Dibbledance Comes to Shakespeare & Company

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Susan Dibble brings together Company members, dancers, and Berkshire residents for a joyous theatre piece inspired by images and characters from Edith Wharton’s The House of Mirth and featuring the music of Chopin, Schubert, Debussy, and Bartôk.
Lenox - Shakespeare & Company choreographer Susan Dibble has adapted Edith Wharton's 1905 novel, "The House of Mirth," for the world premiere of Tea and Flowers: Purity and Grace, a series of dance sketches based on the story of Lily Bart's precarious climb up the New York social ladder, for two performances only, August 13 and 14 at 10:30 am in Shakespeare & Company's Gilded Age theatre, Spring Lawn, overlooking Lenox Mountain. For tickets and further information on other Shakespeare & Company performances call the Box Office at (413) 637-3353 or go to the Shakespeare & Company website at www.shakespeare.org . All tickets are $20. In celebration of the Centennial of the publication of "The House of Mirth," Tea and Flowers; Purity and Grace, along with The Wharton One Acts, are Shakespeare & Company's contribution to the Berkshire county-wide American Traditions festival. Tea and Flowers: Purity and Grace uses a ladder as one of the few set pieces -- the social ladder that Lily clings to and perches on as a security blanket, and mirrors, the symbol of her mother's hope that her beauty would save the family name. Twenty-four dances based on scenes from the novel are guided throughout by a narrator reading short introductory passages, accompanied by music ranging from Satie and Chopin, to Ragtime and Laurie Anderson. Tea and Flowers: Purity and Grace features Company actor Susannah Millonzi as Lily Bart, and a cast of 23, including Company actors, dancers, and Shakespeare & Company teaching artists. "I'm starting with the name of the character Lily, and how women are often named after flowers, and their characteristics," says Dibble. "This piece is about the definition of a name, Lily meaning Purity and Grace, but there are also other characteristics, Falsehood, Coquetry, and Gaiety. Lily is a woman who embodied all these traits, and their contradictions. In the past I've made up my own stories, or used bits from Shakespeare, but I'm sticking to Wharton's story in this piece, and my inspired influences coming from her imagery. I was leant a book about flowers and their meanings, and I have been using these to define the other women in the story who greatly influence Lily, representing a force of nature, and a desire for freedom from the constraints of imposed rules of behavior. Isadora Duncan created her dances from a passion, and a mission, to rid women of the strictness of physical repression, and the women in the dance will represent not only characters from the novel, but also the women of the period who studied Isadora Duncan dance techniques, and performed the Tableaux Vivant sketches." Artistic Associate Susan Dibble has been creating dance/theatre pieces at Shakespeare & Company for the last 26 years. She has also been the co-director of the Company's Summer Performance Institute and has performed with her own company, Susan Dibble Dance Theatre, since 1978. She serves as the Head of Movement and Dance at Brandeis University's Theatre Department. American Traditions events involve more than two dozen venues in Berkshire County presenting performances, dance, artwork, and exhibitions exploring historical and contemporary aspects of America's heritage from May through October. For more information, go to the American Traditions website at www.berkshirearts.org At A Glance Production: Dibbledance: Tea and Flowers, Purity and Grace Theatre: Spring Lawn Theatre Director/Choreographer: Susan Dibble Cast: Aaron Adams, Barbara Allen, Stephen James Anderson, Ashley Bryant, Nancy Buttenheim, Grazia Della Terza, Merry Conway, Lynda Demke, Susan Dibble, Benjamin Edwin-John Green, Andrew Fitzpatrick, Michael Hammond, Rory Hammond, Sarah Hickler, Kevin Landis, Susannah Millonzi, Maria del Puy Navarro, Nicole Ricciardi, Robert Serrell, Alejandro Simoes, Matthew Stucky, Sarah Taylor, Catherine Taylor-Williams and Kurt Uy Stage Manager: Justin Hossle Assistant Stage Manager: Laura Trimby Sound Designer: Josh Liebert Lighting Designer: Steve Michalek Costumes: Arthur Oliver Media Contact: Elizabeth Aspenlieder (413) 637-1199 ext. 110
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Lanesborough Fifth-Graders Win Snowplow Name Contest

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — One of the snowplows for Highway District 1 has a new name: "The Blizzard Boss."
 
The name comes from teacher Gina Wagner's fifth-grade class at Lanesborough Elementary School. 
 
The state Department of Transportation announced the winners of the fourth annual "Name A Snowplow" contest on Monday. 
 
The department received entries from public elementary and middle school classrooms across the commonwealth to name the 12 MassDOT snowplows that will be in service during the 2025/2026 winter season. 
 
The purpose of the contest is to celebrate the snow and ice season and to recognize the hard work and dedication shown by public works employees and contractors during winter operations. 
 
"Thank you to all of the students who participated. Your creativity allows us to highlight to all, the importance of the work performed by our workforce," said  interim MassDOT Secretary Phil Eng.  
 
"Our workforce takes pride as they clear snow and ice, keeping our roads safe during adverse weather events for all that need to travel. ?To our contest winners and participants, know that you have added some fun to the serious take of operating plows. ?I'm proud of the skill and dedication from our crews and thank the public of the shared responsibility to slow down, give plows space and put safety first every time there is a winter weather event."
 
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