The Violin Under The Bed

THE VIOLIN UNDER THE BED

Gregory Hancock has been creating and choreographing a new piece for his company to perform. Below is some background information about the piece and the meaning behind the name.

When my mother was a young child she cleaned houses to help make money for her family. She was one of eight children from a poor family in Kansas. She dreamed of dancing, playing the piano and playing the violin, but her family could not afford any type of lessons for any of the children. At one home where she would clean, the lady of the house played the violin and kept it under her bed. My mother would pull the case out from under the bed, open it and look at the violin and imagine she was playing it. She never took it out of the case, but she simply became lost in the idea of becoming music. Many years later, when I was an adult child, I gave her a violin for a gift one Christmas. She never learned to play it, but that did not matter. Her life had moved to a point where she could
have a violin under her bed. The violin is still under her bed. This is the story that inspired the title of my new dance piece that I am creating for my mother. THE VIOLIN UNDER THE BED will premiere on July 1 & 2 at The Tarkington. Please support my art in this very personal concert. Thank you to all the friends of my mother who attended a special event at my home last evening to help support this new work.

Within this new piece, company dancer Abigail Lessaris will be portraying the beautiful human and spirit that was Florence Hancock. THE VIOLIN UNDER THE BED brings to life some of Mr. Hancock’s favorite memories of his mother, along with some of Florence’s favorite things including a softball warm-up and game.

THE VIOLIN UNDER THE BED premieres in METAMORPHOSIS on July 1st and July 2nd at the Tarkington Theatre. Tickets for this performance are on sale now.