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.

Pathways and Architecture is a multimedia dance performance that explores a dichotomy in our identity: our bodies' asymmetrical design coexists with our human desire to develop symmetrical realities.

This 35-minute group piece for four dancers, featuring video projections, original set design, and audience participation, navigates a series of short movement vignettes that reflect the dancers' relationships to one another and the contrasting reality of “pathways and architecture.” I define 'Pathways' as the trajectory of energy traveling through the body during movement, emphasizing effort and dynamics. 'Architecture' speaks of the formal designs that the body creates, combining a continuous flow of frames that delineate a movement phrase.

Humans and all things in nature are designed through curves. Our bodies’ architectural design is unique and full of asymmetries, but we build machines, computers, and systems to create a symmetrical world. While these structures should serve our human needs and improve our lives, it often feels like we are trying to accommodate who we are to fit in these spaces. What is our relationship with Technology, AI, and social media? Are they still working at our service, or are we surrendering our curves to fit into a square world? I aim to discover a possible balance between our natural selves and constructed reality, and find an answer to the everlasting question: how do we fit a square peg into a round hole?

Choreographer & Artistic Director: Carmen Caceres (In collaboration with the dancers)
Performers: Sofia Ameglio, Shizu Higa, Emilio Teubal, & Horacio Martinez
Music: Emilio Teubal & Horacio Martinez
Costumes: Carmen Caceres (In collaboration with the dancers)
Video: Carmen Caceres

About the Lead Artist

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

About the Lead Artist

Carmen Caceres is a dance artist originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina. With DanceAction, a fiscally sponsored dance company based in NY, she has presented dance works in several renowned venues, including The Mark Morris Dance Center, The Center at West Park, and the Center for Performance Research. As a performer, she collaborated with artists such as Lisa Parra, Sarah Berges, and Elia Mrak. Carmen is pursuing an MA in Dance Education at Hunter College and has deepened her studies in dance at the former Merce Cunningham Studio. Carmen also works as a dance educator and consultant in different NYC organizations.