Nicole Harris: What will you be doing for Uplift? BAR: B-A-R is founded on the idea that dance is fun and bodies are rad. We are passionate about using the power of movement to incite radical joy and transcend socialized and politicized boundaries.We believe in the power of using movement to instill a positive environment in which all bodies can thrive. Through this performance experience, we can continue to fulfill our commitment to creating work that is both accessible and challenging.  N: B-A-R Dance is new to the community and is directed by 4 choreographers. How do you know each other? How do you work together? Sharing direction under so many people can be challenging. What is the division of work between you? BAR: The four of us met while we were all studying Dance and Performance Studies at Roger Williams University. After working together and becoming so close in college, we knew that we shared similar artistic and personal values, as well as a common vision for what dance can and should be and do. B-A-R was born out of our desire to contribute something new and deeply personal to us to the Boston/ New England dance community. We all have different strengths, from community outreach to education to arts management to social media prowess, so we find that our individual work complements our work together quite naturally. Yes, working with four different voices at the table can be challenging, but we came together to form a company with a deep commitment to our friendship first. We dance together because we love each other and value one another as humans. We know that movement brings us together, and cannot drive us apart.  N: Who are your mentors past and present? BAR: We each have our own personal mentors but we are all extremely lucky to also share the same mentors from Roger Williams University. While we were studying, we were taught and mentored by Gary Shore, France Hunter, Cathy Nicoli, Michael Bolger, and Michael DeQuattro. Being a part of such a small program allowed us to be vulnerable and create close relationships with all of our professors and accompanists. We strongly feel that our time at RWU and these important connections with our mentors greatly influenced our decision to pursue our goals and form B-A-R.  N: Aside from the amazing people in this festival who are some of your favorite local choreographers?
BAR: In the Boston dance community, there are so many amazing choreographers/dancers we look up to and we feel so lucky to be included. To name two, we owe so much to Kenzie Finn of Project31 and Lacey Sasso of Sasso and Company. Both of these strong women run dance companies that we admire and look up to. They have also given us opportunities to dance and perform in their shows, which we are extremely grateful for. We strive to be as calm and collected as they are when they are producing their own shows, while pushing their limits to create innovative and challenging works. If you have the chance to see their companies perform, do it. You will not be disappointed!
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 Nicole Harris: What will you be doing for Uplift? Lisa & Nicole: We will be performing a piece called “Purlieus.” It’s funny because we choreographed the piece before Nozama even announced the theme of their show this year and it is actually about how we support one another as a group of women!  N: We have been thrilled to hear about your recent focus on mental health. Can you tell us about LUCIDITY and why the topic is so important to you? L&N: LUCIDITY is our upcoming production, premiering this fall! As artists, we’ve recently been focused a lot on who we are and what we want to say with our dancing and choreography. We believe mental health (not just illness!) is something that is not discussed enough in our day to day lives. We believe that taking care of your mental health should be just as important as taking care of your physical health… you workout to keep your body healthy, so why shouldn’t we discuss what’s going on with our mental states on a daily basis? There is so much stigma surrounding mental health and talking about emotions, and we want to end that! We all have emotions— happiness, sadness, anxiety, grief, excitement… the list could go on forever, but we want to bring those emotions to the surface and explore them without stigma. LUCIDITY is a compilation of the emotional experiences of us and our dancers and topics range from eating disorders to anxiety to injury induced depression, as well as community mentality, support systems, and authenticity. We are also partnering with a non-profit called “This is My Brave” (look them up if you don’t yet know them) and we will have a few of their speakers as a part of our show too! We are so excited to be part of UPLIFT because we think it is a great compliment to our show! Nozama works hard to empower women and in doing that they are also ending the stigma surrounding women’s emotions. And we think that is great!  N: Who are your mentors past and present? Nicole: A past mentor of mine was my college dance professor, Missy Pfohl Smith. She shaped my choreographic mind before I even really understood what choreography was. Missy was the one who helped me bring my academic background of physics into my artistic and creative work and I am forever thankful for her continued presence in my life. A current mentor of mine would be a current grad school professor, Mary Hale. I am pursuing a Masters in Architecture and Mary is a practicing architect with her own creative firm that works specifically with dancers in the performance realm! Mary has taught me so much so far and I am excited to keep learning from her in the next two years of my degree program. Lisa: My biggest mentors are my former dance teachers, Karen White and Terry Paretti. They taught me every style of dance and instilled a pure love for the art form that dance can be. They also supported and encouraged me to pursue my dream of having a career in dance once I graduated from high school! A current mentor of mine is a former coworker and good friend of mine, Melenie Diarbekarian. Although we aren’t far apart in age, I am constantly blown away by her hard work and dedication. She is a part of some of my favorite local dance companies and is a bright light in everything she does. Not to mention someone I can count on to be my barre buddy in ballet class! Through our time in knowing each other, she has shown me how to make things work and keep the flame of passion burning inside no matter how crazy life gets.  N: Aside from the amazing people in this festival who are some of your favorite local choreographers?
L&N: Modern Connections Turning Key Dance Company Luminarium by Nicole Harris Nicole Harris: What will you be doing for Uplift? Hannah Ranco: For Uplift I will be doing a contemporary solo, Soft Season (although I like to call it a duet as I am using a chair as a prop, the chair being just as important as me). The choreography was done at my school (Dean College) and I performed it for the first time this past Spring at Kelley Donovan & Dancers Third Life Choreographers Series. The music I will be using is #3 by Aphex Twin.  N: You are interested in creating work that layers many simple gestures to communicate a complex idea. Can you talk about specific examples of how that manifests itself in your work? HR: In this dance specifically, I use many humanistic gestures which prove to be vital in communicating with the chair. These gestures apart are what we would use in everyday life, but together creates a clear conversation with the chair. Being frustrated with the chair but also showing kindness towards the chair. I also enjoy taking simple gestures or movements (head nod, a wave, etc.) and manipulating them into something more abstract.  N: Who are your mentors past and present? HR: My mentor Ali Brodsky was my professor during both my freshman and sophomore year at Dean College. She taught many different classes that all transformed the way I think of dance. Freshman year was pilates, which allowed me to understand my own body. My restrictions and natural movement pathways. It also gave me a better awareness of the human body in general and the way it works. Sophomore year she taught my contemporary and composition class. My contemporary class taught me how to effectively move through space and allow myself to take up space. My comp class was probably the most transformative. She taught me the basic choreographic tools needed to create a piece. She also questioned my perviously held beliefs about what dance is, as well as introduced me to many pioneers in the field of dance that I hadn’t heard of before. Apart from me connecting with her personal aesthetic and movement, I really respected how honest she was with me and the other students. She wasn’t afraid to critique us but still did it in a way that was helpful rather than harmful. I grew the most from her classes. N: Aside from the amazing people in this festival who are some of your favorite local choreographers?
HR: Ashlee Rapoza is a friend from my school who graduated this year. She is an artist who I really look up to and admire because her art is so uniquely her. Her work screams Ashlee but she still manages to always find something new, a task I aspire to do in my own work. Apart from her dancing, she is also a very accepting and kind human, and I think that translates into her teaching, choreographing, and dancing. You can learn more about Ashlee and her work by following her instagram: @ashrapoza
Get your tickets to see Alex and all of the ChoreoFest artists at Ignite at Green Street on June 23rd!  Nicole Harris: You talk a lot about tying fiber arts into your work as a choreographer. Can you talk about places where those two worlds have intertwined in your work? What draws you to those two art forms? Alexander Davis: Fiber is a very empathetic medium. There are lots of shared, tactical experiences with fiber and textiles. When one sees fiber in a heightened artistic context, it is easier to have a physical, empathetic response to it. For this reason I have always believed that dance and fiber are connected. I have created fiber works that are simply wall hangings, or installation experiences, but I have also create knit costumes and performance environments. Everything is related.  Photo by Olivia Blaisdell N: You are the director of Urbanity Dance’s Summer Choreography Intensive Program. Can you tell me a little about the program? What makes that particular program unique? AD: Urbanity's Summer Choreography Intensive program is a highly curated, one-week intensive focusing on creating a platform for helping emerging artists continue to develop their voices as makers. The cohort of artists work and support each other throughout the week. They create work across community spaces in Boston's South End, and it culminates in an informal showing. I believe what makes this program unique is the individualized attention and mentorship that each student receives during their time. I (along with a group of guest artists) take the time to first identify each individuals goals as a dance maker before then helping them gain the skills and experience to achieve growth within towards those goals.  Photo by Celso Enrique N: You will be working in one of the site specific locations at this year’s ChoreoFest. Where will you be working and what made you choose that spot? AD: I enjoy adapting my work for specific spaces. In this case I was attracted to the nook between studios 1 and 2 as a challenge to explore entrance and exits. The nook is framed by two door ways. I am looking to use this time to research entrances, exits, beginnings, and endings in order to inform future, evening length works that are currently in process with my collaborator Joy Davis. N: What are you most nervous about for ChoreoFest? AD: I am most nervous about being exhausted. I usually go to bed around 11:00pm and wake up around 7:00am. I am anxious about staying up all night, and how that will affect the following few days and the work I have to get done in those days.  Photo by Sarah Bilotta Belclaire N: Who are your mentors, past and present? AD: It takes a village, and I am endlessly grateful to all of the folks who have supported me and continue to support me along my journey. I would say my collaborators are my primary mentors; Joy Davis, Jenna Pollack, Harrison Burke, Eric Mullis and beyond. Peter DiMuro. Monica Bill Barnes. William Seigh. Too many to count and name. Thank you to all.  Photo by Celso Enrique N: Where else can we find you this Spring/Summer? AD: I will be performing at Gibney Dance in NYC with Peter DiMuro/Public Displays of Motion June 13-15th. This summer I am focusing on my own dance training by participating in One Body One Career at Springboard in Montreal. This is a two week Counter Technique intensive in July. In August I will be directing Urbanity's Choreography Intensive and preparing for the upcoming semester at Endicott College, where I am on faculty in the Visual and Performing Arts Department.  Photo by Celso Enrique N: What other local companies/ choreographers do you recommend people check out? Why? AD: Boston has a dynamic and growing dance community. Joy Davis is my dear friend and collaborator (together we are The Davis Sisters), who is developing beautiful and thoughtful work. I am a huge fan of Heather Stewart. Her recent premier of "against hard air" at the Boston Center for the Arts was unbelievable.  by Nicole Harris
 Get your tickets to see Colleen and the rest of the artists at Ignite on June 23rd! Nicole Harris: You began your relationship with movement as a competitive gymnast. How does that experience inform your choreography today? In what ways are the two worlds similar? Different? Colleen Walsh: In my very young years I actually danced before my career as a competitive gymnast, but as gymnastics became more serious, I stopped dancing and didn’t return to it until college when my time as a gymnast came to an end. Although looking back, as a gymnast I choreographed my own floor and beam routines, so even during that time there were signs that dance would play a part in my future... My time as a gymnast influenced the person I am in so many ways- and does continue to influence my choreography today. It taught me a lot about dedication during times of trial, overcoming obstacles, respect, and consistency- all of which we know to be required skills of a choreographer. My work also tends to be quite athletic, rooted in my love for pushing boundaries with gravity and being upside down. Certainly there are some differences between ‘the two worlds’ of gymnastics and dance, but I see them as more similar than they are different. Both are communities of deeply passionate and dedicated individuals who love to move. As I became more involved in the dance community, I used to be embarrassed to admit that I didn’t study dance for hours in the studio during my childhood and teen years. I felt like without that, my place in this community wasn’t validated. But, I did spend hours in the gym during those years. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate that there’s a lot of different ways to do something right- there’s a lot of different ways to get to where you want to go- and no way of getting there makes your journey any less valid.  Photo by Doug West N: Who are the dancers you’ll be working with as part of ChoreoFest? CW: I’m actually still finalizing this based on availability and unfortunately a few dancers I work with dealing with injuries. I’m very interested in continuing to develop both solo work and group work- so no matter how things end up, I’m thrilled for this experience...I’m trusting it will work out exactly how it needs to best serving this experience. If I move forward working with dancers, I’ll be sharing who they are and how amazing they are on my social- so keep an eye out! N: What are you most nervous about for ChoreoFest? CW: My choreographic process tends to spend a lot of time in the ‘gathering inspiration’ or research phase, and I’m truly trying to not think much about what I’ll create until I walk in the door on June 21st, to really embrace the purpose of this festival, so that has me a bit outside of my element right now.  Photo by Doug West N: Who are your mentors, past and present? CW: I feel really lucky to have had such tremendous mentors in so many different areas of my life. I’d love to give a shoutout to Duane Lee Holland, Jeanine McCain, Pam Pietro and T Lang who have each had a profound impact on me as a dancer and choreographer, teaching me along my journey a little bit more about the artist and human I want to be. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude when I think about the many beautiful people who have cheered me on, supported me, picked me back up, and loved me along the way. N: What do you most value in a mentor? CW: A big open heart and honesty. N: What other local companies/ choreographers do you recommend people check out? CW: This Boston dance community is the dang best. I’m lucky to come into contact with a lot of truly beautiful artists and companies and to have the opportunity to talk with them and watch them share their souls. Get out to festivals, classes, workshops, and performances this summer and support local artists! A few people whose work, teaching, dedication, guts, service to the community, and artistry have been inspiring to me recently: J Michael Winward Jean Appolon Kristin Wagner’s That’s What She Said Michael Figueroa Aysha Upchurch Ali Kenner Brodsky Peter DiMuro/Public Displays of Motion ...and truly so many more... ...and the people I get to stand alongside during this ChoreoFest...come on! Amazing!!  N: Where else can we find you this Spring/Summer? CW: You can find me teaching at The Dance Complex’s Summer Sizzle Dance Festival, on a regular basis at Shanti Yoga in Hopkinton, and getting my butt into the studio a lot. A few years ago I lost a lot, and to be honest choreographing and performing has felt a lot like ripping off a bandaid since then...but it’s time to get ripping.  By Nicole Harris  Welcome to be Here - PC: Derek Fowles Introducing our next ChoreoFest choreographer, Kelsey Saulnier! She will be working in one of the site specific locations at Green Street during the festival.  Don't miss Kelsey and all of the ChoreoFest artists at Ignite on June 23rd! Get your tickets today! Nicole Harris: Your work incorporates both choreographed movement and improvisational scores. How do you weave those two things together within the same work? What sorts of improvisation scores are most interesting to you? How have you developed an idea from simple improvisation to a repeatable score? Kelsey Saulnier: I like to think of improvisation and set material as not so different, and this helps to weave these two ideas together and transition in and out of them within the same work. Improvisation is simply about in the moment choice making, and because of this there is always some degree of improvisation in all that we do. Even in set material, we are not necessarily choosing to come up with new movement, but we are constantly choosing how we embody what is already there; we are choosing how to make it come alive… how to make it more profound than just a shape; or how not to. I am most interested in improvisational scores that stem from a more visceral place… scores that provoke movement from the inside out. It is one thing to put on a piece of sound and simply improvise to it, but this sort of feels like a wash for me. I do not know where the movement is coming from or why, and although this is a valid way of working it does not sit right with my dancing body. Which is sometimes okay, but not ideal. Scores that deal with an imagined density or resistance, a cooking of the organs, a spreading of skin or imagined imprinting of the air. Scores like this really allow me to work without the notion that my movement has too look a certain way, and dance from a place of true investigation. I like to video myself improvising sometimes, then relearn only the best bits and string them together into a more repeatable phrase. Improvisational scores are also wonderful choreographic tools. For example, I can propose a score that deals with attempting to move exclusively from your most inner bone marrow, and instead of improvising with it, create set movements that embody this task and string them together into phrasework.  of Her - PC: Peter Raper N: What are you most nervous about for ChoreoFest? KS: I feel most nervous about being invested in a particular artistic process for twelve hours straight. I enjoy creating work in pieces because it allows me to step outside of it for a bit and get some perspective on what the heck I just made. This is especially helpful with solo work. I can revisit it later with fresh eyes. Being IN a work for this extended amount of time feels frightening but also like a totally exciting challenge. I am interested in how far I will fall into it.  Small Memory - PC: Stacey Hazen N: Who are your mentors, past and present? KS: Two movers/mentors that have been super important in my development as an artist are Chris Aiken and Leslie Frye-Maietta. They’re two very special humans in the Five Colleges that taught me during my time in undergrad and really helped me find my voice as an improviser. Chris teaches at Smith College and is a master at improvisation both in contact and composition. I have worked closely with him over the years in both class and rehearsal settings and he has supported me endlessly. Leslie really opened my eyes to what else dance and movement could be artistically when I first arrived at college. She is an amazingly thoughtful choreographer and really great at pulling heart and soul out of everyone she works with. I’ve danced for her in many of her works over the past four years and her rehearsal process has always been super transformative for me.  Welcome to be Here - PC: Derek Fowles N: Where else can we find you this Spring/Summer? KS: This summer is filled with lots of dance, work, and travel, which is so wonderful. I am showing a newish-solo around NYC throughout June. I’ll also be spending some time in Vienna during July/August dancing/studying at ImPulsTanz. I have had my eye on this festival for years and feel so grateful and excited that it was able to work out this summer. Other than that, I work as a nanny and a dog walker (the hustle is real). So, you might find me out walking some pooches.  Welcome to be Here - PC: Derek Fowles N: What other local companies/ choreographers do you recommend people check out? Why?
KS: Jenna Pollock is a thoughtful and fiery choreographer who is doing wonderfully progressive things in the Boston area. She emphasizes the importance of improvisation and works to create thought provoking dance. I recommend checking her out if you haven’t. Also, David Dorfman Dance Company. They are not exactly local to Boston, but they often hold rehearsals and intensives in Connecticut as well as NYC. Their work is humorous, quirky, abstract, athletic, and truly joyful. They are a company of kind and caring individuals who everyone should really check out. by Nicole Harris  by Curtis Reaves Introducing another 24hr ChoreoFest artist, Nick Daniels! He is coming to us from Pittsburgh. We are thrilled to have him in the studios with us at Green Street in a couple of weeks!  This year the ChoreoFest artists will show their work at Ignite, Luminarium's gala event on Sunday, June 23rd. Don't miss this opportunity to see new work and support a whole range of choreographers! Nicole Harris: You recently returned to choreographing after quite a few years. What has been different in this “second chance”? What are you most excited about doing with your work at this stage in your career? Nick Daniels: When I left the dance world in 1994, the internet was a new thing. I’m most excited to take advantage of technology advancements. Also, during my hiatus I lost both my parents at separate times. Through that loss I found strength and knew I had to come back to honor them.  Photo by Nick M Daniels N: You recently resurrected Pittsburgh Dance Week. Can you tell me a bit about what that is and why it was important to you to bring it back? ND: When I returned, things in Pittsburgh’s community were very different. I asked my dancers about Pittsburgh Dance week, but they weren’t aware it was even a thing. At that point I knew I had to reinstate the tradition of having a week of classes, discussions, showcases and performances to showcase how very diverse and talented my hometown is.  Photo by Nick M Daniels N: Where else can we find you this Spring/Summer? ND: This summer I will be performing in Dancing Queerly here in Boston at the Dance Complex, then more work in festivals, teaching and developing new work for our next season.  Photo by Nick M Daniels N: What other local companies/ choreographers do you recommend people check out? Why? ND: Companies to look out for... In Pittsburgh, SlowDanger. In Boston, I love Peter DiMuro’s work. There’s an honesty that I am drawn to with both groups.   Happy birthday to everyone who celebrates in June! Monkeyhouse Loves you!
Pat Krolak, Rita Krolak, Mary Sousa, Hjordis Blanford, Laila Fatimi, Arie Steiner Hockman, Fred Kelly, Lucie Baker, Xander Weinman, Jim Peerless, Henry LeTang, Bob Fosse, Terri Beaton, Harold Cromer, Sean Cummings, Rosie Steinberg, Nikki Felix, Shari Kaplan, Caleb Howe, Tom Christian, Elizabeth Krolak, Micheline Heal, Patrick Flynn, Melissa Dollman, Tyler Cantanella, Paula Abdul, and Martha Clarke Be sure to check out the links above to learn more about some of these amazing people! Want to be featured here? Let us know when your birthday is! by Nicole Harris
24hr ChoreoFest is a unique choreography event fashioned after 24 hour play and film festivals. Choreographers are locked into Green Street Studios overnight on June 21st with the mission of creating something new. All of the work will be shown at Luminarium's Gala Event, Ignite, on Sunday, June 23rd. Keep an eye out here for more information about the festival and the artists involved! Get your tickets to be part of the magic!  The first interviewee is choreographer Emma Morris. She comes to us from Atlanta where she works as a dancer and freelance choreographer. Nicole Harris: Who are the dancers you’ll be working with for ChoreoFest? Emma Morris: I’ll be working with a couple dancers and long-time collaborators that I met during my time at USC. Meredith Price is a Boston native, who in addition to being a talented dancer is an outstanding visual artist as both a photographer and graphic designer. I will also be bringing Lauren Bobo, a dance artist and teacher who I’ve worked with on nearly every work I’ve created. N: What are you most nervous about for ChoreoFest? EM: What I’m most nervous for during ChoreoFest is shortening parts of my process to fit into such a short period of time. As a choreographer, words are used as a jumping off point. I discuss with my dancers the theme of the piece, and let where the conversation develop where it may between the people and the experiences in the room. I then collect words and phrases from those conversations and use them to inform gestures and base choreography. In only having a limited time, I will have to condense this process and I am nervous if my work will loose the layered intentionality my work possesses. Or it might allow for an even more intentional piece!  N: Who are your mentors, past and present? EM: I have never really found myself in the direct mentorship of any one artist. I’ve learned so much from so many people, be it colleagues, teachers, or directors. But, I’ve learned the most from and still continue to look to for inspiration and advice from Shaun Boyle D’arcy. I met Shaun while a sophomore at USC when she selected me as an understudy for the creation of a new work, she saw something in me I didn’t see in myself yet. Her creation process deeply influenced the way I create, and working with her again my senior year, her encouragement in my personal voice gave me the confidence to pursue choreography. N: Where else can we find you this Spring/Summer? EM: This summer I’m working a lot in Atlanta. I’m premiering a new work on June 14th at MIXTAPE, a feminist dance festival produced by Zoetic Dance. After 24hr ChoreoFest, I’ll head back to Atlanta to continue to work with multiple companies in the area- I’ve got a few new projects in the works. I’m hoping to head to WA for another project in August but its not finalized yet.  N: What other local companies/ choreographers do you recommend people check out? Why? EM: So I’m not from Boston, so maybe not the best person to give advice on the dance scene but I can tell you all about the gems in Atlanta and Columbia SC. In Atlanta I love Zoetic, they’re an all female company that creates work centered on female empowerment, and Kit Modus, a company creating beautiful and intricate work with some of the most talented artists in the city. In Columbia I have to say Yuhas and Dancers is amazing, creating highly intelligent work that is socially relevant- most recently creating a work with SC’s poet laurate. 
Rich Miner, Joan Panek, Bari Rosenberg,
Amanda Mastroianni, Chikako Iwahori, Susan Nase, Jim Pagella, Isabel Fine, Jon Schaffrath, Derick Grant, Hillary-Marie Michael, Jon Keith, Andrew Fine, Leah Sakala, Janine Harrington, Olivia Buntane, Elizabeth Terschuur, Kendra Heithoff Henseler, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and Buster Brown.
Nicole Harris: Collaboration can be rewarding and difficult. What is one great moment and one challenge you’ve faced during this process? Erica Nelson: I loved seeing our dancers, who have never met or danced together before this project, move together as one. It was great to see their interactions, and who danced well or similar to each other. Composing the music was difficult because we composed it as the rehearsal process was happening. I usually prefer to work with music set beforehand so we can have a clear plan and pathway for the choreography inspired by the music, but for this project the dance happened first and the music followed which was a challenge for me.  Photo by Crystal Perez N: The End Ensemble’s goal is to “challenge audiences to face new concepts, dark themes and the outright bizarre.” Can you talk about what that means to you and why you wanted that to be your company’s focus? What’s a specific example of the outright bizarre that you’ve come across so far? EN: We mainly want to challenge our audiences to be more active in their experience of dance. We want to be unpredictable, and force them to think deeply about the art presented to them, both during and long after the performance. We never want them to settle! As far as the outright bizarre, we also like to mess with our audience sometimes! In some pieces we have presented humor aspects or just general creepy/distorted movement and concepts that are very unusual for the audience to experience.  Photo by John Long N: The End Ensemble is based in CT. How did you wind up in Malden for this project? EN: I am originally from the Boston area. I grew up here and returned here after college. I danced with a few companies in Boston and became familiar with the dance scene here before I moved to Hartford. Over the years I have stayed connected to the area, which has always been supportive of my company. We try to return to Boston to do a show at least once a year and visit our hometown!  Photo by Erica Nelson N: Where else can we find you this Spring/Summer? EN: The END Ensemble will be presenting work throughout the spring as the resident dance company at Central Connecticut State University. This summer, we will be in New York City at Dixon Place to present a split-bill upcoming choreographers showcase titled ‘8 in Show’ on June 26th. We will also be presenting work and workshops throughout the summer in Hartford as part of ‘Art on the Streets’, a Hartford Arts Council campaign to invigorate the downtown public arts community.  N: What other local companies/ choreographers do you recommend people check out? Why? EN: Check out Contemporarily Out of Order! Another Boston-based female-run company that I danced with for a year, CooCO (artistic director Wendy Bryne) always puts together strong shows that connect her students, apprentices, and professional dancers to the Boston dance community and incorporate all styles of dance.  Photo by Ray Shaw   Empower One Another was a collaboration between Nozama Dance Collective and OnStage Dance Company. Here are a few thoughts from Jennifer Crowell-Kuhnberg of OnStage! Nicole Harris: Collaboration can be rewarding and difficult. What is one great moment and one challenge you’ve faced during this process? Jennifer Crowell-Kuhnberg: My collaboration with Erica Nelson was very rewarding and ran very smoothly. We worked so well together and I felt like we were able to mesh our ideas and styles quite well. I think we each contributed equally to the piece but also felt comfortable to suggest adjustments. Our dancers were also phenomenal in generating movement phrases and improv based on our prompts and allowing us to cherry pick our favorite pieces.  N: In addition to collaborating in the studio you have been collaborating with Nozama on this entire project. What is something you’ve learned through this experience? JCK: I have gotten to know Gracie Novikoff so well in the last few months and it’s been a joy to, not only work together on producing this show, but also to build a friendship. We have very similar sensibilities and goals when it comes to our respective companies and it’s been great to learn, share and reflect with her on both our mutual and varied experiences as dance company directors. That Director role can feel isolating sometimes so it was helpful for me to connect with her in that way.  N: Why was it important to you for OnStage to be part of this project? JCK: It’s my continuing goal to have OnStage be an open space for emerging dance makers and a safe space for experimentation. When Gracie came to me with this idea, I saw it as a perfect opportunity to provide those much needed resources and help support her goal of collaboration for this project. I think more companies and choreographers should be seeking out ways to collaborate or support each other. Since moving my company to Malden, I’ve also been on a mission to bring more dance artists into this city and hopefully get my local community more involved and more exposed to this type of performance art!  N: Where else can we find you this Spring/Summer? JCK: We have so many exciting upcoming projects: Malden Dance Mile OnStage is collaborating with Monkeyhouse to produce the first-ever outdoor dance and movement festival to Malden. Find us on the Malden Community Trail on Saturday, April 27 from 12-3pm for performances, choreography games, dance class demos and more, featuring tons of local performers! Later that evening, OnStage will be performing at the West Medford Open Studios event at 4pm at 400 High Street in Medford! I will be showing work at the AS220 Modern Movement Festival in Providence, Rhode Island on April 25 and 27. OnStage Dance Company’s Season Seventeen Performance will be held at the BU Dance Theater on June 15! And I am currently auditioning dancers for a reboot of a special project called “What Is Love?” which will debut in July at OnStage!  N: What other local companies/ choreographers do you recommend people check out? Why? JCK: Obviously I want to encourage everyone to check out the other performers in this series and support the other projects they have going on!   All images by Olivia Moon Photography by Nicole Harris Here's another interview with the wonderful Lacey Sasso! On Saturday go see her and her company at Empower One Another on Saturday at 4pm to catch a Skort (post show conversation) with ME! Then join us at the Dance Complex to see An Animated Addition of the Dictionary of Negative Space at 8pm! Nicole Harris: Collaboration can be rewarding and difficult. What is one great moment and one challenge you’ve faced during this process? Lacey Sasso: As a unit, we decided to fully collaborate, meaning that every dancer has contributed movement, ideas, choices, etc. This decision greatly shaped our creative process by opening the door for everyone to have a voice. At times, we almost had too many ideas; this is where we had to step back as a group and really discuss what should come next, what made sense, and what might be an idea for later. The most difficult part of the process was scheduling. As artists, we all have multiple jobs and creative projects, so simply getting our bodies in the space at the same time was a large hurdle.  N: In addition to running a company you have a Masters in Counseling Psychology and Expressive Arts Therapy. How does your work in those fields impact your work as a choreographer? LS: As time moves on, the work I do both as a therapist and an artist blend more deeply together. Some of my choreographic work tackles specific psychological ideas such as the theory of attachment, which is explored in our work, Deeply Rooted. Some of the repertoire is inspired by the themes, movements, and diagnoses that I work with on a daily basis. For example, the company is currently working on a piece entitled Entwined Days which will debut on May 10 and 11 at the Dance Complex. This piece is a visceral and emotional response from my work with clients who have experienced trauma, or who deal daily with intense anxiety and life altering depression. The movement is a method of processing my therapeutic work while also trying to honor the stories in which I am entrusted to keep safe as a therapist.  N: You used to dance with Undertoe Dance Project in New York City. My understanding from when I’ve seen their work is that they are a combination of jazz/contemporary and tap dancers. Are you also a tap dancer? If so, does tap dance ever appear in Sasso & Co? How does working rhythmically impact your current choreography? LS: Yes, I am a tap dancer! I performed as both a tap and jazz dancer in my first season with Undertoe Dance Project, then focused specifically on jazz for the remainder of my tenure with the company. There currently is no Sasso & Company repertoire where tap is featured, however I am always open to collaborating across genres. Rhythm plays a large role in my movement and teaching style. I often find myself teaching movement with sounds or specific attention to parts of the music, rather than focusing on counts. I love syncopation and greatly enjoy finding ways in which movement can both support and oppose music.  N: Where else can we find you this Spring/Summer? LS: Sasso & Company has a fun and exciting performance schedule this Spring! Our spring season culminates with our full evening length performances of Days Gone By at the Dance Complex on Friday, May 10th and Saturday, May 11!! We will be debuting new work as well as performing some of our favorite pieces of repertoire. You can also catch us at goodTHANGpassing on Friday, April 19 at 2:30 pm in Somerville, and we are performing at the Providence Movement Festival on Thursday, April 25 and Saturday, April 27th at AS220 in Providence, RI.  N: What other local companies/ choreographers do you recommend people check out? Why? LS: Lynn Frederiksen and Paul Kafka-Gibbons also known as Lynn and Paul Dance - they create work that has a classical modern base, but often has a humorous element involved. I love humor in dance and find it incredibly hard to create. Colleen Roddy - creates innovative partnering mixed with athletic framework. She's always pushing the bounds of movement and never afraid to try something new. Erin McNulty -- she has a gift for combining technical elements with gesture and creating a dynamic is both bold and smooth all at once; it's beautiful. 
Nicole Harris: Collaboration can be rewarding and difficult. What is one great moment and one challenge you’ve faced during this process? Jackie Bowden: One great moment we had in our collaboration process was finding our vision for the piece itself. We had a great time coming up with topics and discussing issues we have in society today. One challenge we faced with this collaboration was communication. It’s difficult to translate feelings and ideas associated with a piece since we do not share a brain, a lot of thoughts and feelings get misconstrued in the process. N: Kaleidoscope was started by yourself and Jessica Prince just a couple of years ago. What made the two of you want to create work together? What are the commonalities between your individual choreographic styles? JB: We both danced together throughout our years at Salem State University. A few times before we even graduated we joked about creating a company together and how great it would be. Once school was over, we wanted to find an outlet for our choreography. What once felt like a far future dream turned into a current reality and we decided to finally put in the work and get Kaleidoscope going! We both enjoy the process so much of choreographing pieces. Our work has both similar elements that bring us together and unique elements that set us apart.  N: As co-directors, how do you create work? Do you choreograph things together? Do you each tackle different projects? If so, how much impact does the other choreographer have on your work? JB: As co-directors we have a sort of give and take approach to our work. We do keep our pieces separate for the most part and it’s also great for when we have a block in our creative process to bounce ideas off of each other.  N: What other local companies and choreographers do you recommend people check out? Why? JB: We recommend people check out Angelina Benitez and her work. She helped Kaleidoscope Dance Company get started as a dancer and has since ventured off to create her own work and perform in various performances!   One of my favorite things about my job is that amazing people like Gracie (Nozama) and Jen (OnStage) reach out to me when they have exciting projects like Empower One Another and ask me to interview the artists and host their post show conversations! Get your tickets to see six female run dance companies/choreographers on April 13th. You can catch the matinee, check out the Spork (post show conversation) with yours truly and then head over to the Dance Complex just in time to see karen Krolak's I-ARE Residency Showcase in the evening! It's a perfect day of dance! But first, check out this fabulous interview with Gracie Novikoff about Nozama's role in this show and her experiences in collaboration! (More show at ticket info at the bottom of this post!) Nicole Harris: Collaboration can be rewarding and difficult. What is one great moment and one challenge you’ve faced during this process? Gracie Novikoff: When Jen (of OnStage Dance Company) and I were coming up with the concept for “Empower One Another”, we were primarily driven by the idea of bringing Boston dance companies and independent choreographers together. We wanted to not only promote collaboration, but support for one another and to build a network in which directors can share the highs and lows of managing a company in Boston. With that, the overwhelming reward of “Empower One Another” has been to see six companies share their visions, talents, and experiences to work together and create beautiful new art. I am also thrilled to see the companies creating works under the themes of female empowerment, as this is what drives my company Nozama Dance Collective’s entire mission. At the same time, working with others can be tricky when you all have strong, powerful ideas that are worthy of being shared. With our partner company, Kaleidoscope Dance Company, they are also directed by not one but two incredible women. Along with my co-director Natalie, that makes four collaborative partners with bold ideas. Finding space and time for all four of us to be heard in this process has been tricky, especially when even the co-directors disagree with one another! But overall, that challenge has made me even more proud of this process.  N: In addition to collaborating in the studio you have been collaborating with OnStage on this entire project. What is something you’ve learned through this experience? GN: Working with Jen from OnStage Dance has been a gift. She is not only an experienced instructor and choreographer, but studio owner. She also single-handedly runs a 60 person company, which is a phenomenal feat. Jen juggles all of her tasks and jobs so seamlessly, and I have learned an incredible amount from her. She has taught me about prioritization, time management, and how to push beyond one’s limits. Our partnership materialized into “Empower One Another”, which is such a dream and accomplishment to me. I cannot wait to see what else our partnership creates!  N: Where did the idea for this concert come from? GN: Unfortunately in the Boston dance community, there is not nearly as much support between companies as we would like to see. Companies do not often attend one another’s shows, or take one another’s classes. Companies are insular, and do not often collaborate or help one another with things such as fundraising or networking. Jen and I wanted to tackle that, and bring companies together to collaborate and share one another’s gifts and creative visions. At the same time, we wanted to help form a network between Boston dance company directors and choreographers. Managing a company is hard work, and doing it without any support is nearly impossible! Having the six company directors meet for a Round Table Discussion about how we all tackle the challenges of managing companies was a massive priority for Jen and I. The “Empower One Another” performance is the exciting culmination of this collaboration, but we know that the partnerships will last beyond the show as directors continue to lean on one another for support.  N: Where else can we find you this Spring/Summer? GN: Nozama Dance Collective has a lot of exciting things coming up! We are launching our Spring Company Class Series, in which we will teach master classes at Green Street Studios on 3/18, 4/19, 5/6, and 5/20. Additionally, we have our annual concert “Uplift” at Green Street Studios on August 9th and 10th. We are also looking forward to performing in a few festivals and concerts around Boston, so keep an eye out for us!  N: What other local companies or choreographers do you recommend people check out? Why?
GN: SO many! It is so hard to pick just a handful. The Boston dance community is filled with incredible talent, visions, and creativity. Personally, I am drawn to choreographers who tell poignant, empowering stories about the female experience through their work. Putting the other artists of “Empower One Another” aside, I am forever drawn to Colleen Roddy’s choreography. I am also inspired by the work of Luminarium Dance, particularly because that is another company managed by two incredible women who collaborate together so well. But honestly, if you have a free night, just check out the Dance Complex or Green Street Studios and check out whatever is happening! There is no bad dance experience out there. Support other artists! They will support you back!  We'd like to wish a HAPPY BIRTHDAY to:
Laya Barak, Taylor Henry, Nikki Sao Pedro-Welch, Carson Murphy Young, Leslie Armstrong, David Parker, Maud Arnold, Jaguar Bennett, Stephen Harris, Gaby Mervis, Susan Potters, Phinneas Baker, Audra Carabetta and Merce Cunningham
Sam Mullen: You have a lot of choreography that is now being performed by other company members. What has it been like to teach the choreography to each dancer? How does it feel to see your work being performed by each person/personality? Nicole Harris: While we all come from different backgrounds I think one thing that is universal within Monkeyhouse is that we are all interested in seeing how a piece changes as it is performed by new bodies with new personalities and experiences to draw from. Our goal is never to have someone mimic the choreographer but to find their own voice within the work. It's why almost every piece is choreographed in collaboration with the dancers and you'll never quite see the same piece twice. Some pieces, when they acquire a new performer, stay within the same movement vocabulary and the changes come out in tone and texture. Other pieces add, subtract or replace phrases based on the needs of the new performers. Some pieces retain their concept or story but it ends up being told in a completely different manner. I was actually just talking about this last option with Caleb last night. One of the pieces I have restaged for this show is a duet that was originally performed by Caitlin Meehan and Nikki Sao Pedro-Welch. (For this show it will be performed by me and Sarah Feinberg.) The structure of the piece is largely one phrase that gets repeated and manipulated over and over with a final section of partnering between the two characters. In watching Sarah learn and develop her version of the piece I thought I would love to take the same structure but allow the dancer(s) to create their own phrase as the base of the movement instead of just adapting my original phrase - as Sarah and I did. When I first took this piece out of hibernation I had thought that it would be an interesting one to add to the series of duets Caleb and I have been performing, only the vocabulary of the original choreography is completely different than the vocabulary that comes out of where our two movement backgrounds meet. But the integrity of the piece won't change at all if the choreography of that main phrase is completely different. Karen talked quite a bit about restaging Firk II with you and Olivia so I'll skip that one. The last piece I restaged for this show is a solo I created in 2011 with Caitlin Meehan. I have actually taught this piece to two different dancers (Caleb from Monkeyhouse and Julien, my student at the Groton School) in the last few months. In both cases it was much more of the first method I mentioned above. The choreography, which was originally created through improvisations with Caitlin, has become now a set series of gestures. However, the piece is entirely about the personality and idiosyncrasies of the character in a very real and relatable situation. So, despite there being a written list of gestures that defines the structures, Caleb and Julien each had drastically different (but equally amazing) interpretations of the piece.  Photo by karen Krolak SM: You have two duets with both Caleb and Sarah. What has it been like working on the duets with each person? Are the duets similar or completely different from one another with each specific person? Have the similarities /differences impacted rehearsals at all (tough changing from one character/emotion to the next or, if they are similar, is it the same character being continued over into the next story)? N: Yes, since the show is largely about relationships there are quite a few duets. You and Olivia have two as well! All four of my duets are pretty drastically different. It's always possible to draw comparisons. Both of my duets with Caleb are about relationships, although in one the relationship is just beginning and the other doesn't end well... We also have props that make our duets more like trios at times. Sarah and I have a similar partnering vocabulary in the two pieces, so they are definitely alike in that way. However, one is fairly linear in its storytelling and the other is rather abstract. Like any Monkeyhouse show (or any show with many choreographic voices) this show requires a lot of mental elasticity from the performers. Even just in these four pieces I jump from an overview of an entire relationship in which I am left alone at the end. Then I am the one who does the abandoning and we explore what it means to trust someone. The next piece plays with rebound and reaction and how two people intentionally or unintentionally impact one another. And finally I am one of two people who has to learn where baggage, insecurity and mental illness can fit into establishing a new relationship. That's a lot of emotional roller coaster - and I'm in at least 2 other pieces that aren't duets...!  Photo by Clayton Raithel SM: You have quite a few props for your pieces in this show! What has it been like working with vastly different elements, i.e. a very special, large umbrella vs a much smaller light source in total darkness? N: It's interesting because the props all come from very different sources. The light, which is used in Elyssa Berg's Irradiance, was something that Elyssa had been playing with in Musings for months. Caleb and I were asked to dance in that particular piece and the movement entirely came from prompts by Elyssa. So while we did play with the light (and we are always entertained by the patterns it makes on the ceiling while we're performing) it was something that was directed from the outside. Similarly, the idea for the umbrella came from an outside source. Karen, who built the beautiful umbrellas as the start for a project that eventually became the Dictionary of Negative Space, brought them in to Musing almost a year ago and led a series of improvisations around the idea of the umbrella being a security blanket. When Caleb and I proposed the idea of building a duet Karen suggested that those improvisations might be a good place to start. We definitely never would have come up with Voetstoots without Karen's suggestions or her umbrella! So, the umbrella was given to us from the outside, but the movement it generated came entirely from the two of us and our interpretation of the idea. The hardest part of the umbrella is that from a storytelling perspective it isn't supposed to be easy to keep the umbrella under control, especially once we are dancing together. However, like most things, practice makes better - so the longer this piece get rehearsed and performed the easier it is to encourage the umbrella to do what we want. So we have to constantly remember what it was like in the early days and try and keep that feeling in every performance.  SM: You are always so busy working on new adventures for Monkeyhouse. Can you tell people about all of the exciting things we have coming up? N: Oh yes! We are simultaneously building three large events at the moment. The first is this show, of course. Then on April 13th we will be performing with Karen for her I-ARE residency showcase at the Dance Complex. And on April 27th we will be out on the Malden Community Trail co-hosting the very first Malden Dance Mile with OnStage Dance Company as part of ArtWeek 2019! Everyone should keep an eye out on our social media and here on the website for more information about how you can be involved with all of these exciting choreographic adventures! 
Sam Mullen: You created a new piece, Ricochet, for the version of this show we did at OnStage Dance Company in July. This winter you restaged it with Nicole for our upcoming performance. What was that like? Sarah Feinberg: Honestly, setting Ricochet on Nicole was easy. She participated in the musings that lead to building the piece and already knew portions of the choreography. We made a few minor adjustments to sections to make them work better for our partnership but other than that not much had to be changed. Both Elizabeth (who originally danced the piece) and Nicole move so fluidly that their natural movement aesthetics worked well for this piece. I’d love to see Ricochet danced by the two of them together. Maybe next time!  SM: In addition to dancing you can often be found upside down or up in the air at AcroStrong in Charlestown, MA. How are acro and and the partnering you do at Monkeyhouse different? How are they the same? Does being fluent in both impact the other? SF: All the training and experience I have received in contact improvisation and partnering was definitely beneficial to learning partner acrobatics. I was no stranger to being picked up, picking people up and being upside down. Even more important and useful is my understanding of connection and weight sharing. Acro is much more structured than contact improvisation and there are clear roles (base, flyer, mid, spotter) that are agreed upon before starting a skill. When we improvise at Monkeyhouse we don’t necessarily make those decisions in advance. You have to be ready to play any combination of those roles at any time. Having strong connections and clear weight shifts make that possible. I like to improvise in acro when I have a willing partner. It’s fun trying to come up with creative transitions and new shapes. Acro continues to challenge my perception of what I am capable of. A few years ago I never would have believed I could do the skills I am doing now. Acro has definitely made me stronger, a little more fearless and expanded my knowledge of partnering. For me, dance and acro compliment each other nicely.  You can catch Sarah at
re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT} on March 29-30th at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA Get your tickets today for $5 off the door price!
Sam Mullen: How does it feel to set Firk II on new dancers? karen Krolak: Mostly, I am glad that the piece is getting a new life. If there is one thing that I have learned by setting in on you and Olivia and Sarah, it is that my body used to be much more fluid and flexible...seventeen years ago when first built it. There is something humbling about a piece being able to have a long life span in this ephemeral medium. So often pieces just get performed over the course of one or two weekends and then vanish forever.  SM: Can you remind me, how did Firk II get developed? kK: When Monkeyhouse was on tour in the summer of 2001, we became obsessed with the Oxford English Dictionary in the van. We discovered a mutual love of archaic words and when we began applying to festivals in the fall for our 2002 tour, we decided to create a choose your own adventure concert, titled Anablep and Other Oddities, where audience members ordered from a menu of titles based on these outdated gems. Looking back, I wonder how much our interest in obsolescence was related to how fundamentally our world shifted after 9/11. And now, I am drawing parallels to finding solace in a dictionary at a time when the unimaginable happened and thousands of Americans died in 2001 and then how I began the Dictionary of Negative Space in response to the devastating lose of my family members in 2012. I suppose we will probably touch on that in a minute.  So back to Firk. this four letter word has a long and amusing history. Originally it meant to bring or carry then it evolved into urging oneself forward, eventually it became to urge or drive (like an animal) then it meant to cheat or make a living by cheating and was used to describe pick pockets and lawyers. You can see so much about how the collective mind of a culture works through this monosyllabic blast from the past. Audiences all over the country loved the interactive format of Anablep and Other Oddities and often came back to see the shows on multiple nights. If memory serves me right, we never managed to do the exact same show twice, which was great for the way that my brain works.  SM: Wow, I wish that I could have seen that show. I love your Dictionary of Negative Space and I know that there are a few pieces related to it in re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT}. Have you considered presenting a choose you own adventure concert of pieces inspired by entries in the Dictionary of Negative Space? kK: Actually, I have thought about creating something like that in the future. People often ask me how they are supposed to explore the online version of the dictionary as if there is one correct way through it. Much like grief itself, though, each individual has to find a way to muddle through it.  SM: Oh, I am so excited about this idea. kK: Developing enough pieces to organize into a choose your own adventure format is going to take a couple of years, however. One of the conversations that has popped up during conversations with DeAnna Pellacchia of KAIROS dance through our I-ARE residencies has focused around how to build ambitious dance theater projects. Residency programs, like the ones at the Dance Complex, are vital to choreographers who want to develop big ideas into productions. The I-ARE residency, for example, has given me two opportunities for feedback from outside artists, an incredible amount of rehearsal space, a chance to test out workshops related to my project, and publicity support. You know that I am a vocal advocate for mentoring and I am so thankful to have time with Peter DiMuro, Rachel Roccoberton, and Daniel McCusker as I create...especially because this project is so personal for me.  You can catch Karen at
re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT} on March 29-30th at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA Get your tickets today for $5 off the door price!
Sam Mullen: You used to dance with Monkeyhouse a bit more regularly before you went to grad school. We are so excited to have you back working with us again! What are some ways you keep dance in your life? Sarah Friswell Cotton: I use dance as exercise all the time. It helps keep me active and helps keep me happy when life gets crazy. I try to take dance classes when I can but it's hard to get into the city where the classes I want to take are happening. Dance and performance impacts my teaching all the time. I use my performing to try to engage my students all the time. We even create dance moves to help remember different science ideas. I use my expression and performance techniques as much as I can. It also makes my job more fun.  SM: You grew up dancing with Nicole and Karen at Impulse Dance Center. The piece you are performing for this concert came out of an adult tap class you took at Impulse just last year. Can you talk about transitioning from being a student to the world of Monkeyhouse? SFC: It's funny because I have known Nicole for a very long time in a number of capacities so the transition has not been something I've put much thought into. She has been my babysitter, a family friend, a teacher, a mentor, a company director, and now a friend so it has felt like a very seamless transition to be performing together now.  SM: In addition to dancing you also sing. At times you can even be found with an a cappella group based out of Brookline! What do you think draws you to those two art forms? SFC: I think my passion for performing is what keeps me looking for opportunities like Monkeyhouse and like a cappella. I really enjoy performing and being in front of an audience. It is really thrilling and really fun to have an audience enjoy watching you or listening to you. I guess, for this performance, they will be watching AND listening since I'm performing in a tap piece.  You can catch Sarah at
re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT} on March 29-30th at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA Get your tickets today for $5 off the door price!
Sam Mullen: Since you received your MFA last year, you have been exploring the question of where dance can happen. Could you possibly speak about your quest up the East Coast and how it has influenced projects you are working on now? Kim Holman: Sure! Truly I think dance can (and should) happen anywhere. My project Roadtrip Dances consisted of a 1500 mile drive up the entire East Coast, where I stopped in each state for some sort of site-inspired public performance. I think back often to a moment in Durham, NC. I didn't anticipate discovering that nearly no one in the South spends time outside during the day in the hot summer except for tourists and the homeless. I had a great impromptu performance for an audience consisting of exactly one elderly homeless man who cheered and laughed and voiced his delight, afterwards asking a few cautious questions. That moment sticks with me and keeps me conscious of the fact that my work is for everyone—patrons, skeptics, casual bystanders alike.  SM: In the last year you started boxing, how has it influenced your performing? KH: Boxing has cemented my own personal philosophy of not performing (and therefore performing... confusing, I know). When I enter the dance space to participate in work in front of an audience, I do so to complete a series of tasks I've been assigned. I know this sounds unbelievably boring and far from the performances we seek out onstage, bear with me. I don't love performing work that requires me to pretend to be something I am not. I love work that requires rigorous inquiry, absolute authenticity in the present moment, and asks something of me as a performer that I can discover again and again, whether I'm digging to unearth an emotional reaction, or seeing what my body can do in a specific situation. Boxing does this. I enter a ring to fight and I'm there to use the skills I have to engage with another human. It asks me to work towards the same goal each time and uses the same structure, but it's completely new each time. It's exactly the same "piece", but each performance might look completely unique. I can be most present and most myself when I can navigate through choreography in this way. Even if there's set movement, I want to find my way through the work as genuinely as possible each time.  SM: You are the co-director of Luminarium Dance Company. We are thrilled you could take time out of your very busy schedule to work with us this year! While our companies are good friends and have a lot in common we also tackle things from a variety of perspectives. Is there a specific thing you can point to that is different about the two experiences for you? KH: I think the main difference is that I'm coming in as a guest performer, as opposed to my work with Luminarium as an Artistic Director! It's been interesting to be on the other side of things as a performer, though Monkeyhouse is delightfully democratic and the idea of leadership is far from one-sided. I love the trust amongst the group and the willingness to take risks and try everything.  SM: Speaking of Luminarium, what is the company up to these days? KH: Lots! We are preparing for several festivals and collaborations all over New England. You can catch us working alongside Verdant Vibes in Providence, RI in May, and with visual artist Adria Arch in Portsmouth, NH in June, and as part of many great events that are part of the vibrant festival season in the Boston area. We are in the early stages of building new work, likely for late 2019, where you might see me try to merge my physical work in boxing with contemporary dance (among many other things). One of the most exciting updates is that we are relaunching 24-Hr ChoreoFest this year—an event I hold dear to my heart, and that Monkeyhouse has supported over the years. Keep an eye on our site, luminariumdance.org and our social media for updates!  You can catch Kim at re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT} on March 29-30th at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA Get your tickets today for $5 off the door price!
 Nicole Harris: What is the work you'll be performing at re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT}? Jennifer Crowell-Kuhnberg: I'll be presenting excerpts from "Selichot." The piece explores themes of wrong doing, repentance and forgiveness. Selichot ("s'lichot" in Hebrew meaning "forgiveness") precedes the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. It marks a period of time in which we are encouraged to reflect on wrong doings of the past and consider how we can better ourselves, ask for forgiveness from those that we've hurt, and move forward into the new year with a fresh perspective and a motivation to be better. N: This isn't the first time you've shown this piece. Where/when did it premiere? JCK: This piece was originally commissioned by Cantor Peter Halpern for Temple Shalom in Newton, MA, where it premiered in September 2017. It was created as a site-specific work for the congregation as a way to reflect on the themes of the holy day of "Selichot." N: What made you want to restage it now? JCK: I was struck by a recent conversation with Karen Krolak, in which we discussed an expectation in the dance world that seems to demand that choreographers constantly create new work. However, for emerging or smaller local companies, it means that a lot of old work is only performed once or twice for a small crowd and then never sees the light of day again. I felt excited by the opportunity to take a piece that I loved very much and allow it to be seen in multiple settings by as many different audiences as possible. This has also allowed me to take another look at certain parts of the piece and adjust, add, subtract, or just see how it evolves simply by being set on a new dancer. This piece was an unexpected joy to work on. The movement feels so natural and fun to do and I genuinely enjoyed creating it and setting it on my dancers. I’m excited for the opportunity to bring it back to life and present it to new audiences.  N: Who are the dancers you are working with? JCK: Aside from myself, the other dancers performing with me are Marisa Cohen, Alaina Sawyer and Amanda Untracht. (Natalie Schiera is also in the new cast but will not be performing on the 29th.) N: This is the first time you've worked with some of these dancers. How has that process been? JCK: Yes! Marisa is the only other dancer from the original cast of this piece, and I’ve brought in Alaina to join. I’ve worked with both for several years through other OnStage projects. I’ve never worked with Amanda before, but she is currently in residency at OnStage and I thought she’d be a great fit for this. I met Natalie through recent collaborations with Nozama Dance Collective, but also never danced with her before. It has been an absolute joy working with these dancers. They’ve learned the work at lightening speed and are beautiful movers. I’m so glad that we’ll be able to perform the work several times together! N: Where can people see the full piece? JCK: The full piece will be presented at the AS220 Providence Movement Festival on Thursday, April 25 and Saturday, April 27!  Photo by Olivia Blaisdell N: What other amazing things are you doing that people should know about?
JCK: Oh! Just a couple of things: - April 13: Empower One Another - A performance series focused on the themes of the female experience and female empowerment, co-produced by myself and Nozama Dance Collective. Featuring 6 dance companies, including work that we have choreographed collaboratively, at OnStage Dance Company. - April 27: Malden Dance Mile for Artweek Boston - An outdoor street festival celebrating dance and movement. Co-produced by myself and the lovely Nicole Harris and Karen Krolak of Monkeyhouse. Located on the Malden Walking Path between Ferry St and Maplewood. - June 15: OnStage Dance Company’s Season 17 Performance featuring original work created by emerging choreographers and performed by our company of 50+ dancers, at BU Dance Theater.
Nicole Harris: You have been working with Sam Mullen quite regularly for almost two years. You will be performing two duets, Connexa (choreographed by Nikki Sao Pedro-Welch and Sarah Feinberg) and Firk II (choreographed by Karen Krolak and myself) in this concert. Can you talk about what it has been like to work with Sam? Olivia Scharff: Working with Sam has been wonderful! From the moment we met at Musing, we both knew we were kindred spirits and would get along well. This friendship is clear when dancing with Sam because our personalities mesh and performing becomes easy. I would like to point out that Connexa is especially easy for us. It is as if Sarah and Nikki set the characters on us specifically and we have a great time bringing them to life!  Photo by Sarah Friswell Cotton N: When we did re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT} in the OnStage Summer Series in July Karen created a new solo, [82], for you. Since then the piece has also been taught to one of our guest artists, Kim Holman. Can you talk about what it was like to see a work you helped generate performed by someone else for the first time? OS: I really enjoyed watching Kim perform [82] at Groton School in the beginning of February. This piece created by Karen has many different interpretations, which is what I love about it. I enjoyed how the piece had the same background and story but the journey throughout was different. It’s like if you give two children instructions to construct a house, the result you get will be a house, but the journey to create this structure will be very different!  You can catch Olivia at
re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT} on March 29-30th at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA Get your tickets today for $5 off the door price!
Sam Mullen: You will be performing a new (to you) piece in this show. It was choreographed by Nicole Harris and originally performed by Caitlin Meehan. As you worked on making the piece your own you developed a rather extensive backstory of your character, Fred. How did that come about and how did it change how you viewed the piece? Caleb Howe: As an exercise to help me with Noumenon, Nicole asked me to fill in a lot of the backstory that goes unsaid in the piece. With whom is the character texting? Why? Where is he? In a couple cases the specifics of the backstory became part of the piece. His aunt's habit of calling at inopportune times was incorporated into the choreography. But the exercise wasn't just about informing specific moments in the piece, but also finding all the ways that the character *isn't* Caleb. Because the piece is rooted in a personal moment that we've all experienced it was easy to become self conscious about the movement. Inventing a substantial backstory for the character helped separate his motivations, movements and decisions from my own.  Photo by Clayton Raithel SM: You and Nicole developed a duet, Voetstoots, (your choreographic debut!) for the first version of re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT} in July. It has changed some since that first performance. How have audience responses from different concerts helped develop the piece? CH: I'm not sure how much we've incorporated from the audience as we've developed the piece. I think both Nicole and I went into the July performance knowing that we wanted to do a lot of work on the piece afterward. More than anything we wanted time to get past rehearsing the movement and work on the other aspects of the piece - the characters, the dynamic between them and the acting. That said, because the piece is so narrative, it has been fun to hear audience members interpretation of the story.  Photo by Clayton Raithel SM: How does your background in theatrical design influence either the development of the umbrella piece or how you perform in general? CH: I used to do stage carpentry for a theater group in the bay area. The best analogy I can draw to working with Monkeyhouse is that when I was building sets, someone else was giving me a design and it was my job to fill in the gaps and make it work within the constraints of the space, the materials and the budget. Much of what I've done with Monkeyhouse follows a similar pattern - whether it's Musings where the leader has an idea and I'm trying to interpret it, or the umbrella piece where the physical prop was the starting point and everything evolved from there.  You can catch Caleb at
re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT} on March 29-30th at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA Get your tickets today for $5 off the door price! |
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