ecdysis

choreography and performance by marion spencer

sound by MANAS (Tashi Dorji + Thom Nguyen) & marion spencer

projection by marion spencer

ecdysis is a solo project in development and part of a series of solos excavating lineage, embodiment and dreams amidst onrushing climate catastrophe. This research is feminine, feminist, interdisciplinary and inspired by the act and process of shedding - internal, external, decolonial and archival. Studying adaptation as an experimental, theoretical and intuitive practice, this project asks – ‘what do we let go of’ and ‘what do we dream for’ at the end of the world? ecdysis is the second in a series of solos marion is making exploring the nature of being alive and embodied while the world falls apart. [ecdysis (noun): the process where an animal sheds its outer layer, called the cuticle or exoskeleton, to allow for growth, renewal and development.]

marion spencer (she/her/hers) is an interdisciplinary dance artist based in Brooklyn, NY since 2014. Weaving movement, sound & installation, she creates solo and ensemble performances built from feminine, feminist and interdisciplinary practices. Her creative research engages scientific, artistic and academic texts, images and objects- interrogating these materials through embodied research. marion utilizes her training in experimental postmodern dance, choral singing and installation, placing these mediums in conversation with her personal heritage as the child of Mesoamerican Archaeologists from Venezuela and Panama. This lineage shapes her creative interests in excavating extinction, adaptation and futurity by centering the kind of feminist knowledge and intuitive wisdom that comes only from thinking through the body. marion is a 2023 New York Dance & Performance (‘Bessie’) Awards Nominee for Outstanding Breakout Choreographer. Her work has been presented in New York City by La Mama Experimental Theatre, Roulette Intermedium, Center for Performance Research, Danspace Project, Gibney, New Dance Alliance, Movement Research at Judson Church, Triskelion Arts, Target Margin Theater and more. She has been an Artist in Residence at MacDowell, The American Dance Festival, The Chocolate Factory Theater, The Field Center, Gibney, Amherst College and Mana Contemporary, among others. As a performer, marion has had the pleasure of collaborating with Joanna Kotze, Laurie Berg, BAND|portier, Laura Peterson, Larissa Velez-Jackson, Michelle Boulé, Tyler Rai and as a guest performer with David Dorfman Dance and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. She has been on faculty at Rutgers University, Sarah Lawrence College, Movement Research, Gibney, Dancewave and more. marion also teaches Pilates and is a Craniosacral Therapist. She holds an MFA in Dance: Interdisciplinary Research from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2025), and a BA with Honors in Geography from Vassar College (2009). www.marion-spencer.com / @marionspencer