SOLANGE is a character who falls to pieces and builds herself back up while she is being supported and supports others as well.  She is limited and limiting, moving between fantasy, nostalgia, and dealing with the here and now.

Solange is consumed with the desire to dance through her life as she had before she was forced to bow to the changes that happened to her body and life. 

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The inspiration for this piece was Dana's two grandmothers, one of whom had MS (Muscular Sclerosis) for many years. MS is an autoimmune illness that hurts the nervous system, which slowly removes muscle tone until the body becomes paralyzed. 

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Dana saw that her grandmother’s body was withering and stopped working while her mind was still clear and full of a life spirit. Her other grandmother was healthy throughout her life, but at the end she succumbed to dementia and then had a stroke. Her body and mind ceased working immediately and left her apathetic, stiff, without any ability to connect with others.

Through the creative process the physical research dealt with spastic contraction (a characteristic of the body after suffering a stroke) and muscular relaxation (a characteristic of MS). Dana ‘s choreography explores different ways to leverage these two opposing qualities of movement; different ways of supporting each other’s bodies while manipulating them. Concurrently, Dana looked for emotional and visual images that integrate the difficulties of the ill body. 

This piece is a mix of experiences, emotional ranges, intimacy, and ongoing struggle. 

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