Ariel Rivka Dance and Stefania de Kenessey: In Her Words

STEFANIA DE KENESSEY’s music has been In Her Words (2021) is a four-movement work which – unlike the others on this disc – incorporates spoken word. Four dancers, who lend their names to the four movements, each sent me a moving, sometimes highly intimate confession about their fears, their anguish, their darkest moments. I was honored to be entrusted with their narratives. I also wanted to respect their privacy because the material was emotionally sensitive, so I broke up their monologues into short fragments that hint at despair without becoming too explicit or too revelatory. Like women everywhere, their (our) voices are still struggling to be heard.


The initial idea of using the personal histories of dancers as part of the musical score came from choreographer Ariel Grossman, who explains: “For the last 14 years of Ariel Rivka Dance, I have had the privilege to process my own stories and experiences through movement on my company of dancers. Ready to hear someone else’s story, I’ve chosen to work with four of my dancers, asking each to share and record something profoundly personal and send it to me and composer Stefania de Kenessey. Stefania created a composition inspired and sometimes dictated by the recording. The cadence, tone, speed, craft, and nuance of the dancer’s voice and words contribute to the score.”


In Her Words was funded in part by Nimbus Arts Center and the New Jersey Arts and Culture Recovery Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation, and the Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation.

Since I splintered the text, here is a brief comment from each dancer about her contribution:


1: Alone (Kyleigh)


My portion of In Her Words was about growing up with a lack of confidence and being curious about what my life would be like if I had believed in myself more – what about my path would be different? I feel like my piece is a bit of a reflection and internal pondering of how much I held myself back.
— Kyleigh Sackandy

2: All Together (Kristin)


Did I give up too much or sacrifice things that I may want in my future, giving a hundred percent of my time and energy into my career? Could I have still danced in the same capacity and made a social, relationship, and family life work simultaneously?
— Kristin Licata


3: With You (Hana)


My words tell the story of when I contracted Covid. It was early in the pandemic, and I caught it in the hospital when my twins, Arlin and Zahavi, were born. I missed the entire second week of their lives. Being away from them, and my sweet three year old, Ori, was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. I spent ten days trapped in a room with my kids on the other side, and it was agony, and it was also only 10 days. So many women around the world are separated from their kids for far longer, or forever. At the end of my story, I got to open the door and wrap my sweet boys tightly in my arms.
­— Hana Ginsburg Tirosh

4: On Our Own (Caitlyn)

My In Her Words story was about trying to un-hear or un-remember unpleasant childhood experiences.
— Caitlyn Casson

Ariel Rivka Dance (ARD) is an all-female contemporary dance company based in Jersey City. ARD’s mission is to champion female creatives through original choreography, commissioned music, and curated family and educational programming.


Choreographer Ariel Rivka Grossman founded Ariel Rivka Dance in 2008. As a native New Yorker, she trained at LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and the Performing Arts and the Joffrey Ballet School under the direction of Gerald Arpino. She earned a B.S. in Dance and a Minor in Women’s Studies from Skidmore College.


Ariel draws inspiration from the struggles and joys of the human experience, particularly through being a woman and mother. Through collaboration, Ariel encourages her dancers to bring themselves to the work—molding pieces that are striking, evocative, and multi-layered.

arielrivkadance.com

STEFANIA DE KENESSEY’s music has been heard throughout New York City, from Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to Joe’s Pub and LaMama; internationally, it has been performed in more than 35 countries, from Australia to Venezuela. Her output ranges from choral, vocal and operatic pieces to chamber and orchestral work, as well as scores for documentary films, theater and dance companies. She has written concertos for such virtuosos as trumpeter Chris Gekker and flutist Elizabeth Mann; she has had premieres with St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble, Singapore Symphony, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra and the Absolute Ensemble, conducted by Kristjan Järvi.




She has collaborated regularly with choreographer Ariel Grossman and Ariel Rivka Dance since 2018; her commissions (and co-commissions) have included In Her Words, Lead Me Alone, Mossy, Rhapsody in K, Rust, Mossy, She, Unorthodox and, most recently, What You Want.

stefaniadekenessey.com