Legendary choreographer Bill T. Jones brings his moving new work Afterwardsness to Holy Cross for a memorable and immersive artistic experience. The title, a Freudian term, comes very close to describing Jones’ state of mind when offered a commission to create a socially-distanced work at this particular collective moment. In some ways, the title parodies Jones’ (and many others’) desire to have reached an end point to our twin pandemics: COVID-19 and on-going violence against Black bodies.

Afterwardsness places the audience in an immersive space with the dancers and musicians directly on the gym floor. A poignant musical score crafted by musical director Pauline Kim Harris in collaboration with composer/vocalist/instrumentalist Holland Andrews heightens the performance. Excerpts from Olivier Messiaen’s great war-time composition Quartet for the End of Time and an original piece by Kim Harris paying homage to George Floyd set the tone for this profound experience.

Originally commissioned and produced by Park Avenue Armory, New York