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2019; remaster 2023 · Dance – stage work

Let Slip the Witches

Amy Foley (Bellwether Dance Project)

A near hour-long work for women that reclaims the witch archetype as a figure of feminine power, ritual and resistance, moving from a hushed invocation to driving, rhythmic, body-percussive sections. The title quotes Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar' ("let slip the dogs of war").

Premiere
2019-04-04
Venue
ODC Theater (Bellwether Dance Project inaugural home season)
Where
San Francisco, CA
Performances
Revived September 14–16, 2023 at ODC Theater on Bellwether's 2nd Home Season 'Aurora Sad Magic' (expanded to five dancers). A 6-minute excerpt video was circulated in the company's December 2019 newsletter.
Credits
Choreography: Amy Foley. Music: Ben Juodvalkis (score incorporates the dancers' voices). Visual artist/set and gobo design: Julie Chang. 2019 dancers: Kaitlyn Ebert, Elena Martins, Karla Quintero, Juliann Witt. 2023 dancers: Iva Dixson, Caitlin Hicks, Elena Martins, Olivia Caldeira Holston, Juliann Witt. Lighting (2023): Del Medoff. 2019 photos: Stephen Texeira.

Press

“Ben Juodvalkis' music was literally rumbling our chairs and bones—the driving drum beats of ancient peoples”

“Featuring an original score by Ben Juodvalkis, Foley's 'Let Slip the Witches' calls on women to take action for the betterment of the world.”

“a rhythmic world of ritual and self-resilience helped along by visual artist Julie Chang's set design and a score by composer Ben Juodvalkis”

“The performers communicate in body percussion, slapping thighs, chests, and naked arms to generate complicated rhythms and replies.”

Elsewhere

More with Bellwether Dance Project