Dawned traces a community’s emotional and physical transformation as they navigate the tension between darkness and light. Six dancers move with urgency, vulnerability, and resilience through virtuosic contemporary dance layered with projection and theatricality. Set to a dramatic, luscious score by Eric Dietz, the work is both a reckoning and a release—an ode to collective healing and the courage it takes to step into the unknown.

This crowdfunding campaign will support the September 12, 2025 performance of Dawned at the Spark Theater Festival NYC. Funds will go directly toward compensating the dancers, renting rehearsal space, upgrading costumes, and covering administrative needs. Our goal is $7,000.

Originally premiered in 2022, Dawned returns with new life. Inspired by the emotionally charged photography of Gregory Crewdson, the work imagines characters trapped in turmoil, slowly transformed through shared experience. With a new cast and deeper emotional excavation, the 2025 iteration offers a timely reminder: resistance to change can fracture a community, but vulnerability and patience can mend it.

This is a story of reckoning, rebirth, and finding strength in one another. Dawned invites each audience member to recognize themselves in the characters’ struggles and transitions.

Robert Mark Dance believes in “artists first | artist forward.” Your donation ensures that dancers are paid for their work, their artistry respected, and their physical health prioritized. With your support, we can rehearse safely, elevate our production elements, and create a space of deep collaboration and care.

We also believe dance cannot be made in isolation—it requires community. That’s why your contribution matters. You’re not just supporting a performance; you’re helping artists survive, thrive, and keep telling the stories we all need.

Rehearsals begin in July 2025, leading to our performance on Friday, September 12 at 7PM at the Chain Theater. Donors will receive regular updates and behind-the-scenes looks via this campaign page and on Instagram at @RobertMarkDance.