Open rehearsal will take place at The Chocolate Factory Theater, 38-33 24th Street, Long Island City.

The cellist and writer Ethan Philbrick will be in residence at The Chocolate Factory Theater from March 10-15 working on a collaborative research project called Slow Dances.

Slow Dances is an ongoing process between Philbrick and six dance artists: Anh Vo, Tess Dworman, Niall Jones, Tara Aisha Willis, nibia pastrana santiago, and Moriah Evans. Philbrick originally initiated the project in the fall of 2020 out of a curiosity about one specific baroque slow dance with a complicated colonial history—the Sarabande. The project has since radiated out towards a broader investigation into questions of slowness, history, intimacy, pain, teaching, objecthood, instrumentality, and public space. Now, Slow Dances names an ongoing commitment to non-solo process, to slow dancing as a mode of cooperative experimental inquiry into music and dance relations.

On the evening of March 15th, Philbrick and his collaborators will host a free open rehearsal of performance experiments from 6pm – 9pm. All are welcome, bring food and drink to share if you want.

This year, The Chocolate Factory Theater’s Programming Committee (led by artist Board Member Neil Greenberg), working closely with Co-Founder / Artistic Director Brian Rogers, invited current Season Artists to nominate fellow artists to receive early stage creative residencies.

In Spring 2025, Maria Baranova, Dahlak Brathwaite, Maxi Hawkeye Canion, Sharleen Chidiac, Jessica Cook, Ayano Elson, Ethan Philbrick, and Anh Vo will each receive access to space and financial support for early stage research into their new projects.