PAGE TO STAGE III

Dance + Literature = Magic

A Reflection on StarrFosterDance by Julinda D. Lewis

At: The Firehouse, 1609 West Broad St., Richmond, RVA 23220

Performances: December 5-8, 2024

Ticket Prices: $20-25 General Admission; Date Night tickets 2 for $40

Info: (804) 304-1523 or starrfosterdance.org or firehousetheatre.org

Program & Casting:

All Choreography by Starrene Foster

Art Director: Douglas Hayes

Lighting Design by Greta Daughtrey (for all pieces)

Music Director: Daniel Deckelman

Starr Foster Dance Performing Artists: Shannon Comerford, Madison Ernstes, Molly Huey, Angela Palmisano

Guest Artists: Sara Burtner, Danielle Cecile, Hailey Clevenger, Ma-Siya Dycus, Olivia Gotsch, Janelle Ragland, Roya Baker-Vahdani

Living Tidal

Inspired by an excerpt from a memoir written by Sheena Jeffers

Performed by Fran Beaumont, Shannon Commerford, Madison Ernstes, Molly Huey, Angela Palmisano

Music by Scott Buckley, Balefire

Costumes designed and constructed by Starrene Foster

Ned, Steven

Inspired by a story written by Dr. Tim Wenzell

Performed by Molly Huey & Angela Palmisano

Original Music Composition by Daniel Deckelman

Costume Design by Starrene Foster

A Soft Neglect

Inspired by a poem by Tara Shea Burke

Performed by Sara Burtner, Danielle Cecile, Hailey Clevenger, Ma-Siya Dycus, Madison Ernstes, Olivia Gotsch, Janelle Ragland, Roya Baker-Vahdani

Music by Pieter de Graaf, OCD

Costumes Designed and Constructed by Starrene Foster

Elegy to Childhood

Inspired by a story written by Judith Rice

Performed by Fran Beaumont, Shannon Comerford, Molly Huey, Angela Palmisano

Music by Morryc, Saint-Saens

Costume Designed and Constructed by Tamara Cobus

Good Mourning

Inspired by a poem written by Geraldine Beaumont

Performed by Shannon Comerford & Fran Beaumont

Original Music Composition by Daniel Deckelman

Costume Designed and Constructed by Johann Stegmeir

Not a Dream

Inspired by an excerpt from a memoir written by Caitlin McGill

Performed by Madison Ernstes

Music by Valgeir Sigurõsson, The Crumbling

Costume Designed and Constructed by Starrene Foster

Middle Passage

Inspired by a poem written by Y.B. Taylor

Performed by Fran Beaumont, Shannon Comerford, Madison Ernstes, Molly Huey, Angela Palmisano, and guest artists Sara Burtner, Danielle Cecile, Hailey Clevenger, Ma-Siya Dycus, Olivia Gotsch, Janelle Ragland, Roya Baker-Vahdani

Music by Ran Bagno, Sticks (Vertigo 20)

Costume Designed and Constructed by Starrene Foster

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A few days before the opening of Starr Foster’s latest iteration of her Page to Stage project, I sat with Starr watching her company rehearse. It was the night of the Richmond Dance Awards, and during the rehearsal Starr received word that her company had been recognized as the Best Professional Dance Company in Richmond for the 2024 season. She was honored but humble. I was not surprised that she was honored. I was also not surprised that she was humble. She deserved it. But she had work to do, and celebrating would come later.

Page to Stage III, like its predecessors, is an artistic marriage of dance with poetry or short stories. Building on the programs that came before (in 2015 and 2022), the concept has matured, it has reached a place of balance and – dare I say – perfection. There was drama, humor, and even controversy. It’s dance for people who like movement, and movement for people who like words – a visualization of the words on paper, but without mimicking or condescending.

The program began with Living Tidal, a work for five dancers inspired by Sheena Jeffers’ story of the end of a relationship – that point when you feel you no longer belong, that you’re in the wrong place, when, quite simply, “our time has come.” For the stage Foster crafted a tight drama that veers away from the idea of a couple. It becomes personal, not just for Foster or Jeffers, but for each of us in our own way.

Ned, Steven is a comedic duet performed by two dancers in workman-like jumpsuits with name tags. Here, Foster has taken a tiny snippet of a story and turned it into a whole scenario – one can’t help but wonder what goes on Foster’s mind to produce these flashes of brilliance. The one word that best describes A Soft Neglect is “relational.” The work, performed by the talented troupe of guest performers, ended with a haunting image of the soloist’s chattering hands that, for me, seemed to perfectly capture the poet’s words: “Maybe families kill. Not with their hands, but a soft neglect – they let the needy bird stay stuck chirping in the mud, one foot too deep to be free.”

The first half of this program closed with Elegy to Childhood. The dancers began in individual squares of light, moving with simplicity and repetition that contrasted interestingly with the edgy, anxious complexity of Good Mourning that opened the second half. Even more noteworthy, the poem, Good Mourning by Geraldine Beaumont, was written by a company member who also performed in the duet. Not a Dream, inspired by a story by Caitlin McGill, is filled with subtle details and articulations of the smallest joint, in stark contrast to big, bold movements. Overall, the work – the only solo on the program, performed by the talented and versatile Madison Ernstes, reminded me of a visualization of good touch/bad touch.

The program concluded with what could have been the most controversial work on the program. The title, Middle Passage refers, of course, to the transporting of enslaved Africans from West Africa to the Americas. This is a topic most White choreographers would – rightfully – steer clear off, for obvious reasons [you know…appropriation].  Author Y.B. Taylor, who, according to Style Weekly, was Huguenot High School’s first African American homecoming queen in 1971 and one of six African American students to integrate Albert H. Hill Junior High School in 1966 has an interesting personal history and was apparently more than willing to entrust her story to Starr Foster. [https://www.styleweekly.com/third-times-a-charm/]https://www.styleweekly.com/third-times-a-charm/https://www.styleweekly.com/third-times-a-charm/

Rather than a retelling of the horrors of the cross-Atlantic slave trade, Taylor’s poem, written on a flight home from Europe, contrasts her own experience with that of those earlier, reluctant passengers. Given this perspective, Middle Passage becomes a story that belongs to anyone in a period of major transition. Given that Foster’s company is an all-female ensemble, it becomes a story of women.

Mechanical sounds, distant whirrs and thunderings and the echoes of time ticking away support the movement. A group of women leans side-to-side, moving as a unit, their palms barely supporting their heads. Little tags on their dresses, barely visible to the naked eye, subliminally suggest a label, a brand, a way, perhaps, of reminding someone they are a commodity – but maybe I’m going deeper than necessary. At the end, the women are kneeling, but not bowed – resilient, resistant, released…

Some say the third time is the charm. This is Foster’s third iteration of Page to Stage, and the shows just keep getting better. This program developed a unique collaboration of words and movement, not a visualization of the word, but a whole new creation with a life of its own, and an underlying theme of various kinds of relationships. Taken together, the separate works seem meant to be together – and they are also worthy of discussion. A casual post-performance discussion with a friend predictably revealed questions – even a bit of confusion – about Middle Passage. I hope there are future opportunities to pursue much needed discussions about difficult topics to their logical conclusion: a deeper understanding and greater inclusiveness.

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Julinda D. Lewis is a dancer, teacher, and writer who was born in Brooklyn, NY and now lives in Eastern Henrico County. When not writing about theater, she teaches dance history at VCU and low impact dance fitness classes to seasoned movers like herself, and occasionally performs.

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Starr Foster Dance presents

PAGE TO STAGE III

Combining the arts of writing and dance

Artistic Director/Choreography by: Starrene Foster

Art Director: Douglas Hayes

Lighting Designer: Gretta  Daughtrey

Music Director: Daniel Deckelman

Company Artists: Fran Beaumont, Shannon Comerford, Madison Ernstes, Molly Huey, Angela Palmisano

Performing Guest Artists: Sara Burtner, Danielle Cecile, Hailey Clevenger, Ma-Siya Dycus, Olivia Gotsch, Janelle Ragland, Roya Baker-Vahdani

IMPORTANT PROGRAM NOTE: The poetry and stories appearing in the playbill and on the Starr Foster Dance website were published with the permission of the authors and publishers. All material is protected by copyright under U.S. Copyright laws and may not be copied or reproduced without permission of the copyright holder.

Starr Foster Dance is a Resident Company of the Firehouse Theatre

Performance Schedule

Thursday, December 5^th, 7:30PM

Friday, December 6^th, 7:30PM

Saturday, December 7^th, 2:00PM & 5:00PM

Sunday, December 8^th, 2:00PM

Post-performance Q&A after the Thursday and Saturday evening performances

Champagne toast after the Friday evening performance

Run Time

About 2 hours