10/28/2026
✍️ Some thoughts (thots) on LIZZIE BORDEN
🪓 No, there is no relation or inspiration derived from the Ryan Murphy Netflix show. In fact, I have ruminated for years about calling a piece “Lizzie Borden” despite no direct link to her, or her alleged murder spree, because I found that concept funny. I still do.
🪩 Instead, I wanted to cosmically link obsessions of mine: slasher films, classical ballet, post-modern forms, true crime, gay club culture, aggressive music.
😈 Speaking of music, I chose to include songs that bent my ears around what music could be. The first time I heard SOPHIE, Lingua Ignota, and even Charli XCX, I hated it. But I kept coming back to them. They opened a chasm in me that I’m still not done with. And I’ve become obsessed with them all.
🔪 Back to slashers, I’ve been knee deep in “It Came From the Closet” by Joe Vallese—a 2022 essay anthology of q***r interpretations of horror films. This book amplified feelings I’ve had about how we as spectators view bodies on screen and stage—in particular q***r bodies, female identifying bodies, people of color. They are often the ones the most sexualized, fetishized, and/or killed off first. Here, at LIZZIE BORDEN, they are seen, and they are celebrated.
💃 In my forever nod to the GOAT Trisha Brown, we are playing with visibility and invisibility. The first time I performed at Art House a year ago, I saw the space, and realized this was the perfect place for LIZZIE BORDEN to take form. I cannot thank them enough for presenting my spooky dance.
🩸 In terms of thanks: this presentation could not be possible without the support from Art House Productions, Center for Dance Arts, Dance Local, the Monira Foundation, Morven Museum & Garden, Nimbus Dance, Princeton Ballet School, and numerous individual donors. To show your support, please consider donating to help Grant Jacoby & Dancers make new works (link in bio)
🪦 And lastly, but most importantly, none of this could happen without my deeply, dedicated colleagues and collaborators. Some of which I’ve started working with in 2026, others I’ve been with since 2016. This work is just as much yours as it is mine. I am forever grateful.
katiee.mari
