Joanna Kotze
this is the beginning, this is the end
2025-2026 Randjelović/Stryker Resident Commissioned Artist (RCA)
Nov. 12 Stay Late Conversation w/ Kay Takeda
this is the beginning, this is the end interrogates the phenomenon of history repeating itself through an interdisciplinary work that scrutinizes leadership, agency, and the thresholds we encounter individually and collectively. Performed by an ensemble of six dancers and two musicians, the piece examines how individual bodies carry the residue of political and social systems, and how the act of tearing down and rebuilding becomes both an artistic and human imperative. Cascading waves of intricate, rigorous, layered movement and sound engage the current socio-political challenges and reflect on two divergent forces: the need for collectivism to accomplish change and, its most dangerous manifestation, unthinking conformity.
this is the beginning, this is the end is being created in collaboration with dancers Lena Engelstein, Wendell Gray II, Molly Heller, Symara Sarai, and Hsiao-Jou Tang and musicians Maralie Armstrong-Rial and Ryan Seaton; with lighting design by Kathy Kaufmann, costume design by Christian Joy, and set design by 212box.
Choreographer: Joanna Kotze
Composer/Musician/Performer: Ryan Seaton
Musician/Performer: Maralie Armstrong-Rial
Lighting Design: Kathy Kaufmann
Costume Design: Christian Joy
Set Design: 212box
Dancers:
Joanna Kotze
Lena Engelstein
Wendell Gray II
Molly Heller
Symara Sarai
Hsiao-Jou Tang
this is the beginning, this is the end is being commissioned, produced, and will be premiered by New York Live Arts as part of the Randjelović/Stryker Resident Commissioned Artist Program (RCA), at Live Arts in New York City in Fall 2026, with lead funding from Rockefeller Brothers Fund. this is the beginning, this is the end is co-commissioned by The American Dance Festival (ADF) with support from the Doris Duke/SHS Foundations Award for New Works, and has been supported in part through residencies at Marble House Project, Milvus Artistic Research Center, LMCC’s RehearsalWeek, the Pillow Lab at Jacob’s Pillow, The Chocolate Factory Theater, The Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and Loghaven Artist Residency, and is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Joanna is a recipient of a 2024 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants to Artists Award, a 2025 NDP Finalist Grant Award, and is a 2026 NYSCA Support for the Artists grantee (Choreography Commissions) with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, all of which are contributing to the making of this is the beginning, this is the end.
