The Picnic Sisters (Molly Hess and Eliza Malecki) are a quirky dancing duo based in Massachusetts. They balance each other fancifully with a mix of playfulness, invention, melodrama, and athleticism. Together they create witty, upbeat, and approachable dance works that touch upon the softness and comforts of everyday life.
The Picnic Sisters have completed residencies at Bearnstow (ME), The Iron Factory (PA), and Mass MoCA (MA). Their live works have been shown as part of TRACKS//Boston (MA), Bearnstow Artist showcases (ME), 3 Spice Presents (MA), A Walking Birthday (MA), Modern Movements Festival (RI), and Tiny and Short (MA). Their films have been part of The Acadia Dance Festival (ME),Weird Local Film Festival (MA), Bearnstow Dance Map (ME), and PlatArtístic Spring Dancefilm Fest (Barcelona, Spain).
Natalie Johnson Photography
Half Asian Lens Photography
Eliza Malecki is a Cambridge based dancer, choreographer, administrator, teacher, and producer from central Massachusetts with a BA in Dance from Goucher College. Eliza was a Young Artist in Residence at Bearnstow in Mt. Vernon, ME, where she studied with renowned international dance faculty for ten weeks. ​ Her production credits include Laugh Track (2019), Social Disdancing (2020), Jamaica Plain Porchfest (2021, 2022), Almost Normal Almost Party (2021), and Flow and Gather (2022). Her choreographic projects have been funded by the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture, the Transformative Development Initiative, and The New England Foundation for the Arts. From 2021-22, Eliza served as an Artist in Residence for the City of Lawrence, MA.
Eliza has had the pleasure of performing for Natalie Johnson Dance, Molly Hess Dance Projects, Grant Jacoby and Dancers, Catherine Siller, and Caitlin Canty/Eventual Dance Company. Her choreographic works-which display strong inventive movement, pedestrian gestures, and an undeniably unique sense of humor- have been presented in Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Rhode Island, and Arezzo, Italy. Her driving question when creating new work is "how can I create serious art that does not take itself seriously?" Eliza is also a passionate arts administrator and served as Studio Manager at Green Street Studios for 2 wonderful years and currently serves as the Associate Director of Operations and Events for Dunamis, a nonprofit committed to providing professional development opportunities for emerging artists and arts managers of color in Boston. When she is not dancing you can find Eliza watching reality television, thrift shopping, exploring the outdoors, and making wacky jewelry.
Learn more at elizamalecki.com and follow @elizamalecki.
Molly Hess is Western MA based choreographer known for her humorous, tender, and whimsical creations. Her performances are interdisciplinary and often interactive. In 2018 she presented “A Walking Birthday”, an evening of dance and music. She was also commissioned to create a performance for Fitzhugh Caroll’s sculpture in Prospect Park. Molly has been an artist in residence at The Living Room (ME), Betonest (Germany), and Earth Dance (MA). She was the 2015 ARC Dance Research Laboratory emerging artist. She has presented her work nationally and internationally both independently and as a member of the GRUNT (Grass Roots US National Tour) Network.
Besides her choreographic practice, Molly is a dance teaching artist with a focus on creative process and wears an administrative hat as the Associate Director of Bearnstow, a summer art retreat on Parker Pond in Mt. Vernon, ME. Learn more at mollyhess.com and follow her @thefloatingbear.
Kiam Marcelo Junio Photography