Very few people have heard the 1999 album, Live in Vain by Mercy Velvet…until it was reborn as a tap dance rock opera. The Mercy Velvet Project is an embodied re-creation of the album. The work explores what makes us human, our collective need for community to survive—with musicians and dancers moving as one. Through nine songs in their original order, a queer and femme cast explore different barriers to experiencing love. Learning that by giving and receiving the gift of mercy, we are able to find the bridge to survival, wholeness, and hope. Over twenty-five years after the albums’ release, kamrDANCE and their collaborators expand upon its legacy through their personal identities and today’s political realities. The show tells the story of the album through tap dance as percussion, contemporary dance, original text, and instrumentation via bass, guitar, vocals, and electronics—highlighting our vulnerabilities, learning together how to find the antidote that is mercy, and in turn lead meaningful lives.

Live in Vain by Mercy Velvet is the music that Choreographer Alexis Robbins grew up with, the percussive rhythms and lyrics that inspired living room dances. Her father, Mark Robbins, was the drummer and co-composer for Mercy Velvet, alongside lyricist and vocalist Deb Lilli, and guitarist Lou Lilli. Her fathers’ love and direction has deeply influenced the music Alexis listens to and the music she creates as a tap dancer. Now, Alexis, Musical Director Christie Echols, and their collaborators bring Live in Vain to audiences for the first time.

The Mercy Velvet Project is a “genre-bending [concert album] told through a dynamic combination of music, dance, text, and production elements, all coming together through evocative modes of storytelling” (Rush Johnston, Dance Enthusiast). It’s a rock concert. It’s a sonic experience that “demonstrates dance and music as indivisible” (Clare Byrne, CT Examiner). It’s a femme and queer cast collaborating to uplift one another and explore our shared humanity, and potential equitable futures. “The performers were an album, spinning on an old-school turntable. Shoulder to shoulder, they rotated, feet moving, sound floating over the audience… And denim. So much denim.” (Lucy Gellman, New Haven Arts Paper).

performers & collaborators

Artistic Director, Producer, Choreographer, Performer - Alexis Robbins (she/her)
Musical Director, Electric Bass, Vocals - Christie Echols (she/they)
Lead Vocals - Demiah Latreece (she/her)
Electric Guitar, Vocals - Maya Harrison (she/her)
Tap Dance/Percussion, Movement, Vocals - Megan Gessner (she/they)
Tap Dance/Percussion, Movement, Vocals - Isabella Serricella (she/her)
Tap Dance/Percussion, Movement, Vocals - Maria Clara Laet (she/her)
Producing Director - Shilarna Stokes
Dramaturg - Hannah Gellman
Lighting Design - Tully Goldrick
Costume Design - Carter Sundown King
Makeup Design - Kemper Rodi
Sound Engineer - Adam Bintz
Stage Manager - Lara Marcin

Photos by Gio Roper and Mike Kreiness