Upcoming Performance

Escape from the House of Mercy
Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22 at 8pm
University Settlement, 184 Eldridge St. NYC
Escape from the House of Mercy is an abstract choreographic rendering of sensations and images evoking the spirits of women whose lives were forever changed by the workhouses and laundries in the US and Ireland. Flesh and tears haunt the dreams and shattered hopes of escape. The ghost-filled air surrounds the dancers as they wrap themselves in transparent net fabric, both isolating and protective, from the forces at work against them. We now invite audiences to wonder and reflect upon why these places from the past are important now and how history connects us to the present condition of women’s rights around the globe.

Choreography: Catherine Gallant in collaboration with dancers-
Anne Parichon-Buoncore, Erica Lessner, Charlotte Hendrickson, Cecly Placenti,
Kelli Chapman, Megan Minturn, Halley Gerstel, Jessie King, and Jasmine Oton
Costumes: Ivana Drazic, Video Design: Erica Lessner
Includes music by Dana Lyn and Kyle Sanna, Alina Jacobs, Rolf Wagels

In our research we read the chilling interviews collected by the Justice for the Magdalenes organization and went on to study the Irish Workhouse system through a residency at Portumna's Irish Workhouse Centre. Our project began in NYC with The House of Mercy, one of a number of institutions at Inwood Hill Park. It was a home for "abandoned and troubled women'', in fact, most inhabitants were brought there against their wills. A young woman could be locked up for years for an offense such as dancing in public or walking alone at night. Inhumane and demoralizing treatment were disguised as rehabilitation as the rights of the poor, especially women, were completely denied. Our work shines a thought provoking light onto these stories.

Canceled in COVID, washed out in Omicron, we're finally back for a full performance of Escape from the House of Mercy
during Women's History Month. Please join us!

If you can’t attend our performances please consider a tax-deductible donation to help support this and future projects. Thank you!

questions? [email protected]

Catherine Gallant/DANCE
Catherine Gallant/DANCE was formed in 1999 after Ms. Gallant began working with her present group of dancers, creating works ranging from solos to large group dances. Ms. Gallant’s work often explores themes of chance, doubt and the body as a source of comfort and torment. In addition to traditional theatrical settings, Ms. Gallant has created works to be performed in train stations, abandoned piers, rose bushes, church balconies, in the middle of streets, in cemeteries, at the beach, in soccer fields and on rooftops. Catherine Gallant/DANCE has been seen at Danspace St. Mark's Dance Access, The Figment Festival, Chashama, GreenSpace, American Dance Guild and at the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center. Since 2007 Catherine Gallant/DANCE has focused on non-traditional sites for its work. The company's goals include cultivating new audiences for dance and building an awareness of dance in the fabric of everyday life in both urban and natural environments. Currently the focus on dance video as a mode of sharing has increased our audience base and offered new and welcome challenges for our creative process.

Escape from the House of Mercy was scheduled to be performed in April 2020. In the summer of 2020 we created a short video designed and edited by company member, Erica Lessner. Inspired by our hour length choreography dancers created their own video footage at various location across the country. Erica then combined existing video that was to be projected in our performance with these dancer generated clips.

view here