This summer, Loom Ensemble brought together a racially diverse team of professional dancers, musicians and theatermakers, to invite you into an outdoors experience of Dance Theater for Collective Liberation. Loom’s newest piece “Tell Me How You Breathe,” brings us to a world where climate crisis has progressed slightly more than our present day, to play out the interrelationship of institutional power structures and ancestral healing practices. Playful humor, live music, and beautiful storytelling help us lean in to meet these pressing issues.
The story centers on the lungs, as the site of interconnectedness and the organ of grief. “Who gets to breathe freely, fully, with ease,” is a necessary question for our time, right at the intersection of eco-activism, social justice, and public health. With the nourishment of participatory ceremony and song, Loom grounds this political conversation in the physical body, to incite the radical act of collectively imagining a more just and beautiful world.
The show traveled to a dozen cities this July and August, across VT, MA and NY.
All performances in Public Parks or Outdoors Venues.
Accessibility info is listed for each event, please contact us directly with accessibility questions.
BYO Picnic blanket or lawnchairs. Folding chairs available for those with access needs.
This project is funded in part by New England States Touring (NEST) and New Work New England of the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA). NEST is made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies. New Work New England is made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Seedlings Foundation, the Fund for the Arts at NEFA, the American Rescue Plan, Anonymous Foundation, and from individual donors.
Director / Artistic Director of Loom Ensemble
Raphael (they/them) is a singer, dancer and theatermaker, born and raised in NYC
Co-Director of Loom Ensemble since 2010, Co-Founder of WildHeart Center for Performance and Embodiment. Internationally, they’ve performed with the English National Opera in London; Loom Ensemble’s annual performance season in Dubai, three summers with Theater Slava in Stockholm, and with the Art Monastery Project at dozens of venues in Italy, Belgium, Sweden and Berlin. NYC highlights include Lincoln Center, BAM, and La MaMa. Since childhood, Raffles has followed a clear calling to play in the dirt, conjure fantastical worlds, and bend default culture
Writer / Assistant Director
Rosie McInnes is a Massachusetts-based theater maker, playwright, poet and climate activist. She has worked with Loom Ensemble for several years, most recently on their show 2020/2021, and is delighted to be back with Tell Me How You Breathe. Rosie has made devised work in collaboration with The Open Theater Project, Off the Grid Theater Co, Liars and Believers and Central Square Theater in Boston. Her play Snowgirl was the recipient of a Massachusetts Cultural Council grant in 2019 and part of the “That’s What She Said” Festival at Central Square Theater where it was produced in 2021. Rosie also works for The Sunrise Movement, a youth-lead climate movement building across race and class to stop the climate crisis and win a Green New Deal.
Sasha Bogdanowitsch is a composer, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and
educator, whose work includes music for theater, dance and film, interdisciplinary performance, concert music and original songs. He is co-founder of the World In One arts organization, Vital Vox Vocal Festival and Loom Ensemble. Sasha has performed worldwide and throughout the New York area in venues such as: Carnegie Hall, Whitney Museum, Symphony Space, BAM and Roulette. “…winning authenticity.” -NY Times. www.timbretree.com
Pascal Buyse is a Belgian playwright and performer associated with the National Youth Theatre of Brussels. With a diverse background in European contemporary theater and dance companies, he has showcased his talents as a playwright and actor. Buyse’s work reflects his artistic vision and creativity, bringing unique and engaging stories to the stage. Website: www.pascalbuyse.com
Hanna Satterlee creates performance experiences and conceptual artworks for stage, site and film. Hanna holds degrees and certifications in dance therapy, psychology, performance, choreography, vinyassa/yin/restorative yoga, non-profit management and arts integration. Hanna shares these passions as an intergenerational educator, interdisciplinary performer + collaborator, experimental curator and event producer. In May ’17 Hanna founded the Vermont Dance Alliance, and served as the Executive Director through June 2021. Hanna just launched ANIMAL Dance, a performance and production company based in Burlington Vermont.
Performers:
Melissa Manrique is a recent graduate of the University of Central Florida with a BFA in Acting. Some acting credits include: The Grumpiest Boy in the World, Much Ado About Nothing, and Abundancia. Melissa is also a director, having recently been a SDC Fellow with the Kennedy Center through KCACTF. Melissa is excited to collaborate with Loom Ensemble and hopes that everyone leaves the show inspired. She dedicates this to her father, Luis Fernando.
Co-Producer and Contributing Artist:
Jenny Wonderling brings her deep love of the planet and respect for ancestral wisdom to her writing, event production, Breathwork classes, and community offerings. She strongly believes in the transformational power of interactive theater and last year co-wrote, co-directed and co-produced BLOOM and LUMINOUS. She has been proud to help plant creative seeds in the garden of this production and to witness the nourishment and healing it offers–to both witnesses and players alike.