N:  Kinetic Synergy covers a lot of different dance styles.  That’s very exciting!  What do you feel is the core of who you are as a company?
L:  KSDC loves featuring all our dancers talents, which is why we showcase all styles of dance. We strive to reach our inner dancers dreams of the art we love and let dancers learn and teach each other. As a group, contemporary dance is a style we feel all of our dancers excel in. Contemporary dances allows dancers to interpret movement and music in their own way, making each piece whole.

N:  What are you most excited about for this year’s National Choreography Month?
L:  Being able to collaborate as a group to create a piece for this show. We worked as a group exploring the movement and patterns to create the sequences throughout the dance.

​N:  We interviewed you back in 2016 when Boston Community Dance Project was participating in 24Hr ChoreoFest.  What sorts of amazing things have happened since then?
It has been a world wind of excitement since 2016! In 2017 BCDP showcased in over 15 guest performances, held 8 workshops, continued our Thursday Contemporary Fusion class, had two successful CONTEMPORIZE! Intensives and sold out our 5th Annual Benefit Show! We solely have raised over 2,000 for charities and keep continuing to spread the love of movement through our hashtag #FollowTheArtistry.

N: What are you most excited about for this year’s National Choreography Month?​
HEELS HEELS HEELS! We have ventured into some new ways to approach the stage and have worked very hard to bring a new dimension to our pieces! ​We have broadened our repertoire and explored some new moves to express which we are extremely excited to perform! We also have asked other dancers from the community to join us in this movement that highlights empowerment in young women to succeed and make life happen!
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N: ​ What changes in your process to build a piece in such a short time span (one month)?  How long do you usually take to create work?
We seems to put ourselves in these tight matters a lot with producing a two hour show in just a few weeks each summer. BCDP seems to thrive in these situations and accept the challenge with open minds! To be honest, one month makes us feel better relieved and unstressed compared to the demand we go through to create for other events​. We are sending so much love, creative juices, and positive energy to all the other artists as they put together for NACHMO 2018! Happy Dancing!

N:  Can you talk about the dancers you’ll be working with?  What are you looking forward to and what are the challenges of working with this particular group?
J:  Turning Key is excited to announce that we are working with Orchard House, home to Louisa May Alcott and author of Little Women, to present a Little Women piece this summer to celebrate the 150 anniversary of the novel.  All of the movement will be generated from the original text. For this particular piece, dancer Melenie Diarbekirian will be dancing the role of Jo March, transposing the poem “My Beth” into a solo. In the novel, Jo writes this poem in response to her sister Beth dying of scarlet fever. I am intrigued to see how Melenie can bring the emotion of the text to the stage.

N:  ​Can you talk about your college mentoring program?  Why do you put so much emphasis on college programs for dancers?
J:  ​Turning Key Dance Company supports dance in higher education, and offers a college mentoring program to young dancers seeking a career in the performing arts. We are passionate about informing students about all of the possible job opportunities in the field of dance. Our company has dancers that have graduated from undergraduate, and graduate dance programs, as well as dance conservatories.  We have a good understanding of these programs and their differences.  Artistic director Juliana Utz offers private lessons and seminars on finding the right dance program, choreographed solos for auditions, resume and application guidance and how to make a career in dance. We strive to present our students with the tools they need to thrive in higher education and the dance community. Turning Key Dance is proud to have successfully mentored seniors into prestigious dance programs such as Boston Conservatory, University of South Carolina and Marymount Manhattan College.

N:  You are participating in NACHMO Boston as part of the Choreography Mentorship program here at Monkeyhouse.  What most excites you about creating choreography?
E:  ​I think that the most exciting part of creating choreography for me is watching a piece tell me where it’s going. I tend to base what I do off of the dancers that I have and how they respond to various tasks and structures. Sometimes I start off with a concept and other times I start off with one specific movement but however it happens, whatever is presented at the end is rarely indicative of that original idea. I am always amazed by the transition that occurs throughout the process of creating a piece and love that I can count on the process to inform me about what’s supposed to happen next.
 
N:  You have been working on how to include improvisation structures in your choreography.  What is it about that idea that appeals to you?
E:  One of the things that I appreciate most about dance is its presence. Any movement is literally occurring the second that it is being done and then it is gone. Even in dances that are highly specific and choreographed with every detail in place, there is always a factor that will make it different each time it is performed. In college I was encouraged to allow different things to happen with each performance as a way to not get stuck in the choreography that we had been practicing for months. By incorporating improvisation structures into my piece I am looking to max out this concept. I am hoping that the improvisational elements will facilitate a feeling of exciting uncertainty within the dancers regarding what is coming next that it will read for audience members.

N:  I am so excited to see group concerts invest in forms outside the traditional modern and ballet! Can you talk about what is that first drew you to Bharatanatyam?
D:  ​I started learning dance when I was 5 years old and at that point I was just fascinated with the story telling aspect by using facial expressions and hand gestures. I had no idea of any movements that were involved. I was just happy to stomp my feet. Since I grew up in Bangalore, India, I was surrounded by Indian culture and I was constantly in touch with classical music and dance. My family was full of connoisseurs of classical arts, probably all these things put together has helped me fall in love with Bharatanatyam.

N:  Since all of our relationships with dance change over the years, what is it that you love about Bharatanatyam today?
D:  If you had asked me the same question 10 years ago, I would have said the energy that this dance form brings in is what I love. The ‘Nritta’ or dance movements was what I loved the most. Today, I would say, ‘Abhinaya’ or the conversation with the audience through facial expressions, hand gestures and the story telling is what fascinates me the most. Bharatanatyam has such a vast language that you can easily present different characters of different eras and of different stories with ease. Even though this art form is ancient, it still can connect to today’s generation. You can portray a piece on Devadasi from 1900s to a current issue of either global warming or Equal rights.

N:  You grew up in India. What brought you to Boston?
D:  Marriage brought me to Boston. I am glad I came here! Boston has an eclectic mix of people and I got to see many many dance forms. I saw such passionate dancers, and helped me see the uniqueness and differences from my own dance form especially when I was teaching at Dance Complex.
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