Set design and installation for Ballet Des Moines, Hoyt Sherman Place, 2025

The Threads We Bare was created for Eric Trope’s world premiere Memory Sonata, set to the music of Cécile Chaminade. Unlike many women of her time, Chaminade had the freedom to pursue her artistic ambitions to her fullest extent. In contrast, most women labored within the home, their brilliance bound to domestic work.

A series of hand-dyed twin bedsheets hang in quiet suspension. They reference the daily, unrelenting tasks of an earlier era — work that defined the lives of so many women in our lineage. The twin sheet itself becomes a symbol: of singleness or separation, of being alone or independent, or even of a marriage of convenience, as was the case of Chaminade.

Each sheet bears names hand sewn into their corners. Names of grandmothers, mothers, and matriarchs connected to Ballet Des Moines’ dancers, staff, board members, and community. Together, these sheets form a collective portrait of endurance and care, tethering private histories to shared memory.

The Threads We Bare is both an offering and a remembrance: a recognition of those that came before us to set the stage for us to flourish.