Event

CLD APAP Performance 2020

Cherylyn Lavagninos most recent work, Monsters of Grace, questions how strength, grace, and femininity can co-exist in a single body using the percussive and ethereal qualities of the pointe shoe. Through a non-traditional application of pointe work, this piece celebrates the strength and ability of the women on stage without losing touch with their intrinsic femininity. We see a band of women reminiscent of Amazonian Warriors who are self-sufficient in and of themselves. They prepare for combat, honing attentive stillness, tension, and calculated release through archery, thrusting themselves into the air with a quiet, earthbound power. Monsters of Grace puts forward a vision of full-bodied, qualified women whose varied inner lives and ways of occupying space lend strength and poignancy to their performance, defying stereotypes around what bodies are suited to ballet.