Ignore Tenderness

“Ignore Tenderness” is an experimental performance. It follows a worm traversing a space filled with clutter and memories. The work explores the intimacy we find in material objects, the secrets our things reveal about us, and physical spaces as performers with agency. There will be dancing; there may be singing.

Note: this performance contains nudity. Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions.

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ess is a queer artist based in Jersey City. They have danced for Grant Jacoby, Anne Tantuico, and Nathalie Jonas. Through their collaborations with other artists, Ess has performed at Judson Church, the Asheville Fringe Festival, SMUSH Gallery, Subcircle, Mana Contemporary, and Bread and Puppet Theater. Through their own performance practice, Ess has shown work at SMUSH Gallery, the Sable Project, Arthouse Productions, and Battery Dance Festival. Ess uses performance to explore lifelong obsessions, including bras, heartbreak, worms, yeast, and haunted houses. Ess is a 2025 New Jersey Arts Council fellowship recipient. They earned their BFA in dance and BS in environmental policy from Rutgers University.

Part of SMUSH Gallery’s 2026 Dance Fellowship

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Supported by public funds from the Jersey City Arts and Culture Trust Fund and a grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a division of the Department of State, and administered by the Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs/Tourism Development.

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