Catherine Gallant/DANCE's performances of Escape from the House of Mercy were postponed from April 2020 to February 2021. Then we learned that the performances had been completely cancelled at Danspace/St. Mark's (Dance Access). In the meantime we have created video projects inspired by the work which have offered new opportunities and new directions. Check back for updates!
Catherine Gallant/Dance first presented Escape from the House of Mercy on Thursday, June 27 and Friday, June 28, 2019 in Inwood Hill Park in Upper Manhattan. The 35 minute outdoor performance featured seven dancers and a live band playing New Orleans funeral music led by Kevin Blancq. In addition, a walking tour was led by local Inwood historian, Cole Thompson. The tour focused on the history of the park as participants traveled up the path towards the original location of the House of Mercy, which was demolished in 1933. This was the first version of the work. It is now being developed by Catherine and the dancers to be performed in an hour long format to be premiered indoors in 2021 or 2022.
photo: Melanie Futorian
photo: Melanie Futorian
Escape from the House of Mercy is a work which is influenced by historical information about Inwood Hill Park where the House of Mercy, a workhouse for women and girls, once stood. This project was originally presented with support from the Partnerships for Parks (Inwood Parks Grant), made possible by Columbia University. Partnerships for Parks is a joint program of City Parks Foundation and NYC Parks. Now in 2021 we are turning our project into a short dance film of approximately 20-25 minutes. (see a few stills below)
Escape from the House of Mercy is a 21st-century women's view of our social support systems measuring both the ground gained and the distance yet to be traveled. Leading this embodiment of buried stories are the eight dancers of Catherine Gallant/DANCE. Costumes are by Ivana Drazic.
The House of Mercy was one of a number of institutions at Inwood Hill Park. These included the Magdalen Asylum for unwed mothers (part of the Magdeline Laundry system run by the Catholic Church in both Ireland and the US) and the House of Rest for tuberculosis patients. The House of Mercy was home for “abandoned and troubled women”, in fact, it was closer to a workhouse or prison to which most inhabitants were brought against their wills. Here a young woman could be locked up for years for an offense such as dancing in public or walking alone at night. Inhabitants were routinely punished with starvation diets, head shaving, and restraints. In 1895 three girls managed to escape the institution on whose walls were inscribed “I wish I was dead” and “God help me get out”. This inhumane and demoralizing treatment, in the guise of rehabilitation, was part of an era when the rights of the poor, especially women, were completely denied. Choreographer, Catherine Gallant invites the audience to wonder why this invisible place from the past is important now and how history connects us to the present discussion regarding the rights and privileges of women and disenfranchised people in the world.
Our goal is to reflect on the injustices of the past but also to focus on hopeful possibilities for community engagement and support which celebrate the drive for social freedoms and equity. Overall, we seek to ignite a curiosity which engages the public through dance experience, discussion and embodied learning, expanding the definition of dance and challenging expectations about who dances and why. Our long-term goal is to continue to bring our performance projects out of the theater and into public space, nationally and internationally. We want to develop the idea of access and equity as we continue to share the history and future of dance as human expression and connection.
Escape from the House of Mercy is a 21st-century women's view of our social support systems measuring both the ground gained and the distance yet to be traveled. Leading this embodiment of buried stories are the eight dancers of Catherine Gallant/DANCE. Costumes are by Ivana Drazic.
The House of Mercy was one of a number of institutions at Inwood Hill Park. These included the Magdalen Asylum for unwed mothers (part of the Magdeline Laundry system run by the Catholic Church in both Ireland and the US) and the House of Rest for tuberculosis patients. The House of Mercy was home for “abandoned and troubled women”, in fact, it was closer to a workhouse or prison to which most inhabitants were brought against their wills. Here a young woman could be locked up for years for an offense such as dancing in public or walking alone at night. Inhabitants were routinely punished with starvation diets, head shaving, and restraints. In 1895 three girls managed to escape the institution on whose walls were inscribed “I wish I was dead” and “God help me get out”. This inhumane and demoralizing treatment, in the guise of rehabilitation, was part of an era when the rights of the poor, especially women, were completely denied. Choreographer, Catherine Gallant invites the audience to wonder why this invisible place from the past is important now and how history connects us to the present discussion regarding the rights and privileges of women and disenfranchised people in the world.
Our goal is to reflect on the injustices of the past but also to focus on hopeful possibilities for community engagement and support which celebrate the drive for social freedoms and equity. Overall, we seek to ignite a curiosity which engages the public through dance experience, discussion and embodied learning, expanding the definition of dance and challenging expectations about who dances and why. Our long-term goal is to continue to bring our performance projects out of the theater and into public space, nationally and internationally. We want to develop the idea of access and equity as we continue to share the history and future of dance as human expression and connection.
