals. All present understood that this was, like all live theatre, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

As this posts, there is still today’s performance, 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 12, at The Florence, 329 Gradle Drive, Carmel. See gregoryhancockdancetheatre.org for details and tickets, as well as info on their next show, “Down on the Bayou,” three weekends, Feb. 8-23, at The Florence.

Anguish of atrocity honored in Gregory Hancock program

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By John Lyle Belden

Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre presented another brilliant example of its ability to tell a story and evoke feeling through movement with its “Autumn Nights” program.

“Art should be challenging,” founder and director Gregory Glade Hancock says. This is certainly brought to bear in the debut of his important work, “Beyond These Gates the Land Groans.” These words were written on a wall of the Police Prison Camp at Salaspils, Latvia, operated by Nazi Germany as a labor and concentration camp from October 1941 until the Soviets closed it at war’s end in 1945. Though not as infamous as larger facilities, it was just as cruel, leading to the deaths of thousands of people (many of them, children) from disease, starvation and other mistreatment.

In 1967, a Memorial was built to remember those who were lost there, which included a number of sculptures whose brutal appearance reflected their suffering. Hancock saw these on a recent visit to Latvia and said he was instantly inspired to compose this piece.

The resulting performance literally stunned us. The movement portrayed the grace of humanity but no further beauty. Dancers worked in open space against the constant tension of being in a restrained, hopeless place. They appear as representation of the memorial statues, in the same poses, and move to express their struggle and sorrow. They come forward, challenging us to see them, hear their silenced cries. The stark vision extends to the costumes (also by Hancock), plain prisoner uniforms hanging loose upon starved bodies, as well as there being no music, just the ongoing rhythm of a recorded human heartbeat. At a moment of desperate necessity, there is the wail of a violin. At the end, as we had been cautioned before the show, few felt like applauding – some in the audience briefly clapped out of respect for the artists; the rest of us, intensely moved, honored it with silence.

Dancers were the principal GHDT company – Sophie Jones, assistant director Abigail Lessaris, Thomas Mason, Cordelia Newton, Josie Moody, Olivia Payton, and Audrey Springer – with GH Academy students Arden Brothers and Hazel Moore.

The program also had lighter and otherwise entertaining works. It opened with “The Visit,” a 1992 Hancock dance with Eastern European influences, appropriate to the Halloween season. Mason enters the center spotlight and summons the others in a bewitching circle of celebration and magick. The “sisters” include Lessaris, Moody, Payton, Springer, and provide a lovely introduction of new dancers Jones and Newton – the latter getting a brief solo. Student Penelope Lomax also makes an appearance.

Hancock also revived a fun 2008 piece, “The Seven Deadly Sins.” All listed above, as well as students Abigail Arboleda, Fiadh Flynn, Morgan Rice, Josephine Steinmetz, Charlotte Terzino, and Brittney Zhang, take turns in various numbers embodying Pride, Sloth, Wrath, Gluttony, Greed, Envy, and, of course, Lust. In the end, Terzino reappears as Virtue to set the moral order right.

The “Autumn Nights” came and went – last Friday evening and Saturday afternoon – at The Tarkington of the Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Carmel. Upcoming events will be nearby on The Florence stage at Gregory Hancock’s office and Academy, 329 Gradle Drive:

 “Melange” returns with three artists of different disciplines combining their talents in a single improvised theme. On Nov. 16-17, visual artist Kevin James Wilson, vocalist Tessa Gibbons, and GHDT’s Josie Moody will create a masterpiece within the same space.

“WinterFest,” a celebration of different year-end holidays, will be at the Florence on December 6-8 and 13-15.

For information on these and performances in 2025, visit GregoryHancockDanceTheatre.org.

GHDT turns the page on its Saga

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By John Lyle Belden

Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre features modern style with international influences and accessible visual storytelling. This was on full display in “Sagas and Superstitions,” the show that concluded the company’s 26th season, earlier this month at The Tarkington in the Center for the Performing Arts in Carmel.

The program featured a couple of premiere pieces. “Don’t Sit at the Corner of the Table,” with choreography and costumes by founder and artistic director Gregory Glade Hancock, is a new work inspired by old superstitions of Eastern Europe (set in Ukraine). The title refers to where a young girl must not sit, or she might never get married. The dance features bold movements and a fair amount of humor and whimsy as three sisters – Abigail Lessaris, Olivia Payton, and Josie Moody – entertain two suitors, portrayed by Thomas Mason and guest performer Isaac Jones.

The other new piece is the choreography debut by GHDT instructor and retiring company member Chloe Holzman. “Pelo Caminho” tells a traditional Brazilian story of a young man (Mason) on a quest to see the King and Queen (Jones and Payton). On the way he befriends the Spirits of the River (Hannah Brown), the Fox (Camden Lancaster), and Thorns (Moody) who aid and teach him. Holzman makes good use of Hancock’s style of flow and form, and the dancers’ long-time camaraderie with her no doubt aided in their flawless performance.

Hancock revived his contemporary telling of “Greek Mythology,” which included all the dancers listed above, including Holzman as well as Audrey Springer, portraying various characters and stories.  He concluded with “The Wedding,” set in Poland and inspired by Roma traditions, performed by the company with Lessaris and Jones as bride and groom.

Brown and Lancaster, as well as Holzman, are retiring from the company, and each got to perform a featured dance from one of their past GHDT performances.

We have always found these shows fascinating and entertaining, and look forward to the coming season, which opens with “Autumn Nights” on Oct. 25-26. For more information, visit gregoryhancockdancetheatre.org.