Growing up in a private non-denominational Christian school in South Carolina has left me with some questions: What makes a good person? What is my role in society and in relationships? Why do I still remember the VeggieTales theme song? What happened to my pregnant abstinence teacher? Is God real? These questions and more are the basis of SALVAGE, a dance/theatre show that deconstructs the funny, ridiculous, harmful, and beautiful practices, beliefs, and creeds of American Christianity.
Structured as a megachurch service that is often derailed by deep reflection, farces, and fights, SALVAGE creates a macro world out of the microexperiences found in true stories, sacred and secular texts, Christian school handbooks, and Bible parables. It blends contemporary dance, theater, and song to amalgamate complicated relationships to past selves, present community, and an eternal God — toeing the lines of blasphemy and salvation while carefully maintaining a reverence for the divine and the ability to laugh at diametrically opposed messages. Throughout the show, we probe the sexism, capitalism, nationalism, and fundamentalism present in the faith structures in order to better understand how we study, vote, and worship. SALVAGE’s closing benediction ultimately provides solace through love, selflessness, and empathy for Christians, ex-believers, and those like me who are somewhere in between.
Structured as a megachurch service that is often derailed by deep reflection, farces, and fights, SALVAGE creates a macro world out of the microexperiences found in true stories, sacred and secular texts, Christian school handbooks, and Bible parables. It blends contemporary dance, theater, and song to amalgamate complicated relationships to past selves, present community, and an eternal God — toeing the lines of blasphemy and salvation while carefully maintaining a reverence for the divine and the ability to laugh at diametrically opposed messages. Throughout the show, we probe the sexism, capitalism, nationalism, and fundamentalism present in the faith structures in order to better understand how we study, vote, and worship. SALVAGE’s closing benediction ultimately provides solace through love, selflessness, and empathy for Christians, ex-believers, and those like me who are somewhere in between.
WORK IN PROGRESS presentations:
- Boston Fringe Festival at The Rockwell 255 Elm St, Somerville, MA 02144 | May 10 & 11, 2025 | Work-in-progress showing
Lighting and Sound Design: Natsuki Aihara - The Dance Complex DIY Series | The Dance Complex, Cambridge, MA | May 31, 2025 | Informal Showing with Q+A Session
- ArtBeat presented by Somerville Arts Council | Somerville Theater | July 2025 | Presented excerpt "shoulder"
- Artists in Motion at Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater curated and presented by Alison Cook Beatty Dance Company | New York, NY | November 1, 2025 | presented excerpt "ark"
INSPIRATION & THANK YOUS
SALVAGE was inspired by the first-hand experiences of Alexandria Nunweiler and the cast of the show as well as the Southside Christian School graduating class of 2010, Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers as seen in The Righteous Gemstones, Manger Babies from King of the Hill and puppet ministry in general, vacation Bible school, Jesus and John Wayne by by Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Camp Greenville, Shrek, being ordained online, Veggie Tales, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards, Success for Women: Dare to Become a Real Woman by Susan LaFlam (Alexandria’s high school chemistry teacher), and abstinence class.
THANK YOU To my sister, Victoria, who talks with me daily about this piece; To Marianna Vick, Austin Nelson, Lily Wood, Heather Currin, Trey Walpole, Emily Chieco, Tyler Finley and Nate Teague for donating their time to be interviewed for this project.
This project is currently in development and made possible by the Boston Foundation's Next Steps for Boston Dance grant, the Boston Center for the Arts Dancemakers Residency, NEFA, and supporters like you. If you'd like to continue to support the project, donations can be made through our fiscal sponsor, Human Movement Project, at the link here. Help us continue this work!
THANK YOU To my sister, Victoria, who talks with me daily about this piece; To Marianna Vick, Austin Nelson, Lily Wood, Heather Currin, Trey Walpole, Emily Chieco, Tyler Finley and Nate Teague for donating their time to be interviewed for this project.
This project is currently in development and made possible by the Boston Foundation's Next Steps for Boston Dance grant, the Boston Center for the Arts Dancemakers Residency, NEFA, and supporters like you. If you'd like to continue to support the project, donations can be made through our fiscal sponsor, Human Movement Project, at the link here. Help us continue this work!
Meet the cast
Ava D’Eon, a Boston-area dancer and choreographer, recently graduated from Skidmore College with a dual degree in Dance and Business. While at Skidmore, she performed in works by faculty, students, and guest artists, including Peter Chu, Takehiro Ueyama, Brenda Way and Dexandro Montalvo, Monica Bill Barnes, and BalletX. Her choreography has been presented at the Tang Teaching Museum, OnStage Dance Company’s OnStage 360°, Skidmore’s Celebration Weekend, School for Contemporary Dance and Thought, The Dance Complex’s “Roots & Routes” at Arrow Street Arts, NACHMO Boston, and Manhattan Movement & Performing Arts Center. As a freelance dancer, Ava has worked with 8&1 Dance Company East, Bridget Nicolo, and KAIROS Dance Theater as a Trainee, and is currently collaborating with Madison Florence and NunweilerTanz. Ava also teaches dance to students of all ages and is passionate about fostering creativity, confidence, and community through movement.
Claire Lane (She/her) is a MA-raised dance artist, choreographer, and educator. She graduated summa cum laude from Smith College with a B.A. in Dance and French Studies with the distinction of highest honors. She is co-Artistic Director/Founder of detritus dance, a performance collective focused on feminist story-telling through contemporary dance, collage, and text. Claire has danced professionally with Abilities Dance Boston, Kairos Dance Theater, and Vimoksha Dance, as well as freelance artists including Alex Nunweiler, Kristin Wagner, Haley Andrews, and Eliza Malecki. In 2024 she travelled to Tbilisi, Georgia as a U.S. Artist Ambassador through the “Exchanging Notes” program with the Somerville Arts Council and the Davis Center at Harvard University. She was awarded a certificate of artistic excellence from the Mayor of Somerville for her cross-cultural collaboration. She is a teacher with MIDDAY Movement Series and an adjunct professor of Modern dance in the BU School of Theater.
Miranda Lawson (she/her) is a performer, choreographer and educator based in the Greater Boston area. She received her BA in Dance and Psychology from Mount Holyoke College in 2022, where she was recognized with awards in choreographic excellence and leadership through social justice work. She has performed in works by Stefanie Batten Bland, Shura Baryshnikov, Shakia Barron, Chloe London, and Jenna Riegel. She currently performs with Urbanity Dance and Phunk Phenomenon Urban Dance Theater in addition to making and performing in her own choreography. Her own work has been presented at the School for Contemporary Dance and Thought (Northampton MA), the Multicultural Arts Center (Cambridge MA), Tufts University (Medford MA), and The American College Dance Association Conference (Middlebury VT). Miranda was a mentee of MIDDAY Movement’s BIPOC Professional Dancer Mentorship program from 2022-23, an Urbanity X resident in 2022, and the recipient of Mass Cultural Council’s Pandemic Relief Grant and the Somerville Artists Fellowship both in 2023.
Eliza Malecki is a queer, Cambridge based dancer, choreographer, administrator, producer, and creative leader with a degree in dance from Goucher College. She is known for her quirky and inventive movement aesthetic, human centered creative approach, joy based practices, multidisciplinary collaborations, and unique sense of humor which is woven into everything she creates.
Eliza has performed for Grant Jacoby and Dancers, Catherine Siller, Luminarium, Rosewood Dance Collab, Audrey Maclean, Molly Hess, Human Movement Project, Zoe Dance, Eventual Dance Company, and NunweilerTanz. Her work has been funded by the Somerville Cultural Council, Newton Cultural Council, Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture, Transformative Development Initiative, Maine Arts Commission, and New England Foundation for the Arts. Eliza has completed residencies at Bearnstow, The Iron Factory, The City of Lawrence, and the Studios at Mass MoCA. Her most recent projects explore the intersections of dance and fashion. Learn more at elizamalecki.com!
Eliza has performed for Grant Jacoby and Dancers, Catherine Siller, Luminarium, Rosewood Dance Collab, Audrey Maclean, Molly Hess, Human Movement Project, Zoe Dance, Eventual Dance Company, and NunweilerTanz. Her work has been funded by the Somerville Cultural Council, Newton Cultural Council, Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture, Transformative Development Initiative, Maine Arts Commission, and New England Foundation for the Arts. Eliza has completed residencies at Bearnstow, The Iron Factory, The City of Lawrence, and the Studios at Mass MoCA. Her most recent projects explore the intersections of dance and fashion. Learn more at elizamalecki.com!
Carmen S. Rizzo, from São Paulo, Brazil, is a Somerville-based dance artist, dance educator, fitness instructor, and arts administrator. She graduated from the professional training program at Escola de Dança de São Paulo and from Manhattanville University (Dance and Business) summa cum laude. Her choreography has recently been performed at her first evening length show “Unchosen”, NACHMO, Boston WiP, Dance for World Community, Salem Arts Festival, and ArtBeat. She was also a guest choreographer at Manhattanville University and has had her dance films featured at Homegrown, Shut in Dance Festival, and the DFA College Exchange. She has performed works by Martha Graham, George Balanchine, Itzik Galili, Yin Yue, Yoshito Sakuraba, Mike Esperanza, Shannon Gillen, Ohad Naharin among others. Carmen enjoys finding dance in all non-dance things and aims to bridge the gap between science and art.
Virginia Spinks is a dance artist moved by vulnerability, connectivity, and the power those traits hold. A native of Atlanta, she earned a BA in Dance, Religion & Anthropology from Emory University and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Georgia State University. Virginia is a former company member of staibdance, and has performed in works by many Atlanta artists including Danielle Swatzie, Patsy Collins, ALA Dance, Andre Lumpkin and Julio Medina. New to Boston, this is one of Virginia's first projects in the city. When she’s not dancing or working as an early education data analyst you can find her experimenting in the kitchen and spending time outside.
Photos by Nicole Marie Photography
