Project Witness: Dancing Beyond Boundaries
See Witness Live
Tuesday, July 28, 7pm
Union College’s Henle Dance Pavilion
Schenectady, New York
Bridging worlds through movement, poetry and trust, this performance was born from years of creative risk, deep listening and radical collaboration. Created by the founder of MovingPotential, the work began inside the walls of Greene Correctional Facility where Sondra led yoga, writing and dance improvisation workshops for incarcerated men. These quiet moments of breath and movement grew into a collective story – a shared language of resilience, imagination and dignity. Moving beyond the prison walls, artists on the outside respond to the work of those inside through dance “scores”, — gestures and what Sondra calls telepathic dancing — a practice of connection that defies separation. The result is part ritual, part performance and wholly human.
This performance is made possible with funds from the NYS DanceForce, a partnership program of the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
The Witness Origin Story
On a spring evening in Hudson, New York, the stage at The Flow Chart Foundation came alive with Witness—a poetic performance born from years of creative risk, deep listening, and radical collaboration.
Created by Sondra Loring, founder of MovingPotential, Witness began inside the walls of Greene Correctional Facility, where Sondra led yoga, writing, and dance improvisation workshops for incarcerated men. What started as quiet moments of breath and movement grew into a collective story—a shared language of resilience, imagination, and dignity.
In Witness, those stories move beyond the prison walls. Artists on the outside respond to the work of men inside through dance “scores,” gestures, and what Sondra calls telepathic dancing—a practice of connection that defies separation. The result is part ritual, part performance, and wholly human.
A scene from the March 30, 2025 premiere of Witness.
Supported by NYSCA, Arts in Corrections NYS, and Wave Farm, and with additional funding from the Office of the Governor, the New York State Legislature, and the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Witness stands as a model for how art can restore meaning in places often defined by loss.
Loring—recipient of the 2024 NYS DanceForce grant and the 2025 NYSCA Support for Artists grant—calls the work a “moving prayer,” one that honors the invisible threads connecting all people, inside and out.
The ensemble includes Sunder Ashni, Eric Cherry, Erick Montes, Peggy Gould, Dwayne Resnick, Hana van der Kolk, Suanny Upegi, and Noa Woodley. Inside Greene, collaborators include Andre, Arkeyse, Bipartisan, Brandon, Brian, Bruce, Cash, Christopher, Dennis, Donte, Jason, Joseph, Joshua, Josiah, Kevin, Lemar, Maurice, Mazraany, Mitchell, Otto, Player, Randy, Ricky, Robert, Royan, Terri, Thimas, Tim, Timothy, and Vashant.
Original music by Aidan Samp. One longtime participant, now released, has joined the company full-time—a living embodiment of art’s power to transform.
The Journey Continues
Following successful performances in 2025, Witness comes to Union College on July 28th at 7pm, presented by NY State Danceforce—free and open to the public.
A documentary film, shot by the Skidmore Film Department and now being edited by Devin Pickering, will premiere at the Crandall Theater in Chatham in the fall, offering a rare look into how creativity crosses boundaries of confinement and freedom.
Your support helps this story continue to unfold.
Every gift—large or small—extends the reach of Witness, helping us share this work with new audiences and deepen the conversation around healing and justice.
