Getting to Know Turning Key Dance Company - NACHMO Boston Interview

by Nicole Harris

Introducing Juliana Utz and
​Turning Key Dance Company!

To learn more about NACHMO Boston you can find them on Facebook and Instagram!  You can also support this year's NACHMO Boston programming here!
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Want to be part of National Choreography Month?  Take the #MonkeyhouseNACHMOChallege. Every day we will be posting a new prompt on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Follow along on social media to get the prompts and see some incredible dances! ​Share your own videos (no previous choreographic experience required!) using the #MonkeyhouseNACHMOChallenge hashtag in order to be featured!

​Finally, don't miss the NACHMO Boston Concerts at the Dance Complex on Friday, February 9th and Saturday, February 10th!

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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:  What are you most excited about for this year’s National Choreography Month?
J:  I am very excited to be involved with NACHMO for a second year and I am most excited to see what can be created in a short amount of time. Having to make quick decisions about movement, music and concepts, can lead to interesting and surprising work. ​

N: Who are some of your favorite choreographers?
J:  ​I have always been drawn to choreographers who produce narrative work in new and exciting ways. I am fascinated by Matthew Bourne's ability to take the classics like Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and The Red Shoes, and transform them into works that are fresh, yet familiar. I am also interested in how seamlessly Bourne uses contemporary movement to enhance these classical ballets.​
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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.