Choreographed by Winifred Haun, When day comes (WDC) premiered in November 2022 at the Athenaeum Center in Chicago. Created for 8 dancers, WDC explores how humans are constantly pursuing something, and how the chase causes discord, suffering, drama, and occasional but, limited joy. Work on WDC began in the summer of 2019, during the Pandemic, but was completed 15 months later, as the Pandemic was subsiding. The work begins in a dark foreboding world, but expands and evolves into a sometimes amusing, energetic place, ending with an encouraging vision.

 

The work features music by Michael Wall, Staple Singers, Olivia Block, Peggy Lee, Les Tambours and costumes by Nathan Rohrer, with lighting design by Julie Ballard. 

 

Dancers in the work include: Summer Smith and Julia Schaeffer with

Vernon Gooden, Crystal Gurrola, Jade Hooper, Myles Harris, Amanda Milligan, and Jacinda Ratcliffe

​

“When day comes, we step out of the shade,

Aflame and unafraid

The new dawn blooms as we free it,
For there is always light,

If only we’re brave enough to see it,

if only we’re brave enough to be it”

~Amanda Gorman, January 20, 2021