In the Moment

Francesca Harper’s In the Moment is a meditation on presence, transformation, and the profound impact of being truly seen. The work is inspired by a personal memory: the gift of a dragonfly pin, a small but powerful gesture of recognition and enduring friendship. Through movement and text, the work explores the ways empathy can become action and how one generation can affirm, guide, and empower the next. In the Moment honors the fragile, fleeting nature of time while inviting us to recognize the beauty, strength, and possibility that exist when we are fully present and caring with one another.

_{For Denise and Carmen, they say a dragonfly lands where courage has forgotten its own name. It carries no miracles, only the memory that kindness survives us. Every life waits for the uncommon grace of recognition - that moment when another's gaze returns us to ourselves.}

_{Special thanks to Jermaine Spivey, Eriko Iisaku, Shay Bland, Naia Neal, Derek Brockington, Sumaya Jackson, Harrison Hoffert, Heather Craig, and Maggie Caradonna in bringing this work to life. To the artists of Ailey II, whose courage, curiosity, and generosity inspired and crafted this work.}

_{And to Sylvia Waters for your enduring example and the path you created for so many of us.}