CLOSE UP by Stefanie Batten Bland and Daniel Bernard Roumain
Company:
CLOSE UP by Stefanie Batten Bland and Daniel Bernard Roumain
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Department of Theater Arts will present the world premiere of CLOSE UP, an intimate, evening-length performance by choreographer/dancer Stefanie Batten Bland and composer/violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain on Friday and Saturday, March 13-14, at 7:30pm, as part of The Gus Solomons Jr. Visiting Artist Series. The Friday evening performance will include a post-show conversation with the artists.
CLOSE UP brings together three-time Bessie-nominated artist Stefanie Batten Bland and Emmy Award-winning composer and violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain in an intimate new concert of music and dance, where sound and movement entwine to reveal the stories our bodies carry. Conceived as a musical and physical lullaby, the work recreates the immediacy of a speakeasy where the danger and thrill of proximity and truth can cut like a dagger or cradle us with love and acceptance. Blending classical, jazz, créole, and postmodern influences into one expression, CLOSE UP explores deeply rooted cultural narratives shaped by ancestry and memory. Together, Batten Bland and Roumain celebrate the resilience of the human spirit, holding the beauty, humor, horror, and care within each body, and emphasizing the necessity of tenderness in turbulent times. Through this dialogue of bow and body, rhythm and resistance, they build a world both familiar and newly imagined: a sanctuary of sound, sweat, and grace.
CLOSE UP features dramaturgy by Daniel Safer, costumes by Shane Ballard, and lighting design by Jessica Drayton.
CLOSE UP has been developed in part with support from MIT’s 2025-26 Gus Solomons, Jr. Visiting Artist program which is supported by the generous donors to the 2022 McDermott Award Gala, hosted by the Council for the Arts at MIT. Additional support has been provided by New Music USA 2025, MIT Theater Arts, Arizona State University, and Montclair State University.
