Faygele Romp in a Field of Wheat

Overview

Fantastical queer Jewish romp through a biblical landscape of gay intimacy. Join us as we use dance to travel through space and time to visit with Judaism’s lesbian icons, Ruth and Naomi. They’ve got wisdom to share about Jewish, queer, feminine intimacy. Set during the springtime Hebrew month of Sivan, during the ancient grain harvest festival of Shavuot, the show reflects on queer Jewish pleasure as spiritual practice and connection to ancestors.

Through the legendary love story of Ruth and Naomi, we consider how sex and pleasure can be protection magic from objectification and misogyny. The mystical Jewish concept of devekut, a spiritual state likened to the fluttering dance of a moth drawn toward a flame, is uplifted as a texture of Jewish femininity and explored through the lens of queer Jewish eroticism. Feminized care labor is also reclaimed as a space of sapphic yearning, where yesterday’s grief and loss water the seeds of expansive queer imagination and intimacy that we harvest today.

About the Artist

Olivia Jenna Brown (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher living in Philadelphia. Her choreographic work explores Jewish themes, collaborative process, and chance procedure. Olivia’s movement practice is a blend of contemporary/modern dance forms, somatic practice, and contact improvisation. Originally from NYC, Olivia’s training includes a BA in Dance from Hunter College, as well as education from the Ailey School and the Laban Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies. Olivia’s choreography has been featured in Mascher Space Cooperative’s Fresh Juice Festival, Flair Dance Festival, and by Poetico Dance Collective. She currently teaches adult contemporary movement at University City Arts League, as well as children’s creative movement classes at UC Arts League and Cardell Dance Studio. Olivia is passionate about dance and somatic practice at any age as healing tools for deepening embodiment, expression, and connection.

Brooch Solomon (she/her) is a Jewish witch dedicated to living in community with her friends and neighbors. She’s currently dedicated to the study of organisms living between strands of gluten (she gets paid for that one), Jewish practice, supporting Black liberation, and taking deep breaths in fields of grass. Brooch studied dance at Laguardia High School in New York and is now most interested in dancing with her friends and ancestors.

Credits