WATER.BODIES.LAND

Water.Bodies.Land is an ecofeminist art song cycle for vocalist, string trio, and dancers. The performance weaves the previously-published poetry of black women writers with music and movement to honor the fragility, beauty, and resilience of both the black female body and our natural world. The work celebrates our shared and divergent histories and seeks to inspire a re-enchantment with the earth.

Art Song: a musical setting of an independent poem or text, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment.

Song Cycle: a series of individually complete songs designed to be performed in sequence, as a unit, and often unified by the song’s text.

Ecofeminism: a branch of feminism, named by French feminist Françoise d'Eaubonne in 1974, that examines the connections between women and nature.

With the support of the Kenneth Rainin Foundation & the National Endowment for the Arts, an early presentation of Water.Bodies.Land was presented at San Francisco's SOMArts Cultural Center in July, 2023.

Created & Produced by Amie Cota*
Co-Directed by Amie Cota* & Sarah Crowell
Music composed by Amie Cota*
Choreography created in collaboration by Sarah Crowell, Clarissa Dyas*, Nicole Klaymoon, Ny'Aja Roberson* & Makhissa Sano*
Video & Sound design by Amie Cota* & Sarah Crowell
Lighting by Sarah Crowell
Costumes by Angie Wilson
Stage Management c/o Chijundu Okonmah

*performer

"Clitorhetoric" from left to right: Tia Allen, viola; Titilayo Ayangade, cello; Alexandria Hill, violin

All music was recorded at Strange Weather Studios, Brooklyn, NY.
Instrumentals mixed in Oakland, CA by Jacob Winik.

Alexandria Hill, violin
Tia Allen, viola
Titilayo Ayangade, cello