A Manhattan-based choreographer, filmmaker, graphic designer and performer, Cynthia Berkshire brings an imagination to the surrounding world, intuiting and investigating its content, form and energy.

Current Projects

VEIL: Two Sisters

VEIL: Two Sisters, a multimedia performance project developing over a period of three years, reveals two sisters lured into a link between the earthly and heavenly realms. As one sister calls forth the other from death, themes of mortality, forgiveness and community progress.

Blending realistic and abstract gestures, combined with a layered video environment, ‘VEIL’ becomes an enchanting poem, taking the audience through the sisters’ tenacious dream of connection, offered guidance and grounding by a shifting chorus of three women.

While Western culture attempts to keep death out of sight and often labels forgiveness as weakness, the project approaches death with gentleness, and forgiveness as a courageous act of perseverance. Cynthia’s fascination with the concept grew out of engaging a sense of deep connection to a would-be sister who passed before they met, and the loss of her father. A series of community workshops was offered with the project, some participants performing in the last section of the piece.

Building on the enthusiastic reception of last year’s performance, and the edited video documentation, both the live performance and video projection will be making future appearances, including a return to India. A gifted team of collaborators reunited in VEIL, including the five performers, visual designers Shaun Irons and Lauren Petty, and 2nd camera Jahmani Perry. This is Cynthia's first project with lighting designer Philip Sandstrom, musician Skip LaPlante and video capture by Craig Marsden. Work sample below, University Settlement, March 2019.

performed by: Adriane Erdos, Krista Jansen, Victoria Murphy, Yumiko Niimi, Nicole Touzien

“symbolic language so deep, ... becomes part of a very continuous flow of a dream”—Robert Withers, filmmaker
”your themes are deep, and dangerous because they are personal and idiosyncratic” —Debby Karpel, singer, writer

PERFORMANCE WORKSHOPS

Accompanying the performance is a series of creative movement workshops, open to the public. Initially developed in India, the workshops most recently were held on New York’s lower east side where artists from a variety of fields gathered. Exploring feelings and ideas surrounding forgiveness through simple and playful exercises, some of the group’s material was incorporated into the project, and four participants joined the performance’s ending ritual. Lani Miller, NY Insight meditation teacher, co-led one session.

“we were like a group of children, playful and focused”
”the sessions were wonderful, and I believe contributed to reuniting with my stepson”

Movement, shifting visuals and a sound score greet a character who steps into an unfamiliar reality. Assorted aspects of this character appear within the dance film’s changing, mysterious and enveloping environment. Gathering her various selves together, she progresses.

The exploration for ‘EXPERIMENT for transformation’, Study 1 began March 2020. Study2 and Study3 are in progress, and include additional performers. Creative movement workshops and online activity are being planned.