Getting to Know Brenna Banister: NACHMO Boston Interviews

By Nicole Harris

Photo by Olivia Moon Photography

NACHMO Boston is run by the incredible Brenna Banister, Artistic Director of Alive Dance Collective. All of us at Monkeyhouse are so grateful to have Brenna as a collaborator and friend. Here she is talking about NACHMO, Alive, and her own choreography!

Learn more about Brenna here. Learn more about NACHMO, take the #MonkeyhouseNACHMOChallenge, and learn about where you can see these artists’ work by following NACHMO Boston and Monkeyhouse on social media!

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Nicole Harris: NACHMO Boston has stretched itself in a whole lot of ways in the last few years. After needing to switch to creating dance films last year there are now three different tracks available for choreographers this year and choreographers are coming to NACHMO Boston from all over New England! What are you most excited about with all of this growth and change? What roles are you hoping NACHMO can play for the artists in our community?
​Brenna Banister: I love that NACHMO Boston has grown and adapted over the years that I've run it. It feels like every year we're able to offer something more that benefits the choreographers we work with. For me, the excitement is in hearing how NACHMO Boston has impacted people in their choreographic journeys. We hear time and time again about how mentorship has offered so much to people, how they've met and deepened connections with other artists through NACHMO, and how this is an important time they take to set aside and create. Mostly, I hope that NACHMO creates community within Boston. I hope for artists to find people they can connect with and who enhance their artistic exploration. Whether that's someone they talk to about dance frequently, artists they collaborate with, or someone they just check in with now and again. All forms of connection are valid and offer us as artists a chance to deepen our work and practice. It's my opinion that often artists get lost in a small bubble or their own internal space, and growth and expansion happen when we connect with those around us

N: For the second year now you will be creating a work of your own in addition to the piece Alive Dance Collective (for which you are the Artistic Director) is creating.

Screenshot from paper bond (2021)

Where do you find the creative energy with everything else you do to keep NACHMO Boston up and running during the month of January? Where do you turn when that creative energy is running low?
​BB: It feels really ambitious to create while running NACHMO Boston! For the first few years I ran NACHMO I absolutely refused to also choreograph. However, I think due to my injury (mentioned later) and so much time of inactivity, I'm itching to do something creative right now. I also always find that NACHMO inspires me. The mentorship sessions keep my spirits and creativity up. Even the sessions where I don't show my own work offer me so much inspiration and motivation. Additionally, using the Creation track this year takes some of the burden off. I can create as much as works for me, and not feel pressure to come up with something that feels very "complete" and ready to present. Finally, working collaboratively with my dancers helps to keep ideas flowing and sharing the process with them allows for me to have rehearsals where I come in less prepared and see where the movement takes us!

Photo by Olivia Moon Photography

N: You have been dealing with an injury for the last few months. How do you plan to tackle choreographing alongside this new obstacle? What are you most excited about for this new approach? What are you most nervous about?
BB: Yes; in October I ruptured my Achilles tendon. I 10/10 would not recommend! I still won't be able to move much in January- walking is my expected limit. I plan to build my piece very collaboratively, which is an approach I've grown to love. However, this time I won't really be able to contribute my own movement. I'm excited to see what the dancers develop and watch them create instead of creating alongside. It will be fun to see their movement develop! As for nerves, I don't have many! I feel pretty connected to the dancers I'm working with so I feel confident that they'll be able to interpret my ideas without me being able to move and that they'll offer many of their own wonderful ideas!

Alive Dance Collective by Olivia Moon Photography

N: Different people from Alive choreograph for NACHMO each year. What do you hope your choreographers get from the process? How do you see NACHMO changing and strengthening Alive as a company?

BB: It's been so great to rotate Alive Dance Collective choreographers for the past few NACHMOs! I think it gives a chance for our group to get that kick in the pants and start the year off with someone different each year. Additionally, I'm so excited for added mentorship requirements. I hope that mentorship helps members of Alive find their voices and bolsters their confidence, while also connecting individual members of our collective with more members of the Boston dance community.

N: Last year you shared your love for Evolve Dynamicz, Ruth Benson Levin & Lynn Modell, Kristin Wagner, Monkeyhouse, Sasso and Co, Public Displays of Motion, and Ryan P. Casey. Who are some local artists you specifically met through NACHMO that you love? And why?
BB: I meet so many people through NACHMO! Jessica Roseman is someone who I got to know much better through Mental Health Happy Hours last year. She's a lovely person and I love how she works to make movement accessible to broader communities. I was able to attend one of her Nourish days at LexFarm and was so inspired! Also, Anne Goldberg-Baldwin is a NACHMO connection for me and I'm so fascinated with how her film last year combined her background in figure skating and dance. It was so beautiful!