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By Nicole Harris  Alive Dance Collective - Photo by Olivia Moon Photography January is National Choreography Month. We are working with NACHMO Boston again this year. I can’t wait to introduce you to all these incredible artists! First up is Alexandria Nunweiler from Alive Dance Collective. Follow NACHMO and Monkeyhouse on Instagram to learn more about this month’s events and participate in the #MonkeyhouseNACHMOChallenge! N: Your work is described as being “rooted in community, history, and daily life.” What does that mean for you? How do you involve those things in your process? AN: As the Alive Dance Collective we create dance for the human experience. We use that art to process and connect with others to better understand each other and grow as a community. Connecting that overarching theme to me and my process, I root my work in relatability and storytelling. Whether that be something as universal as your arm falling asleep, or the life of Henri Matisse, or the lore surrounding the Loch Ness monster I seek to surprise and connect with my audience on every level. N: I understand you grew up in a dance family. What was it like to be part of a studio owned by your mother? How did she impact the dancer you became? AN: Great question! I see my mom as the center pillar in my dance training and a wonderful mentor to how I create and teach today. I always refer to myself as a "studio brat" because I did my real growing up in a studio... and when I say "growing up" I mean from the womb until high school graduation-- my mom was still rolling around on the floor teaching Graham technique 9 months pregnant with me! My mom put a strong emphasis on education as well which pushed me to pursue my college degree in dance. I regularly return to Dance Theatre of Greenville to set work for my mom's students, teach master classes and attend performances. She runs a truly special program in the upstate of South Carolina and many (including me!) have benefitted from her education, approach and experience. N: This year’s NACHMO is different than anything we’ve done in the past, holding all events entirely virtually. How will you change your process to deal with the obstacles 2020 brings us? What is the first thing you will do when the month begins?
N: Alive has been part of NACHMO for many years, and you performed in 2020, but this is your first time choreographing for NACHMO. What are you most excited about in this process? What are you most nervous about? AN: I am most excited to take on the challenge of a new work in one month. I love the open-endedness of NACHMO and that as long as you're creating you're right. Additionally, being a somewhat new member of the Alive Collective, I'm nervous/excited to work in the group as a choreographer for the first time and make something new with them. N: Who are your mentors? What makes those relationships special to you? What are you doing to pay forward the gifts they have given you? AN: I lean a lot on my mom as a mentor and I will be paying that one forward for the rest of my life. Outside of that relationship, I rely on a lot of peer-mentors. One person in particular is my collaborator Ashlea Sovetts who I am currently working with on a research project. She is the ultimate sounding board and creative yin to my yang. I'm able to pay this forward by participating in things like NACHMO where peer-mentorship is encouraged and growing the tightness of the dance community is a must. N: It is important to us that we continue to lift up other artists in our community. Who are some of your favorite local choreographers? Why? AN: Kristin Wagner has been a real inspiration to me personally. Her work is always so truthfully raw and I'm constantly reminded to dig deeper while working with and watching her. I'm also very inspired by Brian Feigenbaum. He really gave me my dance family in Boston when I first moved here and started showing up to his classes. He is so gifted in a way that transcends words and makes movement the only language that matters. 
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N: What are you most excited about for this year’s National Choreography Month?
Q: I'm most excited about dancing alongside some of Boston's very best Choreographers and dancers but also I'm reeeeally excited to present a piece of work I believe will move and transform all in attendance very very deeply and profoundly. 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? Q: This is a solo performance. The reason for a solo performance is to highlight the context of the music and lyrics by maintaining a solitary focus on a isolated emotional stimulus. It's more of a challenge as such but, in this case, very appropriate. I'm looking forward to presenting this very emotionally relevant new Piece and rising to the challenges that comes with a solo performance. N: Who are some of your favorite choreographers? Q: Wow! There are so many! At the top? In the Contemporary Hip Hop genre? Ricardo Foster Jr. ..without a doubt the finest Instructor and Choreographer of his genre having worked with a number of famed R&B artists, Usher, Lady Gaga etc!!! Next is Papa Sy, PaSy Modern West African Dance Company, of which I'm a proud member. Lastly, Loraine Chapman who witnessed my teaching abilities in the area of healing movement, Contemporary hip-hop and hired me as a Contemporary Hip Hop Instructor for a special project. Her work is simply gorgeous!
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? C: I'm actually creating a solo for myself. This is fairly outside of my comfort zone, as usually I like to work with a big cast and I don't like to perform in my own work. This summer I created and performed a solo for the first time, and it's a form that I'm excited to continue working in. In this process I have found that as a dancer it is a lot harder to listen to my own direction than it is to listen to the direction of others.
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: Who are some of your favorite choreographers? L: Survey Says: Mia Michaels, Sonya Tayeh, JoJo Gomez, Matt Steffanina, Kyle Hanagami, Gregory Hines, Travis Wall
N: What are you most excited about for this year’s National Choreography Month? C: This is the first National Choreography Month that I’ve participated in so I’m excited for the experience and to see what kind of work the choreographers come up with. I’m really excited to be getting my work out there in a public setting. Since I graduated from Bard College about five years ago I’ve been dancing as a company member in Dance Prism, a small ballet company in West Concord, MA. It’s a wonderful company and community but with a degree in modern choreography I only really get to showcase any of my own work during our summer studio performance. Most of my solo work is done on pointe so I’m also interested to see what the general reaction is to my kind of work with a man dancing on pointe, being that it’s my first time putting it in front of a wider audience.
N: Who are some of your favorite choreographers?
C: My favorite choreographer is Antony Tudor. I love his understated style of ballet. It is so smooth and yet says so much. I often show clips of his Jardin aux Lilas and The Leaves are Fading to my dancers when I start a new piece, to give them a sense of the subtle arms and understated emotional cues that I love to see. I also love a lot of Twyla Tharp’s work because of her use of pointe shoes in a more modern setting. I love to see subtlety in a choreographer’s work. My “wow” moments happen most often when a choreographer hits all the right notes, in movement design, music choice, and their ability to elicit just the right response from a dancer. When a choreographer is able to make all the pieces fall together, it is just magical. 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? C: Honestly, I am fairly well used to creating work in less than a month. For the summer performance that I mentioned earlier I am usually working on up to four of my own pieces while learning other choreographer’s pieces as well in an equally short time. I’ve been doing this for five years now so I am no stranger to this process. I do like to have time to go back and modify the work if the piece needs it. Having more time allows for more precision but the shorter rehearsal period, as I said before, has forced me to let go of my perfectionism. It has actually allowed me to produce a piece to which I feel surprisingly connected thus far because I don’t have time to obsess over the details. I’m also working on a piece now that won’t be performed until the summer and I am setting it on two dancers from Dance Prism which means that I am experiencing two very different kinds of process at the same time. It has certainly been an interesting experience to hold back to back rehearsals, one in which I can take all the time in the world to communicate the piece to my dancers, and one in which I struggle over trying to let go of detail enough to fall in love with my own movement in a very short period. It has been a very enlightening month of choreography and art.
We interviewed you back in 2015 when you were part of 24Hr ChoreoFest. What sort of amazing things have happened in your life since then? I am grateful ChoreoFest sparked the re-birth of Freedom Dances in the Northeast, following my return to Rhode Island from North Carolina. Since then, I have created many new works, co-produced a concert at AS220 with Heather Brown Dance in January 2016, produced “Verge” at the Providence Fringe Festival (FringePVD), and collaborated with composers Kirsten Volness, Dan VanHassel, and Verdant Vibes. Freedom Dances has also performed new work in a number of shared dance events including José Mateo’s Dance for World Community, AS220’s Dance Works in Process, The Dance Complex’s Friends and Faculty Showcase, Tiny and Short, Festival of Us, You, We and Them, and NACHMO 2017. In fall of 2016, as one of the guest choreographers for the Providence College Dance Company, I created “Silver Threads Among the Ashes”, inspired by the 15th anniversary of 9/11. I have joined the dance faculty at AS220 and am completing my 2nd year of the Boston Feldenkrais Training Program.
Freedom Dances’ mission is about creating works that explore individual, social, and cultural identities. This last year has been a doozy in dealing with those departments. How has the climate of the country impacted your work of late?
Last year’s NACHMO piece was very much a reflection of the results of the 2016 Presidential election, set to Kirsten Volness’ composition, “Complacency Will Kill You – (Contentment Is a Choice)”. There are so many incredulous and baffling things happening in our country and world recently, it is hard to grasp onto one strand before the next thing happens that leaves me with my mouth agape. There are a multitude of topics which infuriate me and pull on my heart strings promulgating a call to action. However, amidst the chaos, and changes in my personal life, I find myself logistically and emotionally much closer to my family. In troubling times, I find it important to remember that when push comes to shove, what is most important are the connections with those we love, those we can help in our day-to-day lives, and those who bolster us in times of need. Who are some of your favorite choreographers? Christopher Wheeldon, Alvin Ailey, Dwight Rhoden, George Balanchine 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? I find every process creates itself out of necessity of the parameters surrounding it. As dancemakers, we never have the luxury of time or money to pay for a lot of space, dancers, etc. so in that way, all processes are restricted by time. Of course, when in university, we are afforded free dancers and space, and a semester to make a piece or maybe two. In the past couple of years, most of my dances are created in less than 15 hours, unless the work is one of my longer multi-media productions. In that way, this process isn’t much different in total hours, but shorter in overall duration. We had our first rehearsal on January 15th! My dancers are great – they love dancing and being in the studio, so they are super generous, amazingly talented, and a joy to work with! We have been meeting twice a week, a total 4 hours per week, plus company class.
N: I’ve noticed a theme with several of the choreographers participating in this year’s festival splitting time between New York and Boston. How has living in such close proximity to two major cities changed the way you build work? What are the cons of splitting your time between two cities?
I am able to find many dancers and build work for large groups. I mostly love it, after about 6 months I get bored of the same routine and need a change! The logistics of just remembering where I left things and maintaining relationships that include long absences. 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? I am doing a solo so for me the challenge is finding inspiration. I am working from the sound more than I usually do in a group work. With a group I generally bring the sound in later but [for this piece] I am building it with the movement. N: What changes in your process to build a piece in such a short time span (one month)? Mostly finding adequate time within such a short span of time to work on the piece. January is a particularly busy time for me because most years around this time we are finishing up a piece. I have been in NYC performing a new work which we will bring to Boston March 16-17th at the Dance Complex. I have packed up my NYC apt and moved back to start my spring semester of teaching this week. Getting my Boston place set up after subletters have departed and sorting thru all those details in the midst of trying to focus on creative work and starting classes. January is the busiest month of the year for me! N: How long do you usually take to create work? I usually take several months so I am finding that I have to be less precious about the details, a bit easier in a solo. There is a freedom not to worry about perfecting something so much.
Don't miss the NACHMO Boston Concerts at the Dance Complex on Friday, February 9th and Saturday, February 10th! 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! 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.
 Photo by Paradise Photo Today's interview is with our own Choreography Mentee, Elizabeth Powers! Learn more about her and see the awesome movement she's been creating on Instagram! 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! 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!  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: What are you most excited about for this year’s National Choreography Month? E: Honestly just having the opportunity to make a dance and move with people that I care about. I am super excited about the cast that I am working with and having the support and guidance of Monkeyhouse has made this process so positive. I love that NACHMO is in January because it gives us the opportunity to start off this new year by making and sharing art. I am also super excited to attend the NACHMO final performance and see what all of the other choreographers have been up to this month! 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?
E: The dancers that I am working with are connected to Monkeyhouse in various ways but most come from different dance backgrounds. What I am looking forward to and the challenges of working with this group are almost the same. Other than working with Karen and Nicole as either students or company members, there are not many past experiences that all dancers have in common. While this can be a challenge in figuring out how to explain certain tasks or improvisation structures, it also allows me as a choreographer to highlight the individual strengths of each dancer. Additionally, when dancers from different backgrounds come together and work on tasks, what comes out of them is often not at all what I anticipated which is really exciting to see from a choreographers perspective. N: Who are some of your favorite choreographers? E: There are so many! Two of my favorite choreographers whose work I was fortunate enough to see live when I studied abroad in London are Akram Khan and Hofesh Shechter. I’m a big fan of Heidi Henderson and Doug Varone as well. I also greatly appreciate the classic work and specifically the methods of creating movement of Trisha Brown.
Finally, don't miss the NACHMO Boston Concerts at the Dance Complex on Friday, February 9th and Saturday, February 10th! 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.
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?
D: It usually takes me about a week or two to choreograph a single 5-10 minute dance piece. The relatively short time span of one month that NACHMO provides would therefore have been sufficient if I were just doing a single piece. However, as I wanted to carefully pick a couple of pieces to showcase the breadth of my dance form, the time span of one month had to include selection of songs and choreography, which was a challenge.
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! N: You are interested in dance and science. Can you talk about how those two things come together? M: Definitely. Ever since I was little I have been fascinated by science - loving rocks and cloud formations. Later, I became invested in physical therapy as a career through anatomical courses and various dissections, which lead me to self-design a major in Dance Kinesiology at Mount Holyoke College. Therefore buried in Gray's Anatomy and scientific textbooks, I found a love of physics through translating principles to dance. Albert Einstein inspired my first choreographic plunge in 2014 as well as Thomas Edison’s phonograph and motion picture inventions fostered my curiosity with science and art. In each new creation, I hope to further explore this kinetic interaction and stimulate the perception of dance as a scientific sport.
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? M: Yes, they are great! I am working with Katy Esper and Nora Buonagurio. We have been dancing together since 2015, therefore there is already a foundation of collaboration and trust. I am looking forward to being on the sidelines and watching these dancers take lead of the material. The challenge of working without a soundscore is that there will be no musical cues or counts and therefore Esper and Buonagurio will need to be extra aware to clearly converse physically and verbally within the space. N: Who are some of your favorite choreographers? M: Some of my favorite choreographers include Jiří Kylián for his harmonic combination of fragile movements juxtaposed with a sharp attack. Adele Myers prompted my love of athleticism and risk-taking. Jessica Lang inspires me with her brilliance in installation and innovation in each new work. Ohad Naharin pushes me to create work that is socially and culturally poignant. Andrea Miller allows me to be ok with the quirky. And as always, Fred Astaire has always been an inspiration; a brilliant technician, incorporating clean and syncopated rhythms.  Photo by Margaret Wiss 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?
M: What I create for NACHMO will be a rough draft of an idea. I usually spend 1- 3 years on a piece. This includes many smaller showings and refinings of sketches, which allow me to spread out in as many directions and as quickly as possible. From these reworkings, I will compress the dances into a comprehensive whole. I just had a big finale to the work I had been creating for the past year and a half. Therefore what I am creating for NACHMO 2018 is completely new!... movement - concept - dancers and collaborators. Excited to see where 2018 takes me!
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! N: Can you talk a bit about how Evolve Dynamicz came about? How would you describe your work? L&N: In the summer of 2015, Lisa Costello and Nicole Zizzi met by chance through a project put together by a local Boston choreographer. In October of 2015, Evolve Dynamicz was established, with the hope of creating a repertoire to share the mutual passions for life and movement. In September of 2016, Evolve brought on their first set of new members and has continued to grow into what they are now. Evolve Dynamicz has become an oasis for this unique group of strong willed people— as they each face their own individual life challenges, they support each other and find common ground through the arts of dance, choreography, and movement. As artists, we seek to confront the challenges of a millennial life with a sense of openness and vulnerability. Our work embraces these challenges with curiosity, intimacy, playfulness, and a deep- seated passion for movement. Our interests in improvisational composition, site specific choreography, and collaboration with our dancers are brought forth in our choreographic processes. With this, we aspire to continually experiment with new vocabularies, ideas, collaborators, and mediums of expression— we are committed to sharing our passion of dance with audiences in all spaces, of all types. N: How do you and Nicole divide responsibilities within the company? Do you generally choreograph together? L&N: Together we make the decisions and final choreographic choices. We meet weekly to make sure we are on track administratively as well as in the studio. Our choreographic process varies with each piece we do! For our last show SPACES, we did each piece collaboratively, but recently we decided to explore choreographing separately and seeing how our work compliments each other. We’re still a fairly young company, so we are doing a lot of experimentation. :)
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?
L&N: With a short time span, we need to streamline things a bit, so we will do less of our improv work that would normally help us build a piece and we will focus more on our choreographic notation. The notation helps us sort out choreographic ideas on paper outside of the studio. It is a way for us to step back from getting overwhelmed with movement possibilities and look at things with a more abstract eye. N: Who are some of your favorite choreographers? L&N: William Forsythe, Andrew Winghart and Justin Peck
N: You are very open about living with Cystic Fibrosis and raise awareness about it in your work. Can you tell us a bit about Continuing Fluctuations; a piece you created about living with invisible chronic illness? H: Continuing Fluctuations is actually a collection of work that we are hoping to share in a full evening performance in May. Each piece explores a different aspect of life with chronic illness. We have been trying to tackle a little bit of everything. Current inspirations include facing feelings of anxiety, finding your place in the world and dealing with outside perception. I strive to create work that can reach an audience on an emotional level regardless of their previous experience with chronic illness. Everyone can relate to these feelings because they are innately human. If people can make the connections on an emotional level, maybe they can start to understand and be more empathetic in their daily lives. You never know what someone is silently struggling with. The piece that we are working on for NACHMO is an extension of this work starting to explore the idea of losing independence. Everyone is faced with the prospect of becoming dependent upon family members for care. For most people it is a temporary situation and does not become permanent until very old age. People living with chronic illness, even young, otherwise independent people, often find themselves in positions where they must rely on the support of others to help with everyday activities. Sometimes this dependence is for a short stretch of time just to recover. Other times this dependence can become permanent and last for years. In this piece, I am hoping to capture what it feels like to loose that independence. N: Several members of Monkeyhouse live with invisible illnesses. Thank you for tackling such an important topic! What has the response been to the work? What do you feel you’ve learned through the process of creating it? H: The overall response has been positive, but like everything in the arts we need more support to keep the project going. We are currently running a fundraising campaign to support the production costs of the May performance. I hope that seeing a glimpse of what we are working on as part of NACHMO, people will step up and support our small company. Creating this work has been an amazing experience. With every new idea comes a new opportunity not only to explore movement, but also to explore within myself what is at the root of the idea, what am I actually trying to say. I think that is true for any artist working through his or her own process of artistic expression. Each idea I have presented has been a part of who I am for a long time. They are snippits of thoughts that have shaped the person I have become and how I have decided to live my life. They are all things that people living with chronic illness are often faced with every day. We are forced to work through these ideas and make life- altering decisions long before our peers. In exploring these ideas in a public space, maybe we can start a conversation. N: What are you most excited about for this year’s National Choreography Month? H: I am most excited about seeing what other choreographers have created in such a short period of time. NACHMO is always a great opportunity to touch base with the dance community and see what everyone is doing.
N: Who are some of your favorite choreographers?
H: I think my favorite at the moment is Wayne McGregor. He did a Ted Talk back in 2012 about his choreographic process. It was really interesting to see how he creates abstract movement that is inspired by seemingly mundane things. I like the way his work is modern and yet uses the lines of ballet to create interesting shapes. by Nicole Harris  Photo by Spin Inspired Photography I love when we get to interview people more than once! It has been a lot of years since we last talked to Lacey Sasso and many amazing things have happened! She's here to tell us about herself and her work with NACHMO Boston this year! Learn more about her here! 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! 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! N: We interviewed you way back in 2013 when you were part of Against the Odds. (Read that interview here!) It’s great to talk with you again! So much has happened in the last five years! In 2014 you started your own company. How did that come about?
N: In 2013 you were splitting your time between Boston and New York. Are you working in both cities? L: Following that period of time, I moved to London and spent the last two years teaching and performing overseas. It was a brilliant opportunity to see how dancers in other nations train, to work with a diverse student population, and to perform in some incredibly creative work. Since moving back to Boston this fall, I have refocused on how I can be a part of and engage in the local dance community. We have so many wonderful programs and opportunities here in the city! I do still have connections in New York and am hoping to collaborate with a few of my artist friends to create work together soon. Currently, I am looking at performance opportunities in both cities, however, I consider myself to be Boston-based now and am so excited to be participating in NACHMO and producing on a new shared show, Deeply Rooted which is being presented in February. N: What are you most excited about for this year’s National Choreography Month? L: NACHMO has a wonderful way of kicking my winter blues away. Even today, I was trying to plan rehearsal and feeling rather uninspired, then I got on instagram and was instantly excited by the phrases other participants are coming up with. One of my favorite things about NACHMO is that the prompts continuously challenge me to move in ways that I ordinarily would not. I also love how the whole dance community comes together to share in this creative challenge. The work that is produced is exciting, innovative, and inspiring.
N: How long do you usually take to create work?
L: Completely depends on the piece. Some pieces come out in 4 hours and others take 4 months. For me, it can depend on how clear my vision is for the work. I love that NACHMO inspires me to focus and get a clear vision in a short amount of time. It can be so refreshing to see a finished product after such an intense period of creativity. N: Who are some of your favorite choreographers? L: Trisha Brown, Jose Limon, Michelle Dorrance, Akram Khan, Hofesh Shechter, Tracie Stanfield, Melody Squire…. I could go on and on!
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! Finally, don't miss the NACHMO Boston Concerts at the Dance Complex on Friday, February 9th and Saturday, February 10th! N: You are working in both New York City and Boston. How does that work? What is keeping you in both cities? G: Once I left Boston to move to New York to pursue my MFA in Dance full time, I knew I wanted to maintain a presence in both cities. I was excited to see what opportunities NYC had, but I also didn't want to forsake my Boston dance community that had provided so much support that lead me to my pursuit of graduate studies in dance. Luckily, the commute is easy enough, and since my family is located in the greater Boston area, I have been able to come back for choreographic showcases, master classes, and performances. It is my hope that no matter where my career takes me, that I always have roots in Boston. N: What are you most excited about for this year’s National Choreography Month? G: What excites me about this year's NACHMO showcase was that I took upon the task to free myself from self-editing and overthinking structure. As I am working out concepts for my choreographic MFA thesis for later this spring, I wanted to present movement phrases in their raw and purest form as a way of exposing the bones of creating a dance.
N: Who are some of your favorite choreographers?
G: The greatest inspiration to my work is Trisha Brown, in particular her works "Newark," "Set and Reset," and "Sone of Gone Fishin'." I am also a huge fan of Merce Cunningham, Lucinda Childs, Beth Gill, Jodi Melnick, and Heidi Henderson. All of the aforementioned choreographers have brought intrigue and insight to the field that I hope to emulate in my work in some capacity. N: You’ve had a busy career so far. What is some advice you can offer aspiring choreographers? G: My greatest piece of advice I could give to aspiring choreographers is don't wait for an opportunity to come to you, go out and make it for yourself. It seems cliche, but it was integral to my success as a dance maker. When I first moved to Boston, no one knew who I was, so I had to really pound the pavement to make my mark. I took classes, went to performances, and networked with those in the community to make myself known. Furthermore, while it took a lot of fundraising, I presented a self-produced concert of my own choreography during my first spring in the city as a way of establishing myself. It didn't all fall into place at once, but each action lead from one opportunity, to another opportunity, and so on. It takes a lot of work, but it's worth it.
N: You have recently taken over NACHMO Boston. How did that come about? B: NACHMO Boston has been something I’ve enjoyed doing since its conception here in Boston. I have danced with Jess Muise, the former organizer, in a number of different settings. She approached me last year to let me know that she would likely be moving on and asked if I would be interested. I told her that with the support of Alive, I would be so excited to host such a wonderful dance opportunity in Boston! Alive looks forward to NACHMO every year and we’re thrilled we get to share that in a new way this year. N: What are you most excited about for this year’s National Choreography Month? B: I’m always excited to see what everyone else brings to the table and the work that’s created. The connections made are always fun, and it will be so exciting to experience all of it from the driver’s seat.
N: You come from a traditional jazz, tap, ballet, modern background. How does that range of styles impact the work you’re building today?
B: I think having a wide knowledge base allows me to pull from many different areas and helps me to not feel boxed in. Although I don’t perform Tap very often, it is one of my heart’s biggest pleasures, and I find that my Tap training comes out in my Contemporary choreography, particularly with how I hear and interpret music. 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? B: Creating work really varies for me. The piece that I started on Alive in July 2014 (“Shallows” or “The Pit”) took over two years (off and on) to complete. However, it is not uncommon for me to create something in a month if there’s an impending deadline. When I have to create work quickly, I usually start with an idea that is more fleshed out or less abstract. That way I either have already done some of the journey involving the concept of the piece, or there’s less of a complicated journey to take when thinking about the work. Then, I will usually create the choreography and teach it to the dancers. I usually incorporate less improv or collaborative building when there’s such a tight deadline, but I constantly talk to my dancers and other friends about the piece to gain ideas and inspiration. And sometimes, with a deadline, I just have to make a decision and can’t wait for the decision to come to me. One of my mottos is: “we can always change it later,” and I find myself reminding myself of that regularly during NACHMO. Nothing is set in stone, and sometimes making a decision actually gets you closer to what you want than sitting around waiting for the right answer to appear out of thin air. N: Who are some of your favorite choreographers? B: I’m a big Kate Jablonski fan. I love her combination of technique and artistry and unique athleticism. I also love Emma Portner and Michelle Dorrance. In addition, I’ve loved Wayne McGregor’s work that I’ve seen, and I adored Yury Yanowsky’s “Smoke and Mirrors” and hope to see more of his work. Plus, he and Kathleen Breen Combs have the cutest baby!
N: Can you tell us about the work you do with ECI on Location? E: Boston Ballet has a really fantastic community initiatives department, and ECI on Location is one of a few programs that they run (in addition to Citydance, Adaptive Dance, community workshops, etc.). We send teaching teams out weekly for the entire school year to 11 community sites in all different Boston neighborhoods, including after-school programs, community centers, and Boys & Girls Clubs. The goal is to make high quality dance education accessible across the city for children who are interested, and using it as a youth development opportunity as well - we balance beginner ballet technique with creative movement and composition, so it's a little bit of everything. I'm lead teaching at 3 sites currently, and it is a constant learning curve as an educator in adapting to different student needs and interests, different spaces, and different goals within the curriculum. I have some amazing students this year that make every single class an adventure, and this year we also have a performance opportunity so getting to make pieces with them has been a really cool process. I come from a strong contemporary, improvisational, and Laban choreological background myself, so finding ways to incorporate those elements and give students those creative tools has been a fun challenge for me as well! My goal is really to get my kids excited about dance, break some assumptions they might have about it, and to show them that building technique and strength is really just to give you more choices and options to express yourself! N: This fall you did an At Home Movement Practice + Journalism Project. Can you tell us a little about what you did and what you felt you got out of it at the end? E: Yes! I was actually a journalism major in college, and have always gravitated towards using text and writing in my choreographic process. I was struggling a bit this fall with an extra-busy teaching/work schedule and wasn't feeling very fulfilled in my own artistic dance practice. I was pretty religiously reading the New York Times and a few other outlets every day though, and had noticed such an uptick in the number of articles and topics I really felt compelled to read and understand (I think a lot of us probably felt that way in this insane past year or so!). So I came up with the idea to just take a few excerpts from what I read each day and to make a short movement response, either improvised or set, based on the words and images. It was a cool way to combine my interests and respond to all the intense things I was reading within my artform; to look at the language being used to capture our world in a slightly more removed way; and to dance a little every day in an attainable way and from a clear inspiration point. I'm actually using this idea to create my NACHMO piece as well! It seemed like an awesome fit for the whole concept of making-a-piece-in-one-month. I'm still in the movement generation portion of the process, and will be figuring out how best to weave things together/analyzing what kind of themes emerge (or none! it may end up being more a chain of vignettes).  N: What are you most excited about for this year’s National Choreography Month?
E: This will be my first solo performance since 2014! So I'm pretty excited to take the plunge of being onstage by myself within my own work. It's such a different process than choreographing with other movers, and I'm definitely a little nervous but also looking forward to the experience. There are also a bunch of artists in the NACHMO lineup whose work I haven't seen before, so I'm really excited to check out their pieces and see what's going on in the Boston scene! N: Who are some of your favorite choreographers? E: My current list is all choreographers whose work I've actually gotten to see live in the last couple years, so am still just geeking out about. Hofesh Shechter (Hofesh Shechter Company), Andrea Miller (Gallim Dance), Pina Bausch (Tanztheater Wuppertal), Crystal Pite (Kidd Pivot), and Michael Keegan Dolan (Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre). They all combine crazy, beautiful, pure physicality with theatricality and narrative in such an incredible way, and all these performances felt like full on emotional experiences.
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!
In addition to our own show, we participated in several festivals and performances. One of them was the Southern Vermont Dance Festival, which was our first performance opportunity outside of Massachusetts. We were proud to be featured in their Friday night gala and their Social Justice Walk. Finally, last year we formed a partnership with the Big Sisters Association! We are now in the middle of our second workshop series. These workshops invite girls, ages 9-13, to explore movement themes like positive body image and strong female friendships with the support of their Big Sisters. We are now a company of thirteen talented, powerful ladies, and we cannot wait to see what happens next! N: The story of where you got your name is pretty amazing. Can you share it? G: Of course! In 2012, Natalie Schiera and Gracie Novikoff were alumni choreographers for Dance Theatre Group at Boston University. They were lucky to create works with inspiring, empowered women, who weren’t afraid to convey stories through athletic, raw, grounded movement. After graduating, they wanted to bring this movement quality and message to the Boston dance community by creating their own company, but without what to name it. They researched synonyms for “empowered” or “strong” woman, but they found many had a negative connotation. One that stood out was Amazonian, which they decided to quite literally “flip the term on its head” - with that, ‘Nozama’ was born. N: It is very clear in reading about your company that powerful women are important to you. How have events in the last year like the Women’s March and #metoo impacted the work you make? G: The political climate of 2017 refined and redefined our message as a company. We have always been a collective of women, about women, who aim to create a safe space for women to share their stories. In 2017, this became even more important as our liberties as women felt threatened. At the same time, we were beyond excited and empowered by the Women’s March, the #metoo campaign, and other initiatives where female voices were heard. This is the time to stand up and speak out, and confidently share those raw and powerful stories that make us vulnerable, but strengthen and empower us in the process. In 2017, our choreography shifted to highlight our reaction to what was happening in the world around us. In particular, our piece “Bodies and Choices” (2017), represented female empowerment in this tumultuous time. Our dances in this 2018 season will continue to portray empowered, emotional, badass women who are coming into their own and ready to speak out in a time where others may not want us to. Our pieces will include a great deal of partnering, as we believe now, more than ever, women must empower one another in times of struggle, and celebrate one another in times of triumph. We are stronger and more powerful as a collective.
N: What advice do you have for emerging choreographers?
G: Experiment! Don’t be afraid to say whatever it is you want to say through dance - more likely than not, someone else is feeling the same way, but cannot figure out how to express it. If you have a concept in mind, try coming up with short phrases that convey the theme. Or try throwing on some music that evokes that specific emotion and see how your body moves to it. More often than not, our dances begin with a rough concept and a piece of music that we love. The music inspires the movement and often influences and refines the concept. We also always recommend that emerging choreographers find a mentor or established choreographer in the area to help get his or her feet off the ground. It is inspiring to work alongside other artists, and we have been so lucky to create some wonderful projects with other companies and choreographers in the area
Finally, don't miss the NACHMO Boston Concerts at the Dance Complex on Friday, February 9th and Saturday, February 10th! You can catch Kristin's performance on Saturday! N: You put together the incredible Tiny and Short concerts at the Dance Complex. How did you get involved with that? What is a piece you saw there that really impacted you? K: As a Project Lead at The Dance Complex, I regularly have the opportunity to coordinate a number of interesting creative programs on behalf of the organization. Tiny & Short in particular was the brain child of myself and Executive Artistic Director, Peter DiMuro. When meeting about another program, Peter looked at the calendar and said he didn't like how empty February was looking. I made a joke that I would plan him a show... and then that joke became a reality. I noted that I wanted to do a concert of all short pieces, and he noted that he wanted to bring Ten Tiny Dances back to The Dance Complex: thus, Tiny & Short was born, and after its success in February, The Dance Complex decided to produce it again this past fall. I really appreciated that in this second production, people really embraced the spirit of the show. In particular, I loved the piece that Rebecca McGowan presented in collaboration with Veronica Barron and Julia Friend. All of the Tiny dances were restricted to a 4X4ft platform stage, but these artists took the constraints a step further and squeezed an entire set design on the stage, complete with live music and an additional platform on which Rebecca performed beautiful Irish step dancing. They also lit their own piece, playing with different types of lights and shadows to produce a truly beautiful performance.
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? K: I think the number one thing that the time constraint changes about my process is that it removes the ability to censor myself. I feel like most of the work I have made, whether at studios, in college, or professionally, takes FOREVER to create because I am constantly changing my mind, throwing ideas away, or second guessing my artistic intuition. The first time that I participated in NACHMO, I didn't end up building a piece at all. I felt so paralyzed with anxiety over the limited time to create, that every time I was in the studio, I threw out the entire piece I had created the rehearsal previously. I ended up improvising for the performance, and felt that I had totally wasted the opportunity. I pushed myself to participate again the following year, and was able to create a piece, but I was working off of an old framework so I felt like I was breaking the rules. This year, with Tony's help, I have decided to let go of all the self-judgment, and just go with impulse. I have found it to be very freeing, and honestly, what Tony and I created in one rehearsal is already far more interesting to me than many of the pieces I have created over months and months of rehearsal.
N: Can you tell us about ...that’s what she said? K: ...that's what she said is a dance theater production and social media project dedicated to providing a platform for women to share their stories. The performance itself features 9 local female choreographers in various stages of their careers who are all making work that speaks to the female experience. The social media project is related, in that it shares stories and images of women in an effort to bring to center stage a picture of life from the female perspective. I started thinking about and planning ...that's what she said about a year ago. I had been thinking of all the shared concerts I have been a part of, and how often times, you come in, perform, and don't really talk to any of the other performers. I just thought it was so unfortunate that so many of these showcases don't directly support and facilitate connection amongst the performers. I wanted to create a show that would build a community, and because of my personal interests and passions, I specifically wanted to create a show that would build a community of women. My favorite piece of my own choreography is Pillow Talk, which I created in 2014. The dancers whispered throughout the entire performance, and a great deal of feedback I received was in response to this whispering: what were they saying? why couldn't we hear them? And so when thinking about my show, I realized that the best way to build community while intriguing audience and inspiring discussion was to incorporate story telling into the theme of the production. We recently launched an IndieGoGo campaign to cover all production costs for the show, and I am proud to say that we managed to raise 100% of our goal in under two weeks. I am in the process of setting a stretch goal of $5000, so that we can provide choreography stipends that more accurately reflect the worth of the work being created. I am also in the process of gathering more stories from women of all backgrounds for my social media campaign. Ideally, it would be great to have enough participants that I could create a corresponding movement piece which would feature a diverse cast of dozens of women... but we'll see! Anyone interested in participating can email me at kristincooperwagner@gmail.com for more information. Additionally, if anyone is interested in following the project or learning more, please follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@followwhatshesaid), check out our IndieGoGo, or visit our website!    With the New Year just days away, it is time to get ready for National Choreography Month (NACHMO)! I am super excited to be setting a piece on Monkeyhouse for NACHMO Boston. For anyone who is unfamiliar, the premise of NACHMO is to get people making choreography in January. The task is to create a new piece within the month. As one of Monkeyhouse’s Choreographic Mentees, I have been well prepared to take on this challenge, so I thought I would share a bit about what I have been doing so far, before the actual creating even begins.
The most influential opportunity I have had so far is Musings. Monkeyhouse Musings are opportunities to play with choreographic ideas in an atmosphere free from pressure. I have both lead and participated in Musings that have resulted in all sorts of different creation. For the piece I will be making in January, I plan to build upon several of the ideas I started playing with in these musings. Also in musings, I have played with ideas that turned out to be not so great. This was just as valuable because, now I do not have to spend rehearsal time trying out ideas that I am not interested in using for this specific project. Musings are an ideal way to spend time before starting as well as during a specific choreographic process. The risk-free atmosphere of musings has been the best preparation for me to begin a rehearsal process. As I look forward to the beginning of making something new, I am grateful to have people who have done all of this before by my side. From applications to the non-movement parts of choreographing like set-design and costuming, Karen and Nicole are here for it. They have both participated in NACHMO before and have been new people in the professional dance world. So, if you are like me and are about to embark on the journey of creating a new dance, I would recommend that you take some time to consider what tools you can use to prepare for this journey. Obviously not everyone has the privilege of attending Monkeyhouse Musings, but you can do the next best thing. Practice making choreography in an environment that does not pressuring you to make something amazing. If that doesn’t work, watch someone else’s process. I have learned as much if not more from participating in a musing someone else has lead compared to what I have learned in the musings I have lead. Also, find someone who can be in it with you. I’m so lucky to get to work with Monkeyhouse, mostly because they are filled with different perspectives. Extra eyes are always good to have. I can’t wait to see all of the exciting new work that is made next month for NACHMO! Happy 2018!  Photo by Paradise Photo. Graphic by Nicole Harris A conversation between the two choreographers for this years choreographic mentorship program; Elizabeth Powers and Elyssa Berg. EB: You just recently finished school at Roger Williams University this past May, what have you been up to since graduation? EP: I am currently living in Providence, RI and working as a teaching artist in a middle school where I work with teachers to integrate arts into the academic curriculum. I'm taking classes and dancing in various projects around the Boston and Providence areas. I'm also working on creating some new work that pushes me into a different mode of creating movement. EB: So now that you have a chance to pursue new ideas what are you finding yourself most interested in exploring as a choreographer? EP: As a choreographer a lot of my interests come from thoughts. I am really interested in people and how they work. I think that dance and movement facilitate exploration of these sorts of topics. I am also interested in exploring the possibilities of improvisation. I like to create improvisation scores that involve challenges or problems that have to be solved by doing the improvisation. Personally I use this method as a way to get myself to create movement that is different from what I usually do. I find that improvisation allows dancers to constantly be pushing the limitations of movement without getting stuck in a pattern, or at least provides the option of editing a score to create an escape from the pattern. I am also interested in using improvisation within the structure of a final piece. I get sick of doing the same thing all the time and am interested in the ways that a piece can be different every time that it is performed while it is still the same piece. EB: It sounds like you are trying to push yourself to constantly change and try new approaches and tools, where do you find most of your inspiration for these new ideas comes from? EP: A lot of my inspiration comes from watching dance. When I need to come up with an idea for a piece, going to see a good show always brings me into that mindset and gives me ideas to play with. I'm also inspired by relationships and observations throughout daily life. I find that the movement that is constantly occurring everyday is often as interesting as any movement that we classify as dance, when it's put in the appropriate context. EB: You are about to begin the process of creating a piece for NACHMO, as you start this process and other processes what would you say is your biggest challenge in creating a new work? EP: My biggest challenge when creating work is probably choosing what to focus on. I often have a lot of completely random ideas and so choosing which ideas to focus on is a challenge. I like to let ideas develop and pull my work in a certain direction, but before I can do that, I have to choose which ideas to give that power to. Sometimes I'll let a piece go in one direction for a while before deciding that isn't where it is supposed to go, so being open to giving a piece multiple chances to identify itself is important to me. EB: Do you have any plans for the near future? Are there any goals or things you would like to accomplish in the next five years or so? EP: Honestly the only thing that I know I still want to be doing in five years is dancing. I want to be creating and sharing work regularly. I want to work with populations who have varying abilities as well as share the power of movement with anyone who could benefit from it. I want to be moving in a different way than I am right now. There are so many different ways to move and in my 22 years of life I have just scratched the surface. EB: As you have had a long relationship with Monkeyhouse what would you say is your favorite part about working with the company? EP: I love that I get to work with people who are so willing to try and to support. I can go into a musing with a weird idea or a hand gesture and come out with something really interesting. Also working with people like Karen and Nicole who have been teaching me dance since I was a kid is amazing because I know that they won't hesitate to push me out of my comfort zone but they will also help me make sense of things when they seem to be going nowhere. So, my favorite part of working with Monkeyhouse is being able to work with a community of dancers who will accept crazy ideas and make something out of anything that they are given. |
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