Jordan Giancursio (Credit: Dean M. Connor, Jr.)
Annex Dance Company announces Ripples of Change, a mixed-repertory concert exploring the intricate relationship between humanity and the environment, with a central focus on water as both a shared resource and a source of creative inspiration. This marks the company’s first concert organized around a single theme. Performances will take place April 25 at 7:00 PM and April 26 at 3:00 PM at the Emmett Robinson Theatre (54 St. Philip Street).
Led by artistic directors and choreographers Kristin Alexander and Julie Clark, Ripples of Change emerges from close interdisciplinary collaboration with composers Edward Hart and Z. Brewer, costume designers Janine McCabe and Brandon Alston, and marine ecologist Dr. Clare Fieseler to explore our relationship to the natural world. “I wanted to create a concert that explores our relationship with the environment at a moment when these issues feel urgent,” says Alexander. “Collaborating with these artists brings together expertise in music, dance, design, and environmental science to create an immersive and meaningful performance.”
The program includes Salt in the Soil, a signature company work for both stage and film addressing the impact of sea level rise and saltwater intrusion on coastal forests. The title refers to the increasing salinity that transforms coastal landscapes into “ghost forests,” a reality visible along the Lowcountry coastline. In this work, costuming and lighting play a central role in tracing the quiet transformation that unfolds. At its core, the choreography reflects the breakdown of communication among once interdependent, responsive trees. Like the ghost forests themselves, the work holds space for a stark, unexpected beauty, inviting audiences to witness both loss and the delicate complexity of a changing ecosystem.
Three new works will premiere as part of the evening. When the Air Stays Still explores environmental grief, embodying a world holding its breath under the weight of climate urgency. Through suspended partnering, breath-driven phrasing, and moments of collective stillness, the work asks what it means to live inside uncertainty. Rather than offering easy resolution, the piece lingers in the tension between fragility and resilience, inviting audiences to consider how we carry the Earth in our bodies and in our choices. An excerpt of When the Air Stays Still was presented at The Hope Summit 2025 in September as part of Annex Dance Company’s community workshop, Ecomotion, where the company, environmental advocates, and community members of all ages moved side by side, exploring how physical expression can deepen civic engagement and shared purpose. “Sharing the space with the participants of Ecomotion was energizing and grounding,” says Clark. “It reminded us that movement can open up conversation in a different way and that small, shared experiences can spark meaningful connection.”
Depths of the Deep, informed by Fieseler’s ocean-focused journalism, immerses audiences in the mysterious life of the ocean’s abyss. Performed in front of video footage courtesy of Schmidt Ocean Institute and accompanied by an original score from New York composer Z. Brewer, Alexander’s choreography evokes the otherworldly life of the deep sea, highlighting its beauty and fragility and inviting reflection on our connection to the ocean. Fieseler shares, "America is now on the precipice of being the first country to permit the commercial mining of the deep ocean’s seabed. My reporting has covered the deep sea's rich deposits of valuable magnesium, cobalt, and nickel, but I've also revealed the deep's vast undersea kingdoms teeming with strange and wonderful life. The deep sea is a world so unlike our own and still very much unknown. This performance, like my reporting, seeks to convey the mystery of the deep and the urgency of this moment."
The final work premiering in the concert is set to Edward Hart’s orchestral composition Under an Indigo Sky, marking the first time Alexander and Clark have choreographed to a large-scale orchestral score. Written for violin and orchestra, Hart’s score is a musical love letter to his South Carolina home. “I am continually amazed and thankful for the natural and cultural diversity of this relatively small place. I have attempted to musically capture three distinct yet related regions of our state with an eye not only to the landscapes, but the feel and ‘soul’ of the places, “ says Hart. “Fast Flowing Rivers captures the rapid moving waterways converging in our capital, while Warm Salt Air reveals a soft coastal sunset. Finally, Misty Blue Horizon conveys the majesty of the Blue Ridge Mountains.”
This geographic structure provides a strong framework for the choreography, with Alexander and Clark shaping movement in response to the environmental character of each region. Rather than placing movement on top of the music, they are building the work from within the score, considering its pacing, tonal shifts, and emotional arc, as well as how place and environment influence both sound and physical expression. “The dancers move between moments of momentum and stillness, embodying what it feels like to be in each region and present within its natural rhythms,” says Clark.
“Edward and I talked about a collaboration for several years. When he suggested creating a dance work to Under an Indigo Sky, I immediately recognized the potential,” shares Alexander. “It’s a remarkable artistic opportunity, not only for Julie and me, but for College of Charleston School of the Arts students and the wider Charleston arts community to experience our art forms coming together on stage.”
Under an Indigo Sky also serves as the culmination of Annex Dance Company’s semester-long residency for the College of Charleston Department of Theatre and Dance. The department’s commitment to hosting the company annually has allowed for sustained artistic development, student engagement, and interdisciplinary exchange. The collaboration is further strengthened by the involvement of School of the Arts faculty members Hart, Alexander, and costume designer Janine McCabe, whose combined expertise in music, dance, and design anchors the project within the college’s creative community.
Ripples of Change promises a visually striking performance that offers a timely reflection on our fragile planet. Through this concert, Annex Dance Company invites audiences to consider environmental challenges and explore the ways we interact with the natural world. The company hopes to spark conversation and reflection of the issues facing our environment today.
Tickets are available through the George Street Box Office: $40 (general admission) and $25 (students and seniors).
Ripples of Change
- April 25, 2025 | 7:00 PM & April 26, 2025 | 3:00 PM
- Emmett Robinson Theatre (54 St. Philip Street)
- $40 general admission, $25 students/seniors
- cofc.evenue.net/events/ADC
About Annex Dance Company: Annex Dance Company premiered in November 2007 in Bethlehem, PA, and in 2010 made Charleston, SC its new home, quickly joining the city’s thriving arts community. The company is committed to providing accessibility to professional modern dance in Charleston, SC. Rooted in modern dance tradition while pushing the boundaries of movement invention through relationships and intention, Annex has performed throughout the East Coast, including Philly Fringe Festival (PA), District Dance Share (DC), STEPS Performance Series (NY), Annual Richmond Choreographers Showcase (VA), Greenville Dance Festival (SC), Charleston Dance Festival (SC), and Piccolo Spoleto Festival (SC). As artists and educators, Annex Dance Company reaches hundreds of students each year through partnerships with Engaging Creative Minds and the Charleston Gaillard Center, workshops at festivals, and an annual collaborative performance residency at the College of Charleston. Performance, collaboration, and education remain at the forefront of every season. Committed to arts advocacy, the company creates opportunities for dancers at every level and supports the arts through collaborative projects with artists from diverse disciplines.