Here Lies the Truth premiered at the Overture Center for the Arts is Madison, WI in March 2022. The hour-long multidisciplinary dance theater work is a collaboration between visual artist Douglas Rosenberg, sound designer/composer Tim Russell, dramaturg Cláudia Tatinge Nascimento and choreographer Li Chiao-Ping. Here Lies the Truth has been presented in Wisconsin, Haiwai, California, and now Minneapolis. With a diverse cast of 11 dancers, live music, spoken text, and projections to augment a full experience, the collaborators investigate “truth” as it relates to race, positionality, power, access and equity. Employing hyperbole, absurdity and raw dance/physical theater, Here Lies the Truth brought together a cast of powerful dancers from the Bay Area,  Seattle, Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Madison to perform their truths, share their stories and be seen in their identities in radical acts on stage. 

In addition to the esteemed collaborators, Here Lies the Truth features guest dance artists including JP Alejandro, Kimi Evelyn, Elisabeth Roskopf, and Cuauhtli Ramirez Castro alongside LCPD’s talented company dancers. The investigation begins as an integrated cast of White, Black, Asian, and Latin dancers take the stage. The opening sections of the work displays white dancers in union against stark moments of the principal dancers of color taking up space as individuals, each having a moment to radiate their essence. The chapters unfold, seamlessly weaving verbatim theater and textured audio design with LCPD’s trademark physicality, intricate partner work, and subtle gesture phrase material. The moment swells around the dancer’s intensifying, almost frantic movements until they all come to a seizing halt. Suddenly, the white dancers step into the shadows and the dancers of color are left in the spotlight.   

The second half of the performance highlights the stories and performance prowess of the principal dancers of color. Initially, they view each other as competitors and the hyperbolic stakes are sky-high. Dressed to kill in corporate attire, they dodge, push, clash, and claw for a seat (at the table) to eerie melodies of Ring Around the Rosey. The dancers address the audience directly - uttering disturbing sentiments that have been directed at them and their communities. One by one, the dancers exit until our soloist is left alone. The ugliness of this moment dissipates as she removes her suit jacket and steps delicately upon a thin sheet of plastic that has been meticulously laid out. Seemingly effortlessly, she graces the plastic with fantastic feats of athleticism while maintaining the lightest of touch on the plastic. Slowly, she is rejoined by the principal cast as they flow with and support one another through heartfelt and emotional choreography accompanied by documentary film like footage of social movements and protests. This energy is carried through the remaining sections of the work. Each has a moment to be seen (by the other dancers and the audience) as an individual – authentic and in their wholeness. Through their individual embodiment, the principal dancers find strength in vulnerability and community. At the end, they stand together and united – no music, no media, no text, no sound. Simply unity.   

The essence of this work is grounded in the truths we hold in our bodies: a deep knowing that is felt and sensed. Born from a commitment to telling personal truths, the collaboration has led to the re-examining of narratives put forth by those in power and those put forth by our own biases. We continue to investigate how to cope with such dissonance. With so much laid bare and little sense of justice, as a community of movers we sort through these murky layers of truths, half-truths, and untruths.

Original cast: JP Alehandro, Alfonso Cervera, Kimi Evelyn, Elisabeth Roskopf, and Abbi Stickels