Crane House & Historic YWCA Performance Project
Premiere: 9.20.25 in partnership with Montclair History Center

Performances: September 20, 2025 (Rain Date, September 21)
Crane House & Historic YWCA
110 Orange Rd, Montclair, NJ 07042

Work in Progress Community Showing
May 16, 2025 @ 7.30pm
Union Congregational Church, Assembly Room
176 Cooper Ave, Montclair, NJ 07043

Follow the process: Project Blog

The Project
The Moving Architects’ performance project brings the rich history of Montclair History Center’s Crane House & Historic YWCA to life. In partnership with Montclair History Center, this site-immersive performance weaves dance and music together with the spaces and historical narratives of the building. Audiences are guided through the house and grounds to witness intimate and captivating dance performances by the intergenerational and all-female cast. By engaging deeply with the site’s history and incorporating the diverse voices and stories of those who lived there, the performance transforms the site into a living celebration of its storied past, offering audiences a profound and intimate connection to the area’s rich heritage.

Artists – current roster
Choreographer: Erin Carlisle Norton
Dancers: Mariah Anton, Nicole Arakaki,  Emily Cicio, Kelly Guerrero, Karma Chuki, Cecilia Mitchell

Historical Overview
Montclair History Center’s Crane House & Historic YWCA was built by Israel Crane as a home for his wife Fanny Pierson Crane in 1796 on Glenridge Avenue in Montclair. It was the Crane family home for over 100 years. In 1920, African American women in the community purchased the home as headquarters for a YWCA, a segregated space, and it became a significant part of the African American community for four decades. In 1965, local preservationists moved the house to its present location on Orange Road and turned it into a historic house museum. The building holds the history of three generations of Cranes, the people (both enslaved and immigrants) who worked for them, the women and girls of the YWCA, and the early preservationists who fought to save this piece of Montclair’s history.

This project is made possible by a grant from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, a state partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this project do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the New Jersey Council for the Humanities. For more info: The Moving Architects Grant Press Release

This project is made possible by funds from the Essex County Division of Cultural Affairs,a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

SpringUP! Dance Festival
sponsored by Lehigh Valley Dance Exchange with Cedar Crest College

April 5, 2025 – more info TBA

Erin Carlisle Norton Dance Workshop
SpringUP LIVE! Guest Artist Concert featuring The Moving Architects

Cedar Crest College
Allentown, PA

Essex County Teen Arts Festival (NJ)
Thursday, March 27, 2025

South Mountain Recreation Complex
(includes Turtle Back Zoo, Education Building, and the Codey Arena)
West Orange, NJ

Essex County teens are invited to participate in classes and workshops dedicated to fine and performing arts with the opportunity to meet other artists and peers from across Essex County.

TMA Artistic Director Erin Carlisle Norton will be teaching workshops in Dance Improvisation/Choreography and adjudicating dance performances.

More Info: HERE

Making Art Outside the Academy
January 26, 2025 / Virtual

Dancers in Graduate School (DiGS) presents a Q&Q/panel with four Ohio State University MFA alumni who are working artists for an open conversation around building your life as an artist outside of higher ed!

Featuring Erin Carlisle Norton (The Moving Architects), Sarah Ramey (Perennial Dance), Orlando Zane Hunter Jr (Brother(hood) Dance), Vik Abbot-Main (Boy Friday).

ArtsQuest + Lehigh Valley Dance Exchange
presents Dance Exposure Showcase

January 18, 2025 @ 8pm, Doors open 7.30pm
Price: $15 regular | $14 ages 25 and under & senior* | $13.50 ArtsQuest Member
Venue: Fowler Blast Furnace Room
Ages: All Ages
Tickets: HERE

Fowler Blast Furnace Room
ArtsQuest Center
101 Founders Way
Bethlehem, PA 18015

Dance EXPOSURE, presented by ArtsQuest and the Lehigh Valley Dance Exchange (LVDE), serves up a cornucopia of exciting, engaging and captivating dance works by the region’s most talented choreographers and dance companies, including The Moving Architects (LVDE/Cedar Crest College Artists in Residence 2024) with an excerpt of “O my soul”.

Dance EXPOSURE is a curated showcase that provides established and emerging dance artists with a platform to share their work and expand their audience reach. Artists are provided with full technical support and publicity to bring their visions to life in the unique, intimate setting of the Blast Furnace Room set against the breathtaking backdrop of the SteelStacks blast furnaces.