with your sweet fragrance
A new dance theater work by Choreographer Katherine Maxwell that examines the forces of climate inequity: deforestation, habitat destruction, and rising sea levels.
HOW DO WE BECOME TENDER WITH THE EARTH?
with your sweet fragrance aims to underscore how human relationships reflect human treatment of the planet and its resources, by integrating a multi-species and multidisciplinary perspective.
The work will utilize elements of dance, photography, film projection, set design, and sound design to create a full-length dance theater narrative in collaboration with local community gardens and environmental activist groups. The goal of with your sweet fragrance is to facilitate a visceral and tender experience that leads to a deeper awareness of humanity’s role within the climate crisis, and generate activation towards both individual and collective climate reparations.
TEAM
Artistic Director & Choreographer* - Katherine Maxwell
Dancers - Robyn Ayers • Felix Bryan • Sean Rosado • Ragin Smith • Madison Wada • Liana Zhen-ai Kleinman
Dramaturg - Sam Morreale
Costume Design - Caitlin Taylor
Produced by - Ann Kreitman and Robyn Ayers
*made in collaboration with the dancers
PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
2024
Open Studio Visit
Katherine and the Hivewild team opened the studio doors for an intimate look into the latest artistic developments of with your sweet fragrance.
CLIMATE WEEK, WE ARE NATURE: Echoes at Sundown
Excerpts of with your sweet fragrance were presented during NYC Climate Week at the Kingsland Wildflowers Green Roof & Community Engagement Center in collaboration with NOoSPHERE Arts
WE ARE NATURE: A Vibrant Tapestry
Excerpts of the work were shown at the 8th Annual Kingsland Wildflowers Festival in July 2024. The cast of six traversed the lush green spaces and rooftops of the Kingsland Wildflowers Green Roof & Community Engagement Center in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
with your sweet fragrance: questions
In June, Maxwell and the team spent two weeks as Artists-in-Residence in the Irish Midlands at Shawbrook Creative Space developing the work. During this residency, choreographic sequences were created and captured on film amongst 85 acres of new-growth forest.
Carroll Hall Artist-in-Residence
In February, Hivewild completed a month-long residency at Carroll Hall in Brooklyn, dedicated to expanding the movement vocabulary and developing character narratives with dramaturg Samuel Morreale. At the residency’s conclusion, Hivewild presented a work-in-progress showing of the first 30-minute section.
2023
with your sweet fragrance: the daydream
A film study on early concepts for with your sweet fragrance. Surrounded by the woods near Shawbrook Creative Space (Ireland), one dancer explores what it means to interact with the natural world with tenderness and reverence.
