This special performance, commissioned in honor of Dance Place’s 45th anniversary season, brings together three choreographers (Ama Law, Dr. Ronya-Lee Anderson, and Sarah Beth Oppenheim) to honor four of our DMV dance matriarchs: Carla Perlo, Deborah Riley, Mama Sylvia Soumah, and Carol Foster. Our shared evening is a tribute to the matriarchs’ fundamental contributions to the DMV dance scene and invites you to celebrate our shared dance family tree.

HSB was paired with Carla and Deborah, and Sarah had the distinct pleasure of spending time with them in class and interviews, as well as studying their repertoire and archival materials. Brick Mortar Steel Heart is homage, recreation, and inspiration – essencing their choreographic and class aesthetics, their leadership of Dance Place, and their formidable qualities of action, community-building, and deepest love. 

The Sunday matinee features a story circle with the matriarchs, as well as a reception following the performance.