The Back room
And
Pathways & Architecture
The Center at West Park Presents
Back room
and
Pathways & Architecture
As a Double Feature Dance Performance
A Part of the Evolution Festival
Monday, September 29, 2025 @ 7:30PM
Location
Appropriate for 18+
The Back Room is an experimental ballet set to Arlo Guthrie’s song Alice’s Restaurant Massacree performed by Norris. The song’s melodic and monotonous composition serves as the basis for its animated characters and storytelling, which inspire movement. This draws a connection between the performance of gender and the expressiveness of folk music storytelling, parallel to the storytelling in traditional story ballets.
About the Lead Artists
Magali Johnston-Viens trained at the Kirov Academy of Washington DC and has danced with Ballet Palm Beach, Minnesota Ballet, Dances Patrelle, Greater Lansing Ballet Co, and Sekou Walton Dance. They have choreographed ballets performed professionally, starting in 2021, and were a creator at Point Park University’s Choreographic Collective in 2022. Magali choreographed and curated a mixed repertoire performance of LGBTQIA+ and Women choreographers in June 2023 and is a 2023 Arrowhead Regional Arts Council Individual Artist Project Grant Grantee. Magali’s works have been presented at Arts On Site with 7MPR’s Pride performance and at Spring for Spring, organized by Rogue Wave, Emergence Dance Festival NYC, HOT dance at Dixon Place, and in Counterpointe 12 by Norte Maar. Magali is currently working freelance based out of Brooklyn, NY
The CWP Evolution Festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
