Long Gone
Long Gone intricately blends dance and storytelling to celebrate heartfelt, funny and irreverent memories of those long gone. Weaving movement and spoken word, choreographers Lida Winfield and Ellen Smith Ahern explore how our dead continue to live and evolve through memory and imagination. Passionate about making dance an open dialogue between performers and audiences, Ellen and Lida’s work finds beauty and humor in this challenging topic that connects us all.

The making of Long Gone has been made possible in part by a creation grant from the Vermont Arts Counsel.

For information on upcoming performances and workshops check out  the calendar or email us directly.

For more information on Ellen Smith Ahern, click here.

"Ellen and Lida approach the quiet subject of memories of those who have died in a
wonderful, touching and often funny way — storytelling through dance at its most
delightful.”
Steve Ames, Director of the River Arts Center
 
“In Long Gone, many emotions were exquisitely rendered . . . I loved their courage in
bringing levity and irreverence to the topic of death.”
Caro Thompson, Documentary Filmmaker

Excerpts from Lone Gone from Lida Winfield on Vimeo.

The woods are deep

“[The Woods are Deep offered] a shift in tone, a breath between segments, each of which
had a distinct texture, from tender to goofy, violent to playful.”
- Megan James, Seven Days

The woods are deep is an exploration of what it means for two people to attempt to make a dance “about nature.” This duet is composed of both improvised and set material.  Generated from images of moving water, hawks, deer, and people in the map of an imaginary landscape, this 35 minute dance/theater performance it is full of humor, awkward grace, aggression and tenderness. 
 
The woods are deep can be performed in any location, from outside, to an art gallery, to a hallway, to a theater and more.

The woods are deep from Lida Winfield on Vimeo.
Video by Rob Koier http://www.robkoier.com/

We were invited to tour The woods are deep across many cites and countries in Europe over the summer of 2011 by dance company Double Vision. 
Check out our tour blog.

All photos on this page by Marek Procházka

Ellen Smith Ahern and Lida Winfield collaborate long distance, working as dancers and teachers in Vermont and New York, respectively. We love dances that are funny, provocative, and physically honest. We challenge ourselves and our audiences to participate in dance as an open dialogue. Our dances tell stories, ask questions, explore limits, and celebrate beauty in what is awkward, raw, and vulnerable. We are inspired by the human capacity to cope, to imagine, to transform. Our work is informed by wilderness, socioeconomic divides, disabilities, access, the search for place or home, the quiet details of everyday life, and the work of other artists. As dance artists, we believe that self-expression through choreography and storytelling can heal and transform both individuals and communities. By making and sharing dance, we empower ourselves and others to grow developmentally, socially and spiritually. With grant support from the Vermont Arts Council, the VT Arts Endowment Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts, we’ve shared our duet work throughout the US, Greece, Italy, Hungary and the Czech Republic. For more information please visit our website: WinfieldAhernDance.com

Photos: All by Marek Procházka