FRANCESCA
HARPER
DANCE CHOREOGRAPHY
The Reckoning
While sleeping on her grandmother’s couch one night in 2010, seven-year-old Aiyana Mo’Nay Stanley-Jones was killed by Detroit Swat as they taped a segment for a reality television show. How does this happen? That question catapults the viewer into dance choreography conjured by Francesca Harper with imagery referencing the work of Carrie Mae Weems as a doorway for inspiration. This is a moment of reckoning where Jones’ future self confronts Officer Joseph Weekley for shooting the bullet that ended her young life. Francesca’s examination of this incident through kinetic energy and multiple character perspectives reflects on the media’s frenetic role in the documentation of marginalized bodies being violated for entertainment. Set to a sonic tapestry created by rock star Nona Hendryx, the expressive movement by Francesca, in collaboration with six dancers, explores what society chooses to amplify and what is made invisible.
Case Overview
There were toys on the lawn at the home. One child inside the apartment complex lay asleep on the couch as her grandmother watched television. Then, a single bullet struck seven-year-old Aiyana Mo’Nay Stanley-Jones in the head. Minutes before the fatal shot by Officer Joseph Weekley, the lead commando, a half-dozen masked officers of the Special Response Team — Detroit’s version of SWAT — were at the door, guns drawn. They threw a flash-bang grenade through the window of the lower unit and kicked open its unlocked wooden door. The grenade landed so close to Aiyana that it burned her blanket. It all happened in a matter of seconds. The swat team was being followed by a camera crew invited by the officers to capture footage to feature on A&E’s produced police reality show, The First 48. A&E had featured Weekley before, on another police show, Detroit Swat. The swat team was looking for a murder suspect who lived one floor above. The suspect was arrested minutes after Aiyana was killed.
The Artist
Francesca Harper is an internationally acclaimed, multifaceted artist who began her professional dance career with Dance Theater of Harlem, becoming a principal dancer in 1994. The vastness of her artistry and passion led her to perform with William Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt; Dancing Pleats, created by designers Issey Miyake and Gianni Versace; and Broadway productions, including Fosse, The Producers, All Shook Up, The Frogs, and the Tony-nominated The Color Purple. She’s held principal Broadway roles as Helene in Sweet Charity and as Judith in Sophisticated Ladies. Harper has received commissions and has choreographed works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theater of Harlem, Richmond Ballet, Ailey II, Tanz Graz, Hubbard Street II, The New York Choral Society, The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Black Dance Theater, and her own company, The Francesca Harper Project, which was founded in 2005. Harper also served as ballet consultant for the feature film Black Swan.
Francesca’s mother, Denise Jefferson, served as the director of The Alvin Ailey School for over 26 years and created the Ailey/Fordham BFA program, which provided young, aspiring dance artists with the opportunity to obtain college degrees while continuing to pursue careers as professional artists.
Production Credits:
Choreographed and Directed by Francesca Harper
Original Music by Nona Hendryx
Lighting Designer: Itohan Edoloyi
Costume Designer: Elias Gurrola
Projection Designer: Allison Costa
Assistant Choreographer: Eriko Iisaku
Production Stage Manager: Joshua Gustafson
CAST:
Nicholas Begun, Spencer Everett, Eriko Iisaku, Raven Joseph, Timothy Stickney, Christopher Taylor, Brena Thomas
FILM CREW:
Co-Director: Redha Medjellekh
Assistant Director: Shuhan Xie
Director of Photography: Sebastian Rogers
Assistant Camera: Jules Rico
Hair and Makeup: Danielle Alyce
Editor: Evy Garcia
Consulting Editor: Derrick Belcham
A production of THE OFFICE performing arts + film
Live performance of THE RECKONING is supported by Works & Process and developed in Works & Process LaunchPAD residencies at Bethany Arts Community with the collaboration of Gabri Christa and The Movement Lab @ Barnard.