26 Feb 2026 “Working in Relationship: A Choreographer’s Reflection on Dear Everything” by Christiana Hunte

Dear Everything is a riveting musical uprising about the climate crisis and collective action, driven by galvanizing and emotional pop and folk music that speaks to the dialectic of our times—adults focused on surviving the now, and youth with a fierce eye on the future. At every performance, the production partners with a local youth choir and a Dear Everything Youth Council, working in relationship with the community and centering young people at the heart of the work; in this reflection, choreographer Christiana Hunte shares what it meant to create and move alongside them.

My name is Christiana Hunte and it has been a deeply transformative experience working as the Choreographer of Dear Everything. Beginning as the Assistant Choreographer in 2021, I have the pleasure of witnessing the evolution of the musical, the young people we collaborate with and the world we live in.

Working with a different choir in each city during our most recent North American tour proved that the work we do is effective and essential. Each city offered a different energy, demographic and gift that beamed through their performance. Their ability to retain choreography quickly and cohesively exceeded my expectations. Their willingness to trust the depth of the work we did together allowed each of them to be in relationship with their inner storyteller. I have learned that they are much more available for intricate movement as we continue to develop in the work and in the world. Once the story is clear to them, they come alive.

Uniting across generations in solidarity with the earth is powerful in more ways than we control. Young people have so many reasons to be angry, to demand change, to grieve and also to love. This work gives them the opportunity to do that; fully and beyond their expectations. Being a dancer or familiar with dance no longer mattered. We are all here for a cause and to tell this story as authentically as we can; and they did just that! Every single audience in every single city was moved by the choir and the power that erupted from the stage.

Each choir had as little as one to two rehearsals, as well as a tech run through with the cast; which I’m sure you could imagine was an extremely short time. They worked thoroughly to ensure they were prepared to tell the story. Watching them gather together to rehearse and improve every time we ran it was heart warming. Being able to meet with the cast, work with them and receive their encouragement is a lifetime’s worth of achievement for the young people. The cast was deeply touched by every choir and did not hesitate to express their amazement, offering empowerment to the young people. Consistently through the process, once the young people came in contact with the cast and had a chance to see how deeply invested they were, they expanded exponentially. They suddenly saw new possibilities in their expression and felt the vitality of the part they play in the delivery of the message. Many of them expressed to me that they have never been a part of something so incredible and that this is what they want to do for the rest of their lives. Whether it be the invigorating feeling they experience from the rush of the stage, the possibilities they see in the representations of themselves within the very diverse cast, or their mere love for theater these young people were visibly different by the end of the process.

My experience with the choir in Atlanta was very dear to me. The choir was made up of all black and brown children, like myself. I know that arts organizations of this demographic rarely get considered for this kind of opportunity and it meant so much to them and to me for them to be a part of this process. They were so alive and hungry for the information. So many of them shared that they have never been a part of something like this before, seen anything like this before and have never had the opportunity to dance before. Their performance was deeply touching and remarkably raw. They had the least amount of time to rehearse, the youngest choir members, and were the very first stop on the tour for us all. The foundation that their presence set carried us through the remainder of the tour effortlessly. Some of them will find a new path in dance that they didn’t see as possible prior to this experience. It was heart warming for me to be a part of this experience for them.

Dear Everything has done so much to inspire, encourage and motivate me in my efforts to keep the arts alive in our youth. We are changing one life at a time, one city at a time and I couldn’t be happier to work first hand with the young people. I truly hope we are able to keep this work alive and include as many young people in as many parts of the world, into this movement for the earth.

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Christiana Hunte is a multifaceted artist born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. While she is involved in the arts as a whole, she is focused in the realm of movement. She is currently a dancing soloist and spoken word artist with Terri Lyne Carrington’s band “WE INSIST 2025” and a collaborator on various of her projects. Christiana began touring with esperanza spalding in 2022 serving as a dancer and backing vocalist. That same year she had the pleasure of performing as a premiere soloist at Madison Square Garden with Burna Boy. Christiana joined AntonioBrownDance in 2018 and is continuing to research and perform with the company. She had the pleasure of choreographing American Repertory Theater’s Dear Everything, directed by Diana Paulus and written by V (formerly Eve Ensler), at Terminal 5 earlier this year. She also served as the assistant choreographer to Chanel DaSilva in A.R.T’s WILD 2021 and Moby Dick 2018 under the direction of Rachel Chavkin. Christiana began her dance training at Creative Outlet Dance Theater of Brooklyn. She continued her education at LaGuardia Arts High School and furthermore at SUNY Purchase College, receiving her BFA in Dance; and a minor in Arts Management. Christiana joined the National YoungArts Foundation as a 2014 Winner in Modern Dance. Christiana is currently receiving her acting training from the The William Esper Studio while continuing to deepen her studies with live music, interdisciplinary improvisation and collaboration, acting, poetry and choreography; sharing her artistic discoveries with many young artists nationally and internationally. She has taught a series of workshops bringing dancers and jazz musicians together at Berklee College of Music, The Boston Conservatory and Bard College. She aspires to continue learning the world through art and contributing to the lives of the artistic generations to come.