que vas-tu faire?

“A ballet-opera fixed on Afro-Français composer, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier Saint George’s first operatic composition of Ernestine (premiered at the Comédie-Italienne in 1777) and writer and actress Marie Jeanne Riccoboni’s, novel Histoire d’Ernestine, from which Bologne’s opera was adapted. Scena from Ernestine is the only score of Ernestine that is preserved; the rest of the libretto has been lost. To mirror the emotional richness of Riccoboni’s literature and Bologne’s remaining opera, we used a series of literary and theatrical prompts to stimulate the choreography. I used prompts to unearth the essence of who the dancers are outside of the studio. The day before the performance, I selected a scene from the novel and wrote a short libretto that reflected the essence of each dancer and captured the power and fragility of familiarity, féminité, innocence, and pleasure. It was an unforgettable honor to share space and time with Melissa, Natalie, and Grace. And I have endless gratitude to Roxanne Gray and her unequivocal passion for spotlighting and funding independent artists in Salt Lake City, Utah; her efforts are unmatched.” -Rebekah Guerra