The Human Condition

“They say time heals all wounds, but that presumes the source of the grief is finite.”
-Cassandra Clare

We are born into ignorance. We are born into a life of perpetual confusion, loss and sorrow; and we ultimately die with no real answers and no true solace. There are only questions - huge, hopeless questions. Why did she die at such a young age? Why did he suffer year after year with his brain intact and his muscles withering away right before his fearful eyes? And why, even when we knew his death was imminent and imperative, is the pain of his going so excruciating? Why must this grief be so powerful, and why is any of this happening to us?

Although we are all faced, at one point or another, with these types of questions, we are mostly asked not to talk about such things - the agony of grief, the incessant uncertainty of the future, the very unhappy ending to each of our stories. It makes people uncomfortable. It’s too scary, too sad. When the flood of emotion comes and tragedy befalls us - whether it’s the death of a loved one, a relationship, our own health, or even a dream - we are told to stand strong and weather the storm. We must endure. And although the pain continues to rush into the well of our own private sorrow, often for much longer than we outwardly admit, we do tend to “get through it”. We keep breathing and surviving the tragedies. We are surprisingly resilient, but only because we must be. Because there is no escape from the relentlessness of loss and grief - it is one of our greatest realities. All life is born into a tragic condition, and as humans, whether we like to admit it or not, we happen to be painfully aware of it.

Written by: Keith Sutter and Devin Copeland

The Empathy Series

In a world plagued by continued chaos, empathy - one of our species’ most important survival techniques and one of humanity’s finest traits - is more important than ever.

Although we’re all individuals with unique struggles and experiences, our human ability to relate to one another's battles, and our willingness to respond to these hardships with action and understanding, could be our greatest solace in life, as well as our biggest hope for a bright future.

Within this series, each environment intends to inspire an existential question in regards to empathy, while each dancer’s reaction comments on one of our many shared emotions. My interest lies in the dark and light nature of the universe and our relationship to those forces - especially in terms of how we face them alone and together.

“Empathy is... communicating that incredibly healing message of, ‘You’re not alone.’”
― Brené Brown