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.

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. 

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: 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.

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. ​

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...!

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. 

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. 

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.

​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.

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!

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! 

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! 

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.

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.

Nicole Harris:  You will be doing two duets with Olivia Scharff during the show.  Can you tell me a bit about what it has been like to have one partner that you work with with more regularity?
Sam Mullen: Working with Olivia has been a completely different experience than I’ve had with any other partner. We had a natural connection from the instant we met and partnering together was completely organic. We gravitate towards each other when working on improv prompts in monthly Musings and have similar movement styles. It was obvious early on that we needed to explore partnering pieces together. Our personalities compliment each other well which comes through in our movements. We trust each other entirely which allows us to try out tricks that we would otherwise feel anxious about. We’ve been able to grow together by supporting and encouraging each other over the last year and a half. I cannot wait to bring our quirky friendship to the stage this month!

N: Connexa is a duet you and Olivia have performed before but you're adding a new one to this show called Firk II.  The piece was originally choreographed in 2006 by me and Karen and this is the first time anyone else has danced it.  Not surprisingly for the two of us, there is no small amount of partnering in the piece.  What has it been like to learn the piece and all the new lifts?
SM: Most of my recent work in Musings and rehearsals has been very grounded and slower paced. Learning Firk II for the first time was shocking! There are flips, tricks, and lifts sprinkled throughout the choreography. At first, I was afraid my body wouldn’t allow me to do some of these tricks anymore. Would my body still be flexible enough in the ways needed to be able to perform this piece? Within the first two hours of learning the piece, I was obsessed. Karen and Nicole choreographed this high energy, strong piece in a way that is very easy to learn. There are tricks to the tricks that make them much easier to perform than they appear. It is so invigorating to perform! It might even be my new favorite piece. ​

You can catch Sam 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!

Happy birthday to some of our favorite people!  March is an awesome month!

Arthur Fink, Zach Galvin, Elliott von Wendt, Joseph Wiggan, Don Friswell, Josh Bergasse, Kelly Peters, Diane Walker, Emily Hare, Kat Ferrier, Amelia O'Dowd, Matthew Murphy, Vaslav Fomich Nijinsky, Gail Fine, Michael Lawrence, Janelle Gilchrist, Lara Allard, Ellen Philpott, Aaron Tolson, Anita Lauricella, Amy Harnett, Liesl Garner, Danny Foner, Kay Wilson, Jillian Panek, Julia Blatt, Lacey Sasso, Madeline Krolak, Rudolf Nureyev, and Sarah Weichman

Happy Birthday to all our friends who are celebrating in November!  Monkeyhouse Loves You!

Eva Dean, Mia Paschal, Brian Eastman, Chuck Green, Donna Rosenberg, Jon Taft, Aaron Copland, 
Soufiane Karim, Nick Boraine, Ryan P. Casey, Courtney Wagner Peerless, Rick Frank, 
Remy Marin, Savion Glover, Aaron Ximm, Kyla Barkin, Susie Telsey, Eleanor Powell, 
Benjamin Britten, Laura Scanlon, Kora Radella, Alexander Godunov, Busby Berkeley,
​Michelle Schlief, Mandy Patinkin, Isabella Carmenate, and Connor Shea.  

If you don't know who all these fabulous people are make sure you take a minute to check out some of the links!  Whether they are famous choreographers or local supporters our birthday boys and girls do some really amazing things.

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by Karen Krolak

​Nicole enjoyed interviewing the other choreographers we are working with, but Karen stepped in when it came time to interview the choreographers of Voetstoots, Caleb Howe and Nicole herself.  Here are their thoughts on collaboration, the choreographic process and working together.

Nicole and Caleb will also be dancing in work by Elizabeth Powers, Karen Krolak and Elyssa Berg.

reACT reBUILD reCOLLECT
Friday, July 27th @ 8pm
665 Salem St, Malden, MA
Tickets available here for only $10 if you use the VIP Code MH10.  
VIP tickets are not available at the door so get yours today!​​

karen Krolak: Lots of people loath collaborating.  What drew the two of you to want to build something together?
Caleb Howe & Nicole Harris:  We improvise well together.  We’ve had a lot of opportunity to experiment with movement together over the last year and while we are both happy with what comes out of those exercises, this was an opportunity to see what could happen with a more prolonged process.  Caleb has never choreographed before, and so collaborating gave him the opportunity to build a piece without having to take on everything at once.

kK: Can you describe how this piece grew out of specific Musing exercises?
C:  When you first made the umbrellas during the first generation of what later became the Dictionary of Negative Space, they had a very different intent than the prompts you gave when you brought them into rehearsal back in March.  You handed an umbrella to me and asked Nicole to coax me out from underneath it.  We were the only two in attendance which gave us the opportunity to do a lot in a short amount of time.  Working with the same partner over and over again allowed us to build an understanding of how the umbrella moves even as the specifics of the prompt changed.  
N: When we left the studio that day both Caleb and I were interested in continuing to play with the ideas you had introduced.  Knowing you and what you know of the roles  depression and anxiety can play in both mine and Caleb's lives, I am not surprised that you selected those particular prompts for us.  When we got in the studio this spring we tried to stay true to the idea of finding the ways you can help support another person, even when that means temporarily setting your own problems to the side.  The idea of the umbrella expanded and the journey of the characters developed, but the seed of the piece continues to be that same exercise of two people supportively coaxing each other.

kK: Caleb, how did the umbrella shape your movement choices?
C: Much of the movement that Monkeyhouse is drawn to tends to be very grounded, either on the floor or with hands on the floor.  The umbrella does not like to be upside down and so it restricts choices and required me to find more upright movement.  While I do have some background in ballroom dance, the choice to use it here came much more from the restrictions the umbrella posed than simply relying on what I knew.

kK: Nicole, this is the first time the you have collaborated with Caleb on choreographing a piece, how was the process different than other choreographers in Monkeyhouse?
N: Since I have primarily collaborated with you for the last 18 years, we have developed a shorthand (both verbal and physical) in working together which doesn’t exists yet with Caleb, so the experience was very different in that regard.  I think my biggest challenge was making sure I supported Caleb, who hasn’t choreographed a piece before, in a way that didn’t impose my own agenda on the work or the process.

kK: Caleb, what were some of the challenges you dealt with as you choreographed a piece for the first time?
C: I don’t have any training as a dancer,  The challenge for me building this piece was not having a movement vocabulary to draw upon, and having to construct each of the movements from scratch.
N: Caleb described it to me as being similar to when a child learns to read or write.  They don’t yet have the experience to recognize entire words but instead process each letter one at a time.  I thought that was a really great analogy for what I saw in working with Caleb.
​
kK: Nicole - how did you find the music for this duet?
N: Before we knew what the piece was going to be we were playing Pink Martini’s “Hang on Little Tomato” in rehearsal.  The movement instantly began to transform itself.  However we knew we would not get the rights to Pink Martini’s music, so we slowly introduced other pieces of music discovered on Ilicensemusic.com until we found the right combination of what we were looking for, not too fast, no lyrics, not too heavy a swing.  Once the music was selected I did a little editing to the beginning to help support the story we are trying to tell.