Part I: solo from Education of the Girlchild (1972)
Part II: Shards: music, images and movement from the “Girlchild” period (1969-1973)

The solo from Education of the Girlchild was originally performed by Meredith Monk in the spring of 1972 and subsequently became Part II of Education of the Girlchild: an opera,which premiered in November 1973 and included a cast of nine. A poetic work conjuring cycles of growth and transmutation by exploring female/male archetypes, it was awarded first prize in musical theater at the Venice Biennale in 1975. Monk revived her solo for the 2008 American Dance Festival, and once again shares her exhilarating voice and renowned presence in an inimitable performance of this legendary work. During the second half of the program, Shards, Monk is joined by Ensemble members Katie Geissinger, Ellen Fisher and Allison Sniffin to revive music and movement from the “Girlchild” era, including selections from Key: an album of invisible theatre (1970) and Vessel: an opera epic (1971). This masterful program revisits the source of Monk’s prolific outpouring, offering some of the most original performance work of our time.

“…[Girlchild] is art at its best, art that pulses with energy and sets up sympathetic vibrations which echo and reverberate down into our innermost selves.” – NY Metropolitan Review #30, 1972

“Ms. Monk’s luminous Delphic presence, her extraordinary vocal range…are almost overwhelmingly memorable…Toward the end, a marvelously minimal dance…reveals a joyous theatricality that seems to contain all of life itself.” -Roslyn Sulcas, The New York Times, 2011

Ms. Monk revived the solo comprising Part II of Education of the Girlchild: an opera(1972) for the 2008 American Dance Festival in Durham, NC. Education of the Girlchild Revisited premiered in June of 2010 in Paris, France opening the June Events Festival at Atalier de Paris, La Cartoucherie, and was subsequently performed in at Marseille Objectif Danse in France. It received its U.S. premiere at Austin Peay University in October 2010, with performances at Bryn Mawr College in February 2011 and as the final production of Dance Theater Workshop, offsite at 3LD Art and Technology Center, in June 2011.

Education of the Girlchild Revisited was commissioned by The House Foundation for the Arts.

Performers: Meredith Monk, Ellen Fisher, Katie Geissinger, Allison Sniffin

History of Performance: Atelier de Paris, La Cartoucherie, Paris, France; Marseille Objectif Danse, Marseille, France