Eternal Return is an evening-length performance that explores the recurring nature of loss throughout human life. 

Having and losing can crush us, but it might also hold the power to transform if we let it.  No conscious spirit can move through this world without enduring a broken heart. We can choose to shield ourselves with a protective shell, blunting our emotions toward an unwanted reality, or we can turn what is painful and inexplicable into a source of strength and renewed purpose. What kind of experience holds the power to redirect our attention toward what is most important? 

Eternal Return draws from personal stories of those living with illness. By looking at the hard reality of life and death questions, Eternal Return moves from the personal to the universal -- and the shared humanity that makes us one.

Loss will return. Loss is eternal. In the Eternal Return of loss, we are asked to find ourselves over and over again.   

For more information about Rosemary Covey: www.rosemarycovey.com
For more information about Smith Farm Healing Arts Center: www.smithfarm.com

Eternal Return

Upcoming this season
Thursday, April 23, 2009 @ 7:30pm
Torpedo Factory Art Center
105 N Union Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
www.torpedofactory.org
BosmaDance and Rosemary Feit Covey present a preview performance of ETERNAL RETURN and additional repertory pieces inspired by the work of Torpedo Factory artists Jamaliah Morais and Diana Chamberlain. With projected images, music, dance, and visual art, this event explores themes including human loss, the cultural and social significance of the white dress, and the beauty found in the movement of flamingos.
FREE

Friday, May 1, 2009 @ 8pm
The Joan Hisaoka Healing Arts Gallery at Smith Farm
1632 U Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
www.smithfarm.com
A partner piece to ETERNAL RETURN is the artistic exhibition of REALITY CONFRONT END, a solo show by Rosemary Feit Covey. REALITY CONFRONT END deals with healing as a life long process for everyone coming to terms with trauma and vulnerability, regardless of whether it is caused by illness or other forms of loss. This month-long exhibition is a collection drawings and wood engravings, including some the visual backdrops that set the stage for ETERNAL RETURN. Join us at this special gallery for the opening of this exhibit and vignette performances by BosmaDance.
Opening Reception, Dance Preview & Artist Dialogue
Friday, May 1, 2009 @ 5:30-8pm
Performance begins @ 7:30pm

Saturday, May 2, 2009 @ 3-5pm
Lululemon Athletica
2847 Clarendon Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22201
www.lululemon.com
A performance that brings life to the Lululemon Manifesto. Join us for a contemporary dance performance by Award-Winning BosmaDance, for a presentation that unites the fundamentals of living a well-balanced life. Be the Change explores the power of breathe, positive thought, and a growing spirit as agents of change and transformation. As Gandhi says, “Be the Change you want to see in this world.” Be the Change includes a presentation of select excerpts from ETERNAL RETURN. Refreshments will be provided, and a chance to talk with the artists during a brief Q & A with the artists.
FREE

PREMIERE OF ETERNAL RETURN
Friday, May 8 & Saturday, May 9, 2009 @ 8pm
Sunday, May 10, 2009 @ 3pm
Source
1835 14th Street NW
Washington, DC 20001
www.sourcedc.org
We are proud to present this special evening-length work directed and choreographed by Meisha Bosma, in collaboration with visual artist Rosemary Feit Covey, and animation by Katey Cohen, lighting design by Enoch Chan, and costume design by Anita Moore. Set to music composed by Jurgen Knieper, Nathan Johnson, and Philip Glass, ETERNAL RETURN takes a provocative look at groundless situations in life. It is there, in the midst of chaos, that we can discover truth and love that are indestructible. ETERNAL RETURN is a journey through the endless cycle of loss, discovery, and re-birth.
TICKETS: $20-$30 Buy BosmaDance tickets online.

THE ZERO PROJECT
The Zero Project is a portable installation performance piece integrating dance, music, text and guided audience participation. To some it expresses voicelessness, to others the inverse, a howl of protest. The project demands response from sources worldwide— from musicians, writers, artists, photographers and others. The Zero Project grows as the needs of our society change. 

The project is designed to demonstrate that when art acts as a catalyst and invites response, the ensuing dialogue becomes a form of art in itself. Reaction to the piece generates an endless and timeless continuum; the audience becomes an integral part of the powerful message. Eventually the meaning of original artwork no longer exists without them. It’s alive because the viewer keeps it alive.

This year we are working with the Boys and Girls Club of America to produce a week-long camp for youth, CAMP ZERO. Under the direction of seven professional working artists, Camp Zero integrates dance, visual art, spoken and written word, and facilitated group discussion as nurturing tools of communication, artistic expression, and personal growth. Camp Zero gives voice to the voiceless, urging our youth to discover their personal voices and express it with confidence in a supportive environment. Camp Zero is a seven-day experience culminating in a multi-media performance created and presented by 70 students ages 13-18.

If you would like to bring The Zero Project to your community, please contact us at bosmadance@hotmail.com.

The Zero Project

BosmaDance mission statement
BosmaDance is committed to the creation and presentation of high-quality dance performances, educational experiences, and artistic collaborations for adult and youth audiences.

Meisha Bosma Biography
Meisha Bosma is the founder and artistic director of BosmaDance, a contemporary dance company based in Northern Virginia. Over the past ten years, Meisha has served dance communities as an educator, choreographer, performer, and arts advocate. Her award-winning choreography has been commissioned and presented by the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, CityDance Ensemble, the Alexandria Performing Arts Association, Virginia Commission for the Arts and many universities throughout the country. Dance Magazine recognized Meisha Bosma as “One to Watch For” in 2007, and The Washingtonian named Bosma “One of DC’s Most Powerful Women under 40” for her artistic contributions made to the metropolitan DC community. Under her direction, BosmaDance has won five Metro-DC Dance Awards. A native of Michigan, Meisha earned her MA in Dance and Education from American University and her BA in Journalism from Michigan State University. As a company member with Jerusalem-based Kolben Dance Company, she toured throughout Europe and the Middle East.

The Company
Meisha Bosma - Artistic Director

Performers
Stephanie Quinoes Bass, Sylvana Christopher, Kate Jordan,
Carrie Monger, Katrina Toews, Leah Wrobel, Daniel Zook

Production Director and Lighting Designer
Enoch Chan

Photographers
Enoch Chan, Jason Motlagh

“Bosma is making waves on the dance scene!”

“You can feel the sting of inspiration in Meisha Bosma’s works. Fresh experience seemed to spur the drive, emotional heat and flung-out movement in the seven pieces that her excellent troupe, BosmaDance, performed at Dance Place over the weekend. This sense of spontaneity was true of the older works as well as the new ones, though her dances dated from only five years ago, at most. Bosma, one of the area's most gifted and prolific choreographers, has been busy lately.”
A Vibrant BosmaDance
Music and Dance, In Classical Harmony

Dance Magazine
“There’s fragility and ferocity in the dances Meisha Bosma fashions for her 13-woman company BosmaDance. Since its founding in 2002 in northern Virginia, Bosma has garnered critical acclaim for her fearless energy, uninhibited expressiveness, and choreographic vision. A Michigan native, Bosma spent two years with Israel’s Kombina Dance Company assimilating a highly physical theatrical approach to movement. Her ‘Handle with Care’ swirls and careens like a carousel before growing to stiletto-hardened maturity. Bosma’s characters achingly long for sanctuary amid today’s unstable world.”

Virginia Commonwealth University Residency
“Meisha Bosma’s “For What Was” was one of the most beautiful pieces of the evening because of its rudimentary choreography. The piece was laden with ballet-inspired movement and was very soothing to watch when compared to the more hard-edged works of the evening. Set to one of Heitor Villa-Lobos’ “Bachianas Brasileiras,” the duo of Samantha Crawford and Jessica Wright was radiant with poise and grace.”
Faculty, guest-artist choreography dazzles audiences

For What it Was

Dance View Times
“Compellingly unforgettable”

“A cadre of top-flight dancers and an artistic director with a keen eye for fresh work.”

“Meisha Bosma is not afraid to let her dancers weep, laugh, gag, twitch or wriggle in decidedly unattractive ways. Yet for all the gawky poses she finagles, her compact evening of newe and recent work is surprisingly beautiful and satisfyingly stimulating.”

“Handle with Care, her most fully realized piece is a stunner, leaving me wanting more from this tribe of female characters.”

bosmadance recent performances


In Plaster


Every Man is an Island

Sky Kisses Earth

Awards & Recognitions
2007 Dance Magazine “25 to Watch For”
Meisha Bosma named one of “25 to Watch For” by Dance Magazine 2007.

2007 Metro DC Dance Award Finalist
“Excellence in Lighting Design” for Shelter
“Excellence in Sound Design/Original Composition” for Grass

2006 Meisha Bosma named “One of DC’s Most Powerful Women”
- Washingtonian Magazine

2005 Outstanding Individual Performance MDCDA
–Meisha Bosma in Blind Spot

2005 Outstanding New Work Metro DC Dance Award
– Blind Spot

2005 Emerging Performer Metro DC Dance Award
–BosmaDance’s Eileen Schwartz

2005 Emerging Choreographer Metro DC Dance Award
–Meisha Bosma

2004 Outstanding New Work Metro DC Dance Award
–I Love, I Don’t

Partnerships
Alexandria Performing Arts Association continues to support BosmaDance through numerous grants and financial sponsorship.

We thank all of our partners who generously contribute.

SUPPORT THE ARTS!
It is a fact that BosmaDance would not exist without individual sponsorship. Please consider making a donation to help support the administrative and artistic efforts of our company. Your contribution is greatly appreciated and is also tax deductible.

Please send your donations today to:
(checks payable to ‘APAA’)

Alexandria Performing Arts Association
PO Box 1925
Alexandria, VA 22313

Supported by Lulumon Athletic