Catherine Gallant's ESCAPE FROM THE HOUSE OF MERCY

Catherine Gallant presents her Escape from the House of Mercy, a dance/theater work inspired by the notorious House of Mercy, once located at Inwood Hill Park in Upper Manhattan.

Described as "a home for abandoned and troubled women," The House of Mercy was, in fact, closer to a prison or workhouse to which most women and girls were brought against their wills. Two performances, December 18 & 19 at 7 PM at St. Michael's Church, 225 West 99th Street.

The House of Mercy was initially located on 86th Street near Riverside Drive, and relocated to Inwood Hill Park in 1891, operating until approximately 1921. At The House of Mercy a young woman could be locked up for years for an "offense," such as dancing in public or walking alone at night. Inhabitants were routinely punished with starvation diets, head shaving, and restraints.

In 1895, three girls managed to escape the institution on whose walls were inscribed "I wish i was dead" and "god help me get out." This inhumane and demoralizing treatment, in the guise of rehabilitation, was part of an era when the rights of the poor, especially women, were completely denied.

Gallant seeks to mine the feelings of vulnerability and powerlessness as they relate to the present in the drive for social freedoms and equity. Escape from the House of Mercy is a 21st century women's view of our social support systems measuring both the ground gained and the distance yet to be traveled.

Learn more at www.catherinegallantdance.com