“Moon Studies” by Jan Bartoszek/Photo: Vin Reed

Jan Bartoszek, founder and director of Hedwig Dances, had a request of the two company artists making pieces for their upcoming program of new works: incorporate objects. Perhaps this is a given with Hedwig: over its forty-plus years the company has forged a signature brand of performance in which abstract contemporary dance is shaped with, around and by inanimate figures on the stage.

Take the massive, origami-inspired sculptures in 2013’s “AscenDance,” the springy poles in the 2018 “Futura,” or the geometric Bauhaus-era costumes in 2022’s “Meta | Mor | Phos: a triadic fiction”—in Hedwig productions, dancers partner with objects, are swallowed up by them and emerge from them in wondrous ways. Bartoszek playfully reveals how human bodies are conversant with and transformed by the designed world.

Three pieces will premiere in Hedwig’s program “Nexus,” April 24-26 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts. Bartoszek tells me that her piece, “Moon Studies,” will be—while ready for prime time in this iteration—a work-in-progress.

“I’ve been studying the moon for… some time,” she says, reaching for a binder of illustrations and text. Bartoszek’s departure point is a poem about a woman remembering her deceased mother as she gazes at the moon. Puppeteer Jacky Kelsey is designing a puppet theater that will house the story of how the deceased live on through the bodies and memories of their kin.

Kelsey also designed costumes for “Moon Studies.” These include pleated, toga-like garments in bright, saturated colors for a section inspired by the generally accepted origin story of the moon. Millennia ago, a celestial body called Thea collided with Earth, chipping off what would become our planet’s satellite and, in the process, was absorbed into the center of the Earth. Kelsey says the costumes nod to Greek mythology and are designed to expand and flow with currents of air. Other objects in the piece: translucent, origami-like crescents the dancers unfold into orbs of different sizes; a large circular frame stretched with a gauzy white fabric that defines the geometry and relationships of a duet, lit by a handheld flashlight. “I’m interested in the shadow,” Bartoszek says.

There’s humor too, including a clowning segment (still in development) in which Kaelen Gouveia and Milo Sachse-Hofheimer fall into doofy nocturnal raptures: Lunacy in its original sense. Our closest astral body that glows by reflection, associated with madness, the shadow-self, the yin, the space of emotions and dreams—it’s a rich subject and Bartoszek anticipates “Moon Studies” will ultimately wax into a full, evening-length work.

“De Profundis” by Milo Sachse-Hofheimer/Photo: Vin Reed

Also on the program is “De Profundis,” a trio by company member Sachse-Hofheimer, who cites Martha Graham’s “Lamentations” as an inspiration for their short piece about grief and “the multiplicity of forms it can take.” A large, stretchy loop of fabric designed by the choreographer’s brother—their first collaboration as siblings—enshrouds three dancers at the beginning of the piece. The gray shape morphs constantly. Identifiable body parts and the boundaries between individuals blur until an arm emerges and one dancer peels out from the writhing mass. When a second dancer emerges, the two engage in a rolling, lifting, supporting duet, marked by moments of repose. The lone shrouded dancer retreats upstage. Sachse-Hofheimer says the piece reflects the emotional circularity of grief in their own life.

The original score for “De Profundis” was created in a four-hour session with Sachse-Hofheimer’s friends, some of whom hadn’t met before. Inspired by Alice Coltrane and spiritual jazz, the choreographer provided a loose score and guided the improvisation on tambourine. “One person said they had to leave in a half-hour so I hit record,” they tell me. “We got exactly what I needed in one take.”

“Table of the Years” by Heriberto Meneses/Photo: Vin Reed

The third premiere in “Nexus” is by company member Heriberto Meneses, who is choreographing for the first time. “Table of the Years” is a quartet about Meneses’ last night with friends in his native Cuba, which he left for the United States three years ago. The objects here are traditional set pieces: a café table and chairs, a bench. They set the scene for a heartfelt dance that is at once playful and wistful, introspective and expansive.

“Table of the Years” was finished by the time of my rehearsal visit, so I got to view it in its entirety. Divided into three sections, the piece begins with dancers entering the scene one at a time, moving long and low to the ground, dancing together, but focused inwardly. The second section is an affectionate duet concluding in an embrace that releases slowly, fingertips finally parting as the other two dancers rejoin for the allegro conclusion. The final section is brightened by upward extensions, ripples and an endearing, optimistic ending. “Table” is a well-conceived, sincere and emotionally resonant first effort.

Hedwig Dances “Nexus” at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 North Dearborn. April 24-26, Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm, Sunday at 2pm. $35. Tickets and info at hedwigdances.com.

Published in the print edition of the April 2026 issue, with the headline “Bright and Shiny Objects: Hedwig Dances Performs ‘Nexus,’ a Trio of New Work.”