Related Features
IMPRESSIONS: Kurt Weill’s "Zaubernacht" (Magic Night) at the Museum of Jewish Heritage
DAY IN THE LIFE OF DANCE: A Burst of FIREBIRDS as Four Versions of the Iconic 1910 Ballet Take Flight This Spring
DAY IN THE LIFE OF DANCE: The Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble in "Rooms: America at 250" at the Museum of Jewish Heritage
By Stacey Menchel Kussell
View Profile |
More From This Author
Published on March 11, 2026
Margherita Tisato; Photo: Steven Pisano
Presented as Part of Carnegie Hall's Cultural Festival, "United in Sound - America at 250"
Choreography: Rooms by Anna Sokolow
Dancers: Margherita Tisato, Ilana Ruth Cohen, Samuel Humphreys, Krista Jansen, Margaret Mighty Oak Brackey, Mikey Comito, Edu Hernandez, Brad Orego
March 1, 2026
On a chilly day at the end of February, I had the pleasure of sitting down for coffee with Samantha Géracht to discuss one of the most iconic American female choreographers, Anna Sokolow. Géracht is the current artistic director of Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble (ST/DE), a dance company that continues to perform Sokolow's works and educate audiences about her lasting legacy. "I consider myself a curator, choosing and crafting different ways to appreciate the historic repertory," said Géracht. "It is not just about teaching and repeating steps; it is about the deeper elements of her work and the way it continues to distill human emotion.")
As part of Carnegie Hall's cultural festival, United in Sound - America at 250, ST/DE presented a series of programs about Sokolow and her work at the Museum of Jewish Heritage earlier this winter. The final piece of the program was a performance of Rooms on March 1, marking the company's first time performing at this Battery Park venue.
Rooms, Anna Sokolow's 1955 masterpiece, unfolds like a Beatnik poem and extracts the experience of urban isolation. Set to a textured, erratic jazz score composed by Kenyon Hopkins, eight dancers express moments of loneliness and hopefulness inside a New York tenement. In the current moment, full of uncertainties surrounding artificial intelligence and human disconnection, Sokolow's choreography feels more relevant than ever.
In this performance, the dancers channeled Sokolow effortlessly, revealing deep theatrical range and a varied mix of techniques. "Escape," danced by Ilana Ruth Cohen, portrayed a heartbroken, melancholic woman waltzing in soft, curving shapes; while "Going," interpreted by Brad Orego, displayed a restless character, bouncing with frenetic jumps and dynamic baseball slides. Mikey Comito's yearning solo, "The Dreamer," featured slow-moving gymnastic strength moves and deep torso contractions, in contrast to Margherita Tisato in "The End?," whose emotional intensity and fevered gestures drew on physical theater and mime tradition.
In this piece and in much of her work, Sokolow remains unpredictable, incorporating her many influences – Graham technique, European expressionism, and theater dance – into a seamless, eclectic symphony.
"Anna overlapped and danced with so many of the greats – Martha Graham, José Limón, and Alwin Nikolais. She was a big part of the foundation of American modern dance, while also being very avant-garde and ahead of her time," said Géracht.
While Sokolow's choreography draws from a wide range of human experience, Géracht also considers the choreographer a significant Jewish artist. "There are deep Jewish themes in her work, especially in pieces like Kaddish,Dreams, and Rooms. These works delve into the experience of her family, of immigration, displacement, and the Holocaust. It is not decorative Judaica," said Géracht.
Sokolow traveled to Israel for many years in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s, teaching and working with the country's first official dance companies, such as Inbal Dance Theater and the Batsheva Dance Company. Géracht hopes that this recent series will be the first of many programs that connect Sokolow more deeply with Jewish cultural programming in the USA and abroad.
Géracht leads the company in collaboration with two co-artistic directors, Eleanor Bunker and Lauren Naslund, both longtime dancers with the company. She took over the role in 2017 from her mentor Jim May, who created the repertory ensemble in 2000 after Sokolow passed away.
Géracht's innovative leadership has delivered unique collaborations and brought Sokolow's legacy to brand new audiences. A recent performance series at the Slipper Room, a burlesque theater, allowed the work to be seen in an intimate, sensual space and offered viewers a novel perspective on the work.
"I always keep the focus on Anna's work. Other repertory companies may bring in choreographers to set new pieces, but this is not our approach," said Géracht. "Instead, I seek out new venues, new audiences, new formats such as film and installation, and look for ways to collaborate with other companies by juxtaposing Anna's work with theirs.
Next up for ST/DE is a collaboration with Kanopy Dance Theater, in a co-production of Sokolow's Odes, which will be performed at the Overture Theater in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 16-19th, and then later in New York at MMAC Theater April 25-26th.
"Anna's work was intentionally minimalist, " says Géracht. She was flexible and adaptable, creating pieces not only for her company, but also choreographing all around the world. This makes her work exciting to set on other companies, and we can maintain this flexibility while staying true to her vision."
