Program Notes for Rosy Simas: A:gajë:gwah dësa'nigöëwë:nye:' (i hope it will stir your mind)
Rosy Simas
A:gajë:gwah dësa’nigöëwë:nye:’ (i hope it will stir your mind)
Wednesday–Saturday, May 13–16, 2026
McGuire Theater
A:gajë:gwah dësa’nigöëwë:nye:’ (i hope it will stir your mind)
Simas’ movement practice of deep listening to the earth, stars, ancestors, and each other creates a dynamic Native contemporary dance work that draws the audience and performers into a shared space of relationality. Layers of movement, sound and visuals create an environment intended to facilitate a refocusing of attention, so that we may be together in a more engaged way.
A:gajë:gwah dësa’nigöëwë:nye:’ weaves a mind of peace into every aspect of its creation—every movement, every stitch of the set, every sound and image is imbued with a “good mind,” the Seneca notion of a peacemaking state of being.
Developed during a two-year residency at the Walker, the work features five performers, including Simas. While the choreography is highly structured, it is rooted in improvisational scores derived from a foundational philosophical concept: the matter that exists in the universe is the same matter that exists in our body, and is the same matter that existed in our ancestors. Haudenosaunee practices such as Deep Listening and moving in counter-clockwise patterns create an abstract transdisciplinary universe that rejects false dichotomies between the traditional and contemporary, the sonic and somatic, the visual and the physical, even the separations between life and art.
The immersive soundscape, composed by François Richomme, features field recordings gathered from Seneca lands. The set includes large backdrops of corn husks that ground the performance in the origination of the entire transdisciplinary project. Abstract video of footage from Seneca lands explores light and the absence of light. These elements all intend to help both audience and performers to focus, together.
Access is inherent to this dance work from its inception. This includes offering ASL interpretation and audio description from an Indigenous perspective; a seating structure with ramps to ensure equitable, safe seating; care attendants for all performances; and a preshow sensory tour centering blind and low vision audiences.
The performance is linked to Simas’s concurrent gallery installation (on view through July 5). Both utilize materials vital to Seneca culture, specifically corn husk, which appears in the form of twined vessels and sculptural elements. Engagement events with culture bearers also occur throughout the project, bringing the community together to experience peace, rest, and engage in actions that cultivate peace.
Performance Credits:
Lead Artist: Rosy Simas
Composer: François Richomme
Lighting Design: Heidi Eckwall
Performers: Sam Aros-Mitchell (Texas Band of Yaquí Indians), Talia Dixon (Pauma Band of Luiseño Indians), Charlie Maybee (Seneca Nation Descent), Lela Pierce, and Rosy Simas
Video Assistant, Audio Describer & Stage Manager: Sequoia Hauck (Hupa & White Earth Nation)
Lead Fabrication & Production Assistant: Jeffrey Wells
Red Oak Bench: James Simas
Costumes: Eliza Erdrich (Descendant of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians) with assistance by Nickey Robo
Cornhusk Twined Moccasins: Frazer Sundown
Access Consultant & Audio Description: Barak adé Soleil
Cultural consultants: Damian Webster and Jamie Jacobs (Tonawanda Band of Seneca)
Platform and Ramp Construction: Alex Kermes
Video Assistance: Peter Marrow
Natural Dying Consultant: Sarah Nassif
Project Community Engagement Cultural Bearers, Artists, Teachers:
Karen Ann Hoffman, Terry Jones, Frazer Sundown, Penelope Minner, Reuben Roqueñi, Sherri Waterman Hopper, Maria Hupfield, Jamie Jacobs, Barbara Mahler
Rosy Simas Danse:
Shannon Epplett (Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians), Managing Director
Lila Hurwitz, Development and Marketing Consultant
Lelis Brito, Production and Administrative Assistance
RSD Board of Directors:
Heid E. Erdrich, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa
Marne Zafar
Carolyn Payne
Fern Renville
Laurie Van Wieren
Walker Art Center:
Vanessa Agnes, Public Engagement Coordinator
Brad Baute, Carpentry Shop Supervisor
Philip Bither, Director and Senior Curator of Performing Arts
Allison Burns, Installation Support and Media Technician
Doc Czypinski, Associate Director of Exhibition Installation
Janine DeFeo, Manager of Interpretation
Pablo de Ocampo, Director and Curator of Moving Image
Sierra Ikwe Edwards, Community Engagement Coordinator
Brandon Eng, Curatorial Assistant
Makenzie Flom, Moving Image Department Administrator
KD Deutsch Frost, Video Supervisor
Peter Hannah, Lead Preparator
Pamela Johnson, Senior Editor
David Juarez, Installation Support Technician
Jonathan Karen, Lead Preparator
Alex Kermes, Lead Preparator
Jon Kirchhofer, Lighting Supervisor
Sarah Lampen, Associate Director of Learning and Accessibility
Miles Latham, Stage Hand
Megan Leafblad, Associate Director of Public Engagement
Daedalus Li, Mildred S. Friedman Design Fellow
Doug Livesay, Sound Supervisor
Paula MacDonald, Accessibility Resources and Programs Associate
Elizabeth MacNally, Associate Director of Event Production
Kirk McCall, Preparator, Exhibition Drafting and Lighting Specialist
Kayla Nordlund, Associate Registrar
Prerna, Installation Support Technician
Oogie Push, Indigenous Initiatives Specialist
Sophia Reed, Manager of Public Engagement
Aaron Robinson, Stage Supervisor
Joel Schwarz, Preparator, Exhibition Framing Specialist
Jeffrey Sherman, Preparator
Ashley Solem, Design Studio Manager
Wyatt Heatherington Tilka, Production Manager
Julie Voigt, Senior Program Officer, Performing Arts
Kaia Wahmanholm, Assistant Registrar
Liqing Xu, Associate Multimedia Producer
In addition to this list of Walker staff that Simas worked with directly to realize the installation, performance work, and community engagement activities, she wants to acknowledge the gallery assistants who keep the relatives (cornhusk bottles) safe in the gallery, and the ticketing team, the marketing and PR team, and the Walker leadership who went beyond and above to make this project a success.
Accessibility
ASL interpretation is planned for the Friday and Saturday 7:30 pm performances.
Audio description services are planned for the Saturday 2 pm performance.
The Saturday 2 pm performance is mask-required and scent-free. Ticket holders should avoid wearing lotions, colognes, and perfumes.
For help navigating the arrival, parking, and the building, an accessible wayfinding guide is available to support your visit.
For more information about accessibility, visit our Access page.
For questions on accessibility or to request additional accommodations, call 612-375-7564 or email access@walkerart.org.
Dedications
Many creative people in our lives have passed on in the last two years since we began the journey A:gajë:gwah dësa’nigöëwë:nye:’ (i hope it will stir your mind).
The installation, performance and community engagement activities all honor the memory of Simas’ mother Laura Waterman Wittstock (1937–2021, Seneca, Heron Clan) and all of their relatives represented in the installation.
This transdisciplinary work honors the spirit of Simas’ longtime friend and collaborator, designer, and technical director, Christopher J. Fleming (1967–2023) whose passion for true artistic collaboration with choreographers is deeply missed.
The May 13th show is dedicated to Rachel Jendrzejewski on her birthday.
Thank you:
Jacob’s Pillow, Barbara Mahler, Valerie Oliveiro and Red Eye Theater, Lissa Jones-Lofgren, Arwen Wilder, Breakthrough Fitness, Laura Ross and Cleo, Cindi Martin (Red Lake Nation).
Living Land Acknowledgment
The McGuire Theater and Walker Art Center are located on the contemporary, traditional, and ancestral homelands of the Dakota people. Situated near Bde Maka Ska and Wíta Tópa Bde, or Lake of the Isles, on what was once an expanse of marshland and meadow, this site holds meaning for Dakota, Ojibwe, and Indigenous people from other Native nations, who still live in the community today.
We acknowledge the discrimination and violence inflicted on Indigenous peoples in Minnesota and the Americas, including forced removal from ancestral lands, the deliberate destruction of communities and culture, deceptive treaties, war, and genocide. We recognize that, as a museum in the United States, we have a colonial history and are beneficiaries of this land and its resources. We acknowledge the history of Native displacement that allowed for the founding of the Walker. By remembering this dark past, we recognize its continuing harm in the present and resolve to work toward reconciliation, systemic change, and healing in support of Dakota people and the land itself.
We honor Native people and their relatives, past, present, and future. As a cultural organization, the Walker works toward building relationships with Native communities through artistic and educational programs, curatorial and community partnerships, and the presentation of new work.
Rosy Simas Dance Acknowledgments
Support for A:gajë:gwah dësa’nigöëwë:nye:’ (i hope it will stir your mind) is provided by the Mellon Foundation, Good Relatives Collaborative, National Performance Network’s Creation Fund and Documentation & Storytelling Initiative, the Map Fund, and the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and the Mellon Foundation.
A:gajë:gwah dësa’nigöëwë:nye:’ (i hope it will stir your mind) is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Rosy Simas is a 2023 Doris Duke Artist.
Support for Rosy Simas Danse is provided by the McKnight Foundation, Mellon Foundation, Good Relatives Collaborative, the National Endowment for the Arts, a Seeding Cultural Treasures grant from Propel Nonprofits, a Racial and Economic Justice grant from the Minneapolis Foundation, and is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. Support for Rosy Simas Danse’s Artist in Residence Program is provided by the Jerome Foundation.
Walker Art Center Acknowledgments
A:gajë:gwah dësa’nigöëwë:nye:’ (i hope it will stir your mind) is made possible with support from Cinda Collins, the Serendipitous Leverage Fund, and the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project. Walker commissioning support provided by Lois and John Rogers.
This activity is made possible by the Bridge Fund for Dance program through the City of Minneapolis Arts & Cultural Affairs Department.
The work is a National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Walker Art Center, Jacob’s Pillow, and NPN, and is supported by the National Performance Network (NPN) Artist Engagement Fund.
The Walker Art Center’s Performing Arts programs and commissions are made possible by donors and Producers’ Council members: AJT Fund; Bridge Fund for Dance program through the City of Minneapolis Arts & Cultural Affairs Department; Christina Evans and Weston Hoard; Nor Hall and Roger Hale; Judith Brin Ingber and Jerome Ingber; Neal Jahren; the Jerome Foundation; King’s Fountain/Barbara Watson Pillsbury; Knox Foundation: Susanne Lilly Hutcheson, Zenas Hutcheson IV, Henry Hutcheson, and Perrin Hutcheson; Sarah Lutman; Emily Maltz; the David and Leni Moore Family Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; National Performance Network; Rebecca Rand; Lois and John Rogers; the Serendipitous Leverage Fund; Therese Sexe and David Hage; Elizabeth and Mike Sweeney; John L. Thomson; Villa Albertine and Albertine Foundation; Sue and Jim Westerman; and Frances and Frank* Wilkinson. Media partner MPR News, The Current, and YourClassical MPR.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Thank you, Walker members, for your generous support.
