Nourishment is an evening-length, site-specific and multi-sensory performance experience that uses the collaboration of dance, theater, live music, storytelling, new media, set design, food and drinks to investigate the question: Why Believe? 

Church Street School for Music and Art will host the 5th chapter of Nourishment which delves into a myriad of questions and feelings surrounding religion, afterlife, spirit and soul. What do you believe in and is it possible for deep beliefs to change? In our current national and international political climate it can seem that beliefs often do more dividing than bringing together. Why Believe asks the audience to explore what it means to believe in something, what it feels like to lose faith, and if the act of believing even matters at all. 

Deemed intuitive and forceful (M. Davidson) and interdisciplinary, visceral, aloud and alive (Presenting Denver), Why Believe builds on the Nourishment mission of creating sensory and experiential performances. Immersed in a richly textured, polyphonic environment, audience members participate in the construction of their experience, interacting actively with foods, drinks, and set elements. "Why Believe?" probes the roles of individual agency, illusion, and knowledge in the formation of beliefs, and the audience will be asked to consider and reconsider the choices they have made as active participants in the evening's performance. Ticket prices include three small bites, paired with wine/beer/spirits. Nourishment has teamed up with several New York area purveyors to honor their commitment to partnering with companies who are local, organic, and working with sustainability.

Founded in 2015 under the artistic direction of Gwendolyn Gussman, HOLDTIGHT has developed, created, self-produced, and presented four evening-length Nourishment productions as well as participating and presenting work in several festivals. Premiering and touring work in both NYC and Denver, HOLDTIGHT has worked with over 25 national and international collaborators in disciplines including dance, theater, music, visual arts, projections, new media, set design, lighting design, chefs, sommeliers, and craft cocktail artists. Nourishment has received rave reviews and features by publications such as No Proscenium, 303Magazine,The Stewardship Report, Presenting Denver, offoffoff, and others.
Each Nourishment is based on a viscerally-charged question and blends dance, theater, live music, visual arts, new media, installation design, and storytelling, along with food and drinks, creating boundary pushing, experiential and intimate art performances that invite the audience to tap into their own feelings and memories through their five-senses.

Cast/Collaborating Artists for this production include: Anna Driftmier, Nico Gonzales, Gwendolyn Gussman, Aja Jackson, Jett Kwong Kelly, Xenia Mansour, Kevin Quinn Marchman, and Hallie Spoor.