Left Before is a contemporary dance work in development by choreographer Madz DeRose. The piece will be interpreted by all female identifying performers. Left Before intends to explore, through movement, the notion of bodily empathy and whether we can intuitively sense another’s pain. I will focus on how women use bodily compassion to relieve another’s physical suffering. Even in the absence of visual or personal connection, it is possible to empathize through shared emotional and physical experiences. Inspired by the memory of sitting next to a woman whose abortion appointment preceded the others and the strange, quiet solidarity they shared before she vanished. This piece acknowledges how the system requires secrecy for both patients and workers and how the inherent ambiguity of such an encounter can linger in one’s psyche. Lived memory drives the narrative of this work. Left Before aims to ask how concealment protects and yet diminishes simultaneously, and how there is an innate and uncontrollable desire to connect and know one another’s stories. When discomfort becomes overwhelming, the interpreters engage in a silent and intuitive exchange of burdens.