Dirty Laundry - The Shed

Katherine Paola De La Cruz. Video: Tara Kutz.

About this production

The inspiration for Dirty Laundry came to dancer and choreographer Katherine Paola De La Cruz in a work-stress dream. Running desperately on a treadmill to nowhere, she could only speak out in office jargon.

In Dirty Laundry, a stationary bike serves as a symbol of hustle culture, a fatiguing ride that offers no progress forward no matter how hard one pedals. De La Cruz investigates labor in the context of immigrant experiences, drawing parallels between her work history and that of her parents. The work reflects on the seemingly inescapable effects of burn out across class, immigrant identities, and age groups.

Through interviews, sound scores, and dance theater, she uncovers humor in the chaos while exposing the ridiculous, violent natures of capitalism and American work culture. De La Cruz tackles current labor conversations and invites all of us to imagine different systems that place value on humans before profit.

Program Details

As part of Open Call’s inaugural development track, centered on providing an incubation for creative thought and process, Dirty Laundry will be presented to an invitation-only audience in the fall of 2026.

Creative Team

Katherine Paola De La Cruz is a Dominican dancer and choreographer based in Queens, NY. She graduated in 2020 from Hunter College with a BA in Anthropology and Dance. She has had artistic residencies at The Floor and at Little x Little Brooklyn. Katherine’s work is born from a need to make direct political statements and to make visible often ignored inner healing processes. Her work has centered around themes of social inequality, queerness, familial ties, immigration and mental health. Her works-in-progress have been performed at The Estrogenius Festival, Bates Dance Festival, The Brooklyn Peace Center, Movement Research at the Judson Church and The Space at Irondale. Katherine has performed in works by Monica Bill Barnes & Co, Soul Dance Co, Catherine Galasso, Maura Donohue Nguyen, Zishan Ugurlu and the Loco7 Dance Puppet Theatre Company.

Performers

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JUN 26 – JUL 25

New art for New York

Thank you to our partners

Support for Open Call is generously provided by

Additional support is provided by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; The Wescustogo Foundation; and Onassis ONX.

The creation of new work at The Shed is generously supported by the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Commissioning Fund. Major support for live productions at The Shed is provided by the Charina Endowment Fund and the Shubert Foundation, with additional support from New York State Council on the Arts with support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

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