The Head is not the Star of the Body

Mechanics' Hall presents Cassie Wang's gorgeous investigation into yearning, in which six dancers respond to the music of Big Thief. The Head is not the Star of the Body is a study on longing, a meditation on desire, and a measure of distances between. Created by Cassie Wang, the interdisciplinary performance is a choreographic and ethnographic response to music by American indie folk band Big Thief. Six performers traverse through states of holding, witnessing, singing, chasing, and coalescing in embodiments of varying relationality. The audience frames the performance on opposite sides, positioned to witness both the dance and a reflection of themselves/the other. Generative video art and projection weave into a dance that is intimate, nostalgic, and tender through moments of affective viscerality. Throughout this multi-year process, Wang and her collaborators ground themselves in the questions: How does longing reveal identity? How do we sit with someone else’s longing? How do we measure the distance between subjects of longing? There are three performances. Friday, November 13 at 8:00 PM (doors 7:30 PM); Saturday, November 14 at 7:00 PM (doors 6:30); and Sunday, November 15 at 5:00 PM (doors 4:30 PM). Immediately following the performance on Saturday, November 14, there will be a FREE reception and reflection workshop facilitated by the Dorothea & Leo Rabkin Foundation in the Mechanics' Hall Library. Ticketholders are invited to reflect on the performance through letter-writing, paired exchanges, and a collaborative zine. Refreshments and libations provided. Photo by Olivia Moon Photography Tickets are $20 for Mechanics' Hall Members, $25 for General Admission, $35 for reserved seating. There is a $5 surcharge at the door. No one turned away for lack of funds at the door. ABOUT THE ARTIST Cassie Wang is a performer and interdisciplinary dancemaker based between Boston and New York. Her work lives on a spectrum between the hyperliteral and the poetic; each project functions as a lens to interrogate relationality and her sense of self. She’s inspired by chance existential intimacy—moments of unexpected closeness with meaning. Her research conceptualizes longing as distance (emotional, spatial, temporal), and she believes in the universe and the inextricable intertwinement of creative process and life. Cassie is a movement researcher with Partnering Lab and a principal dancer with KAIROS Dance Theater. Her other recent performance credits include work with the Boston Lyric Opera, The Slutcracker, Emmanuel Music, Shura Baryshnikov, and Ilya Vidrin. Cassie was a 2026 Urbanity X Resident, a 2025 danceWEB Scholar at ImPulsTanz, a 2024–25 Next Steps for Boston Dance grantee, and has received the Dancemakers and Dance Lab Residencies at Boston Center for the Arts (2023–25). She has also held residencies at Bearnstow and Jacob’s Pillow, and her work has been presented by Motion State Arts, Asian American Ballet Project, Resilience Dance Company, Zero Point Arts, MIDDAY Movement, and Arrow Street Arts. Cassie has received additional support for her work from Movement Arts Creation Studio, New England Foundation for the Arts, The Boston Foundation, and Massachusetts Cultural Council. Cassie worked as a teaching assistant in Dance at Harvard University and earned a BA from Pomona College in Computer Science with minors in Dance and Media Studies. THE CREATIVE TEAM Director & Choreographer: Cassie Wang Performers & Collaborators: Gabriela Amy-Moreno, Hannah Franz, Sasha Peterson, Noli Rosen, Cassie Wang, Maude Warshaw Additional Movement Collaborators: Leah Misano, Juliet Paramor Video Editors: Kiki Temple & Cassie Wang Dramaturg: Ilya Vidrin Rehearsal Director: Dara Nicole Capley Music: Big Thief Lighting Designer: Audrey Kastner PARKING & TRANSPORTATION The Greater Portland Metro’s Congress & Casco Street Stop is directly in front of our building, served by routes 1, 7, 8, and 9B. Street Parking: Available on Congress, Casco, Cumberland, Free Street, and nearby streets. Pay by meter or the Passport Parking App. Free after 6 PM, on Sundays, and between Parris and Alder Street. Some blocks may vary — look for posted signs. Garages: The Arts District Garage (41 Brown St) has 250+ spaces, is open 24/7, and accepts credit card only, with entrances on Brown, Cumberland, and Casco. The Elm Street Garage (21 Elm St) is conveniently near the Portland Library. The Spring Street Garage is three blocks away at 45 Spring St. ACCESSIBILITY To enter our building, patrons will need to navigate a single step or use a modular ramp. Please note that the wheelchair ramp has a steep incline. A wheelchair-accessible elevator is available. The elevator is 60" deep, 48" wide, with a 32" door opening. There are four wheelchair-accessible bathrooms on the third-floor level, adjacent to the Ballroom. If you have a wheelchair or need accessibility accommodations/questions, please contact us at [email protected] or 207-773-8396. Funded in part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts, made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the six New England state arts agencies. Housing for the artists is generously provide by Black Elephant Hostel. Their budget-friendly accommodations are located in the fabulous India Street Neighborhood in downtown Portland, Maine.