Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble announces Anna Sokolow and the Reimagined Roots of Anti-Fascist Dance, which was performed on Friday, January 26, 2024 at 7 pm at the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Coolidge Auditorium, is now available for streaming on demand. To watch the performance, visit https://www.loc.gov/item/webcast-11277/.

When the Library of Congress Music Division made the extraordinary discovery of handwritten scores composed by Alex North for two of Anna Sokolow’s dances, Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble Artistic Director Samantha Géracht reimagined the dances using archival evidence and the music. “Slaughter of the Innocents” is Sokolow’s 1937 lament for Basque women suffering under Nazi aerial bombing. “Ballad in a Popular Style” is a wistful lyrical excursion into jazz, first performed in 1936. Both will be performed by members of the Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble to the original music, for the first time in 80 years, showing that the creative collaboration of Anna Sokolow (1910-2000) and Alex North (1910-1991) remains fresh, compelling, and relevant for today’s audiences. A panel discussion on the revival of the music and dance and the lives of North and Sokolow was followed by an audience Q&A session.