This piece was developed with a group of interdisciplinary artists and non-professional performers over the course of a weekend retreat. I have been researching the mythical figure of Judith, a heroine who vanquishes an imperialist army by seducing a murdering the head of its army. During this weekend, I facilitated an R&D process that investigated the role of faith and prayer in summoning the power to commit a righteous act of violence, in pursuit of liberation and justice. Judith is a devout widow turned warrior, and I wanted to embody the moment when she asks God to imbue her with the rage of her foremothers who were raped and ravaged by oppressors, in order to commit the violent transgression of beheading her enemy.

ABout Judith

This short dance film was developed with a group of interdisciplinary artists and novice performers over the course of a weekend-long performance workshop at Arts on Site, November 2019. The workshop centered the mythological Jewish heroine, Judith, who seduces and beheads her enemy to save her people from annihilation. Nessa Norich (Theatre Director) led a research & development process to investigate the moments that could have led a widow to commit this liberatory act of violence. As a collective, we imagined and embodied the resources that would have empowered us to act as Judith did in order to finally put an end to oppression: Rage, Seduction, Faith, Prayer and Ritual. We conceived this choreography as an invocation composed of the rage, seduction, prayer, and ancestral trauma excavated in this research. In this ensemble of female-identifying and non-binary warriors we see a prismatic portrait of a woman warrior encompassing the voice-less rage of her matrilineal ancestors. Judith shows how pain can be transmuted into collective action in the name of radical change.

Contributors

Directed

by Nessa Norich

Sound Design

by Being ((:)) Sound

Cinematography

by Hannah Roodman

Choreographed by

Nessa Norich, Rad Pereira, Vanessa Soudan

Art Direction and Weavings

by Meirav Ong

Performers:

Rad Pereira, Vanessa Soudan, Laura Escalante, Elana Brody, Emily Sause, Meirav Ong, Elah Seidel, and Annie Levin

Shot at Arts on Site, Kerhonkson, NY, November 2019 thanks to generous support from Moishe House.