Upcoming Performances

This Performance is  available for booking

Cast options:

• 4 dancers · 3 musicians · 1 technician
  OR

• 6 dancers · 4 musicians · 1 technician

Songs include:

• 16 Tons

• Dark as a Dungeon

• Hard Travelin’

• Union Maid

• Pie in the Sky

• Do Re Mi

• Chemical Worker’s Song

• Hard Times in Coleman Mines

• Worker’s Song

• Little Birdie

• and others.

About This Production

America in Motion

A New Production by The Vanaver Caravan

America in Motion is a vibrant, full-length music and dance production celebrating the resilience, creativity, and spirit of working people across America’s history. Rooted in the Vanaver Caravan’s founding belief, that dance and music can communicate what words often cannot, the work brings the company’s mission into an American landscape: to inspire understanding, connection, and hope through shared human stories.

Conceived and directed by Brian T. Lawton, Associate Artistic Director of Dance, and developed in collaboration with the Vanaver Caravan Artistic Re-Visioning Committee, America in Motion asks us to remember that America is not a single story but a vibrant tapestry of cultures, communities, and voices. The piece celebrates the songs and stories of working people and invites artists and audiences alike into a shared question: who is America?

Drawing inspiration from the Caravan’s classic works (Pastures of Plenty, Turn, Turn, Turn, and EarthBeat), America in Motion extends the vision of founders Bill and Livia Vanaver into a contemporary, inclusive, and timely conversation about our shared humanity. Through live music, song, and dance, the production explores the American labor story, miners and mill workers, farmers and factory hands, railroad builders and dreamers, all bound together by rhythm, resilience, and song.

As Brian Lawton describes the work:

“America in Motion offers a small glimpse into the lives of often overlooked laborers, stories of pride, adversity, and the bonds that unite all workers. The full work is inhabited by characters from all walks of life, including miners, farmers, factory workers, railroad workers, and more. We explore the obstacles they face, the joys they experience, and the echoes of their stories today.”

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, America in Motion invites audiences to reflect on who we are, where we’ve come from, and the world we hope to build together. Rooted in history yet unmistakably relevant today, the work is both a celebration and a reflection, honoring the people whose labor, creativity, and courage continue to keep the story of America in motion.

An eclectic evening of live music and dance, America in Motion blurs the lines between musician, dancer, performer, and audience. The score is performed live and features fiddle, bass, guitar, banjo, vocals, and percussion. Choreography draws from a wide range of American traditions, including Appalachian clogging, lindy hop, percussive dance, contemporary dance, and hip-hop. Educational materials and school programs are available in conjunction with public performances.