Through Chaos We Exist
In collaboration with Professor Caroline Dahm and the UMKC Conservatory Division of Dance for the 2025 Fall Crescendo Gala.
Premiered with 3 simultaneous dance duos, listed here.
Sierra Tapia and Pierce Kuhn,
Skylar Finney and Tripp Starr,
Allee Chevalier and Skylar Angelina.
It was such an honor to work with such amazingly talented faculty and students!
Dedicated to my Mom, Kristie, and My Dad, Peyton.
Program Note:
Based on the poem Mother to Son by Langston Hughes, Through Chaos We Exist is a piece that has deep roots in my personal life and experience growing up in the rural gulf south of Louisiana.
Until being asked to write this piece, I never really thought about all the tradition and tragedy that went into who I am. This piece represents some of the greatest struggles and moments from my life and my parents life’s.
My Mom lost her Mom and Dad by 15, and my Dad was smoking by 12 years old. There are many other tragedies in my life and their’s, but all of it has culminated in me studying at one of the best conservatories in the midwest. Through all the chaos and smoke that surrounded my upbringing, my Mom and Dad were able to stop generational tragedies from happening to me and push me to follow my dreams.
The gratitude I feel from this always makes me emotional.
Have fun performing this, and always prioritize expression over my markings. If you wanna improvise or add anything that will help you express yourself, do not hesitate.
- J.P.B
(POEM)
Well, son, I’ll tell you:
Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
It’s had tacks in it,
And splinters,
And boards torn up,
And places with no carpet on the floor—
Bare.
But all the time
I’se been a-climbin’ on,
And reachin’ landin’s,
And turnin’ corners,
And sometimes goin’ in the dark
Where there ain’t been no light.
So boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps
’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
Don’t you fall now—
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.
-Langston Hughes