About the Works:
Kaley Pruitt Dance
As I absorbed the shock of Russia invading Ukraine in 2022, I sought to make any sense of the aggression and atrocities against the Ukrainian people. Through research, I began to see Russians as many stories of self-preservation and denial, trust and distrust, love and loyalty, propaganda and truth, and levels of fighting back inside a system of control. I was drawn to the lived reality of existing inside pervasive propaganda and the acts of subversive protest. It was especially important to me to highlight the stories of protest during this time of global upheaval. The title, нет войне means “no to war” in Russian. This work is an anti-war statement in support of Ukraine, and it’s also a work to help us reflect on our own culture, media consumption, and right to protest.

Laura Neese / Dance Projects
In eukrasia (working title) Neese draws from her studies of the body in movement and on the dissection table to engage body as subject and matter, exploring its inner workings, function, expression, and the water and fibrous animal stuff that make us all. Through a combination of improvisational and set choreographic structures, dancers explore functional anatomy, interconnected systems, and cycles related to the human body. Obliquely referencing the Greek notion of the four humours, the work investigates the concept of living architecture, and interrogates how understanding our own human structures can help individuals engage in empathy and community.