she who lives on the road to war
she who lives on the road to war is an immersive installation and dance performance created by Rosy Simas in response to global loss and the collective need to come together in peace and reconciliation.
she who lives on the road to war takes its title from one of the names of Haudenosaunee historical figure Jigonhsasee, whose wisdom and vision helped Hiawatha and the Peacemaker bring the Nations together as the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
she who lives on the road to war is a place for visitors to rest, grieve, condole and meditate.
The project will had a dual premiere in 2022 in Minneapolis in the heart of the Native community at All My Relations Arts and the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis.
she who lives on the road to war toured to the Oneida Arts Program in July 2023 and can next be seen at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center March 21, 2024.
she who lives on the roar to war at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center
March 21, 2024, 7PM, Kahului, Maui, Hawaii
In 2019, Rosy Simas Danse performed Weave at MACC. On this return engagement to Maui, the company will perform she who lives on the road to war, an evening length dance performance created by choreographer Rosy Simas with her longtime collaborator, composer François Richomme, in response to global loss and the collective need to come together in peace and reconciliation.
she who lives on the road to war performances at MACC will include local dancers from Maui.
“Amidst the fire’s illumination, dancers act as vessels for their internal sensations, mapping ancestral experiences and cultural practices in the body. Jigonhsasee’s journey toward peace lives on in the blood cells of her descendants — represented by the dancers, both Native and non-Native, who move with synaptic specificity — blood coursing, and neurons moving through the cells as imagery and metaphor translated in the body. They shake in a frenzied sadness, and find solace and rest through meditative movement.”
– Sheila Regan, Hyperallergic, November 15, 2022
she who lives on the roar to war
September 10, 2022 - February 5, 2023 - Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis
October 6th - December 17, 2022 - All My Relation Arts, Minneapolis
Performances: Wednesday, Sept 21, 2023 - Sunday, February 5th, 2023
Composer: François Richomme
Performers: Jessika Akpaka, Lelis Brito, Erin Drummond, Sam Johnson, Sam Mitchell, Valerie Oliveiro, Pedra Pepa, Sharon Picasso, Lela Pierce, Judy Shuǐ Xiān, Jeffrey Wells, and Taja Will.
Lighting Design: Heidi Eckwall
Production Management/Community Engagement: Sequoia Hauck
Production/Studio Assistant: Atim Opoka
she who lives on the road to war is being developed in and will premiere on the unceded territory of the Dakota in Mni Sota Makoce. This work is also being developed in relationship to Onöndowa’ga (Seneca) lands, other Haudenosaunee territories, and unceded Haudenosaunee lands in what is now called New York and Ontario.
above images by Valerie Oliveiro and Rosy Simas
Initial research for she who lives on the road to war was supported by the Weisman Art Museum Target Studio for Creative Collaboration program and the Pamela Beatty Mitchell Residency in Contemporary Dance at Colorado College Department of Theater and Dance.
The creation of she who lives on the road to war is made possible by a Native Arts and Cultures Foundation SHIFT award, The MAP Fund, and the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Mellon Foundation.
Projects of Rosy Simas Danse are supported by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund, and the McKnight Foundation.
Rosy Simas is a 2023 Doris Duke Artist, 2022 Doris Duke USA Fellow, and a 2022 McKnight Choreographer fellow.
