THEY WERE ONCE

Directed by Jacqui M Dugal

They Were Once is a dance-theatre work blending autobiographical stories and revisions of history and future through a genderqueer lens. The performance explores the tension between prescribed identities and self-acceptance, examining how relationships shift as we embrace our true selves.

The piece begins with a scene of family; Mom, Dad, and child prepare for a meal together. We see the nuance of their dynamic briefly - the love, control, restraint, care, freedom, and coldness. Then we follow this child - personified by a group of genderqueer, nonbinary, and trans performers making up pieces of self - through scenes of discovery, nightmares, attempts to conform and people please, transformation, letting go, acceptance, and joy, they become their full self. The parental figures go through their own quiet transformation and show potential for change by the finale of the piece where all characters come together for a dinner party - there is a table, drinks, and food like the opening meal but this scene is different offering a communal table with plenty of chairs, plenty of food, and the invitation for the audience to come as you are.

History

They Were Once began as a dance concept by Jacqui Dugal in 2018. The concept grew as Jacqui began collaborating with Jamie Amadruto on both concept and sound design, They Were Once became a 45-minute solo work that premiered as an initial solo iteration in December 2019 at RWS Studios in Long Island City, Queens supported by grant funding from Queens Council on the Arts.

Jacqui had dreams of touring the solo performance around NYC throughout 2020 and diving into more details of the piece over the next couple years. However, with the disruption of COVID-19 lockdown, those dreams were put on hold and the project was paused.

In 2024, Jacqui was granted an opportunity to expand They Were Once with Mare Nostrum Elements Emerging Choreographer Series Alumni Program in 2025 at Flushing Town Hall. This opportunity was the perfect chance to expand the work into new form. The group version of They Were Once focuses on clearer storytelling and identifying specific characters that drive the narrative, such as parental figures and children that are discovering themselves over time. The revised version holds onto the core concepts of the solo work and dives deeper to bring those ideas to life and to a wider audience.

They Were Once (solo) performance history:

April 2019 with Queens Informal at Salvatore Larussa Dance Co, Middle Village, Queens
May 2019 with Queensboro Dance Festival at Jamaica Performing Arts Center
June 2019 with Queensboro Dance Festival at Beach 17th Street Playground Beach
June 2019 with Free Sundays at Salvatore Larussa Dance Co, Middle Village, Queens
June 2019 with The 4th Annual Big Gay Dance Show at The Tank, New York, NY
July 2019 with Fresh Fruit Festival at Wild Project, New York
July 2019 with Queensboro Dance Festival at Lost Battalion Hall Recreation Center
December 2019 self-produced full-length solo version at RWS Studios, Long Island City
March 2020 with Borscht Collective at the United Nations’s Commission on the Status of Women and NGO Commission