Karen's 10th Anniversary Picks: #2

Every month from March through December 2021, Threads Dance Project will release some of Artistic Director Karen L. Charles’ top dances available pay-as-able from $1, $10, $100, or even $1,000 to view Karen’s selected works!

April’s picks include Childless Mother with guest artist, SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK (2014), Fear the Massa, Master’s Lament & Da Whippin' Post (2014), and Black Man Walking (2014)

Why Karen said she chose these dances:

"Childless Mother was a work catalyzed by the significant number of deaths in Minneapolis in 2012. I wanted to highlight the pain of loss symbolically represented by four grieving mothers.  As a mother myself, I sought to empathize with what that pain must feel like. This piece has always been an audience favorite and dancer favorite because it expresses such emotion. 

"Fear the Massa, Master’s Lament & Da Whippin‘ Post is a small section of a larger work The Secrets of Slave Songs. A show extrapolating the concept of traditional Negro Spirituals being code songs. These excerpts depict the fear, and harm done to Blacks during slavery. I chose this piece because I utilized aerial dance in my work. I was able to abstract the experience of the slave whipping post via silks to create a visually interesting and emotionally captivating work. 

"Black Man Walking is also a selection from the larger work The Secrets of Slave Songs. This excerpt is unfortunately still too relevant today. The black man’s journey since slavery has been fraught with danger – with lynching - then and now." Karen L. Charles, Artistic Director

Each release will be 25 - 30 minutes in length. Once registered, you will recieve a private link and password that will allow you to view these works from April 19 - May 3, 2021. 

Don't miss out on these works that started it all - Threads Dance Project!

WARNING: Fear the Massa, Master’s Lament & Da Whippin ‘Post (2014) may not be appropriate for children due to violent and sexual content.