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Isadora Dances
Sleeping Beauty
Les
Bijoux
 Cinderella
Shades of Degas
Reflections
The Christmas Angel
Solo Variations
- The Dying Swan
- Kitri's Variation
from Don Quixote
- Aurora's Variations
from The Sleeping Beauty
- Fairies' Variations
from The Sleeping Beauty
Windswept
Chung-fu Chang's
In a Brief Encounter
Anticipation
Maids Into Stone
We Shall Stand Tall
When Love Takes You In
Civilité
Inner
Circle
Outside
In
An Offering
At Last
In-tense
Euphoria
Faces of Terezin
Past
Window
Spirit
Unbroken
Uncertain Certainty
Denotes
Works Currently in Performance
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Social Consciousness Works
 We Shall Stand Tall (2002)
Since 1995, Lesa R. Broadhead has been totally immersed
in choreographing on the theme of the Holocaust. After the events of
September 11, she knew she had to focus on other issues in addition to
the Holocaust, if nothing else, to have lighter dance works and dances
that emphasize hope. We Shall Stand Tall is
dedicated to the victims of September 11, 2001, and to us all so that
we can indeed experience hope from much suffering. This dance work was
a collaborative effort including all of the Manchester Dance Ensemble
who were each assigned an action word, and from there choreographed nine
phrases of a movement pattern which incorporated their action word.
 When Love Takes You In
When Love Takes You In, choreographed
by Lesa R. Broadhead, displays a mother's love for the children she adopts,
but from other perspectives, friendship and reaching out to peers. This
dance work, a social commentary on love, features both the Junior Company
Members and a Senior Company Member. Music and lyrics are by Steven Curtis
Chapman who was also inspired by the theme of adoption.
 Civilité (1999)
"The Spiritual Ideal of Memory and
Peace". This dance work is dedicated to the choreographer's
son. His knowledge of, and fascination for the American Civil War has
opened up new doors of creativity for her.
Of all the monuments at the Gettysburg National Battlefield,
the choreographer was fascinated by the Louisiana Monument, sculpted
by Donald De Lue. The awe-inspiring angel can be seen flying high above
the battlefield, symbolizing survival and hope for a once divided nation,
now united. The flame in one hand represents the dead soldiers never
to be forgotten, and the long narrow trumpet symbolized the remembrance
of the unknown soldiers stricken by death. Below the angel is a soldier
from the Washington Artillery, draped with a Confederate flag of battle.
The third section of
Civilité reflects
the sense of peace that this monument represents. It is a collaborative
effort with the involvement of Civil War re-enactors from the 5th Texas,
23rd Ohio, and 51st Ohio Companies, and of course the choreographer's
son, whose face lights up with every rehearsal and performance of
Civilité.
Inner Circle
Inner Circle examines the dynamic between a group formed
by a similarity in outer appearance versus an individual who does not
conform, and is therefore outcast. This work deals with the concept of
identity and belonging, as one by one the members of the group are exposed
as unique beings when their "true colors" are revealed, and in the end,
each is accepted for the special individual that they are inside.
Outside In
Outside In, choreographed by Erika R. Young, was created
for The Manchester Dance Ensemble to portray drug and alcohol abuse,
and the multitudes of individuals that addiction affects.
An Offering
An Offering communicates,
through the medium of dance, an idea of the possibility that the deceased
remain in contact with,
and have an impact on, the loved ones who survive them. The inspiration
and basis for this idea was the experience of the choreographer, Erin
Sinsley, when her grandfather passed away, and the effect of his absence
on her family. The shower of images and emotions that are evoked when
she considers this experience were drawn upon for the movement ideas
and visual cues for the piece, as well as the psychological aspects of
dealing with death and loss, to create a work that comforts and inspires
hope.
 At Last
At Last, to remember Martin
Luther King, Jr., is Erika R. Young's latest work displaying the struggle
and strife that took place
during the civil rights movement in the 1960's. Throughout the music,
there are featured aspects of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech, I
HAVE A DREAM. In addition, the times of slavery, both hope and
freedom, are represented from Billie Holiday's STRANGE
FRUIT and The Golden Gate Quartet's
GO DOWN MOSES. Rosa Park's refusal to give
up her seat on the Birmingham bus in 1955 is represented in the section
I SHALL
NOT BE MOVED. Ending
the dance work is WE SHALL OVERCOME, and is representative of non-violent
change, and a hopeful future.
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