Laughing doesn’t need your help: An ensemble performance in the bosque

Staged in and around the Rio Grande River, “Laughing doesn’t need your help” a new ensemble performance manifesting our inevitable movement toward each other, tenderness, and meaning. Amid the present moment of climate catastrophe, rapidly escalating administrative violence, and widespread anxiety, a cast of performers are born from a murky collective unconscious into their own looping, improvised movement cycles that lead, perhaps inexplicably, back into joyful, muddy communion.

Inspired by literary references including Kaveh Akbar’s acclaimed Martyr! and Toni Morrison’s canonical Beloved一as well as ongoing conversations with local queer, melanated, and allied creatives一this contemporary dance project envisions a cosmic pull toward connection, even when relief from everyday struggle feels inconceivable.