Behind the Scenes
Watch a video about Tea and Flowers, Purity and Grace.
Tea and Flowers, Purity and Grace
A dance play based on Edith Wharton’s "House of Mirth"
Created and choreographed by Susan Dibble
November 20-23, 2008
Mainstage Theater
Edith Wharton’s novel "House of Mirth" serves as the inspiration of this lovely adaptation by acclaimed dancer and choreographer Susan Dibble. Young socialite Lily Bart brings her beauty, ambition and cunning to bear on her attempt to climb New York’s social ladder by arranging an advantageous marriage for herself, as is expected by custom and society, yet all of her efforts are thwarted by her own desire for a life of luxury and greed. “Society is a revolving body,” Edith Wharton wrote, and the characters of her pages come to life in this Tableaux Vivant-inspired work of twenty-four dances guided by a narrator combines dance, movement and music ranging from Chopin and Satie to Ragtime and Laurie Anderson.
Download the Fall 2008 issue of State of the Arts, which includes an article on Tea and Flowers, Purity and Grace written by Ingrid Schorr. (PDF)