Troubled Woman

Choreographer Fabrice Herrault was inspired by my music last spring at a Mannes School of Music composition concert. The piece is called “Troubled Woman” based on a poem by Langston Hughes. It depicts a woman who is burdened with grief and solitude. Mr. Herrault’s moving choreography for one dancer expresses her pain through graceful movements, dampened by sorrow and unhappiness. “Troubled Woman”, was performed this summer at the Alvin Ailey School Extension Program.

The Inspiration

Troubled Woman
by Langston Hughes

She stands
In the quiet darkness,
This troubled woman,
Bowed by weariness and pain,
Like an
Autumn flower
In the frozen rain.
Like a wind-blown autumn flower
That never lifts its head
Again.