2025 Festival Schedule & TICKETS
WILBURY THEATRE GROUP
475 Valley Street, Providence, RI
Stay for nightly post-show talks & gatherings!
SCHEDULE SUMMARY:
Wednesday, February 26, 7:30pm: Playing Favorites—Silver screen standouts from ScreenDance RoadShow’s first six seasons of dance films.
Thursday, February 27, 7:30pm: Small Moves, Big Picture—Live Performances & Dance Films & Opening Night Party.
Friday, February 28, 7:30pm: Double Bill—Lacina Coulibaly’s Until the Lion Tells the Story… and Kathy Westwater & Lance Gries’ Revolver.
Saturday, March 1, 7:30pm: Molly Lieber & Eleanor Smith’s Body Comes Apart.
Plus: Saturday & Sunday, March 1 & 2: Classes!
SCHEDULE DETAILS:
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 7:30pm
PLAYING FAVORITES
Favorite dance films from the first six seasons of ScreenDance RoadShow, our traveling dance film series that tours throughout New England.
Films to be announced soon!
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 7:30pm
SMALL MOVES, BIG PICTURE
A spunky mix of live dance performances on a small stage juxtaposed with dance films on a big screen.
Performances by Anya Cloud & Makisig Akin (CO) . Alexander Davis (MA) . Barbie Diewald & Meredith Bove (MA) . Daniel McCusker (MA) . Jessica T. Pearson & April Brown (RI) . NANO (RI)
Films to be announced soon!
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 7:30PM
LIVE PERFORMANCES
Until the Lion Tells the Story...
Choreographed & Performed by Lacina Coulibaly
A heartfelt tribute to the remarkable African scholars who have ignited a fire in Coulibaly. It is an attempt and desire of the Burkina Faso artist to envision an African Renaissance, a different Africa that is rooted in its own indigenous knowledge, drawing inspiration from its cultural diversity, from ancient Egypt to the Mali Empire. Until The Lion Tells the Story… is an invitation to embrace the wisdom and knowledge of Africa as an essential part of being in the world, and a reminder that the journey towards renaissance and transformation begins with building one’s inner pyramid.
"A riveting presence in quiet command of the space." —The New York Times
A solo work of astonishingly articulate abstraction." —The Dance Enthusiast
Revolver
Choreographed & Performed by Kathy Westwater with Lance Gries
Revolver speaks to existential threat from super-catastrophes, bound by the subtext that dance itself causes pain.
“Revelatory.” —The New York Times
SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 7:30PM
LIVE PERFORMANCE
Body Comes Apart
Choreographed & Performed by Molly Lieber & Eleanor Smith
Memories take on a mythology and fantasy of their own, making shared experiences of sexual trauma alive in the moment and fodder for manipulation. Body Comes Apart is a collage of dance, monologue, of teaching fake workout classes, telling real and fake stories of our pasts, speaking to ourselves as children. There is shedding and trying on; clothes become analogous to history. Language becomes a vehicle for representation and a gateway to performing enlivened imagination. As we implicate ourselves and the audience with mirrors, we implicate fantasies forced upon us and derived from us with the text.
“As fluent as their bodies are, though, the heartbeat of their work has always been more about excavating an inner landscape, one that considers the objectification of women." —Gia Kourlas, The New York Times
Note: This performance contains nudity.
SATURDAY & SUNDAY, MARCH 1 & 2
COMMUNITY CLASSES
Location: Metamorphosis, 249 Roosevelt Ave (back of building), Pawtucket
Open to all levels. Class size limited; register to reserve your spot.
$20/class; $5 off 2+ classes
SATURDAY 10–11:30am: KATHY WESTWATER & LANCE GRIES—SHAKEWALK
Taking two everyday forms of movement, we will allow these forms to disorganize within, and to be disorganizing of, our bodies. This process will lead us into understandings of function and form, and into expressive potentials that arise within experiential states of disorder. As we explore in solo, duet, and ensemble improvisations, moving periodically with eyes closed, the lines between states of order and disorder will be at times stark and at others blurred. The sensations that arise within this unstable and unbound matrix range from relaxing to energizing, and from disorienting to freeing. All movement backgrounds welcome.
SATURDAY 12–1:30pm: LACINA COULIBALY—EMBODIED RHYTHM: DANCE AS DISCOVERY, UNVEILING THE ESSENCE OF DANCE
An introduction to the core principles of West African Dance, with an emphasis on the intricate relationship between movement and music. We will explore how rhythmic patterns in the music translate into physical movements, illustrating the harmonious connection between rhythm and dance. A unique characteristic of dance in sub-Saharan Africa is its role as a vehicle for self-exploration and discovery through movement, achieved by experiencing and reinterpreting rhythmic cycles. This process encourages participants to immerse themselves in movement, focusing on the essence of each motion. Perfection is not the ultimate aim; rather, it is the authentic expression of each movement that defines the true nature of dance. We will engage with the rich cultural heritage of West African Dance and examine its principles, philosophy, and the transformative power it embodies. By exploring and internalizing these principles, you will gain the ability to create your own unique dance movements.
SUNDAY 10–11:45am: MAKISIG AKIN & ANYA CLOUD—BREAK EVERY RULE
What if failure sparks new potential? Grounded in queer love-centered survival skills, this class explores the connection between breaking rules, failure, and possibility. Through improvisation, contact improvisation, and martial arts practices, we will disrupt norms, embrace complexity, and practice skills like re-training reflexes, collaboration vs. competition, touch, and relational impact. Together, we’ll break explicit and unspoken rules, freeing how we live, dance, and connect. This will be a queer, trans, and BIPoC centered space. We will practice taking care as we traverse the complex and high-risk realities of being racialized and gendered bodies in relationship with one another.
SUNDAY 12–1:30pm: MOLLY LIEBER & ELEANOR SMITH—COLLABORATIVE FEMINIST STRATEGIES FOR DANCE
Class begins with an easeful warmup focused on tapping in to our bodies. Drawing on feminist collaborative strategies we spend time improvising in groups, practicing reciprocal recognition and resourcing what we already have. We will offer phrase material from our current work, Prairie Dawn (2024), and culminate with watching and supporting. We look forward to dancing with you in RI!