Nicole Harris: This is your first time doing NACHMO together. (I believe this is Teresa’s first NACHMO!? WELCOME!) What are you most nervous and most excited about the experience of creating work in a month?
A&T: We’re so excited!!! 

Alexa:  We’re using a large prop for our piece, which is always a challenge in itself, but creating a piece around it in a month adds an extra layer of difficulty!  I’ve had the concept for this piece for about 8 years now so I’m stoked that I can finally put my thoughts to action. Teresa has a WILD passion and drive for dance that I admire so much and I’m thrilled she’s co-parenting this concept with me. 

Teresa: I’ve been aware of NACHMO for a few years now and it’s just never worked out to participate until now! Alexa reached out and asked if I’d be interested in collaborating on a piece and I took it as my sign to just go for it this year.  I’m really looking forward to getting in the studio and exploring both working with a prop and working in this partnership. 

N: How did you meet? What made you decide to collaborate this year? How will your collaboration begin?
A&T: We actually only met 4 months ago at auditions for OnStage Dance Company!

Alexa:  I’ve never seen anyone submit choreo and do FIVE pieces in their FIRST season at the company. We were in a small piece together this season that involved partnering, which is how we got to know eachother better…except that we weren’t actually partnered together! I noticed a lot of similarities in our quality of movement and I was like “I gotta work with her!”

​N: Teresa - When you signed on to the conversational application you were listed as ASL Interpreter instead of just your name. Are you, in fact, an ASL Interpreter? If so, how did that come about? Are there ways that you feel speaking ASL impacts you as a choreographer and/or a dancer? 
Teresa: Yes, I’m an ASL Interpreter! I went to college to become an interpreter and have been working professionally for about 5 years now. During my career I’ve actually had the privilege of working with many talented Deaf dancers and performing artists which has definitely widened my worldview about what dance can be. I enjoy the visual movement aspect that ASL, dance, and choreography all embrace.

N: Monkeyhouse and NACHMO Boston believe that we wouldn’t be here without the support of our community. Who is one of your favorite local choreographers and why?
Alexa: I’ve been a big fan of Nozama Dance Collective for years and I’m always fascinated by their work. Every time I leave a show, I feel inspired to create something. ​

By Nicole Harris

Nicole Harris: This is your first time choreographing for NACHMO. (WELCOME!) What are you most nervous and most excited about the experience of creating work in a month?
Libby Bullinger: Thank you for the welcome! The element of NACHMO Boston that stands out to me in particular is the amount of mentorship opportunities involved. As a fresh-out-of-college choreographer, I have definitely struggled with the transition from strictly laid out assignments, weekly choreography classes, and constant peer and faculty feedback that I received in my dance department to being an independent choreographer with free rein and minimal creative feedback. NACHMO has opportunities for group meetings, individualized mentorship, and peer-mentoring that seem to simulate the environment I learned to choreograph in. I anticipate this month will help ease my personal progression from student to working in the professional world.

I’m, of course, nervous that my choreography won’t be “good enough” or “up to standard,” but I have come a long way in terms of how I frame my own achievement. I look forward to this journey being about the process of creation and a catalyst for creativity, with some guidance along the way from a variety of sources. Low stakes, huge opportunity for growth and fun!

N: You returned to Boston during Covid after your college graduation. What made you want to come back here? What have you been doing since you returned?
LB: I’ve always loved Boston, and as soon as I realized I didn’t want to pursue dancing professionally I knew I wanted to move back to my favorite city post-graduation. There are so many opportunities for creative humans here in Boston, and I have been jumping at every chance I can to get reconnected with the arts community after four years away at college. 

Dance education and choreography are my passions, so I have been teaching dance at studios around the city and started my artistic collective, Dance LAB, over the summer. Since then, my work has been performed at two separate events: at the Dance for World Community Festival and as a guest artist in Nozama Dance Collective’s DISSENT show. I can’t wait to keep creating and learning from the artists around me, and NACHMO is the perfect combination of those goals with a friendly push to get to work! 

N: Having started your career during Covid how are you building community in Boston. How can programs like NACHMO Boston help artists who are starting out in a Covid world?
LB: I’m a people-oriented person, so the physical limitations that COVID placed on interactions, especially creatively, definitely impacted the way that I approach choreographing. My goal as an emerging choreographer is to make as many connections with other creative people as I can. One resource that has been invaluable is my membership with Boston Dance Alliance. I was able to attend their Open Call Audition and discovered some incredible dancers that I get to work with in my piece for this year’s NACHMO performance! Word of mouth and social media have also been great catalysts for growing my own network. 

Of course, the concept of the location-based NACHMO chapters is another example of fueling meaningful connections among the dance community, and I am eagerly awaiting the chance to work with this year’s cohort of choreographers. COVID definitely altered our perspectives on the idea of community, so involvement in community-based programs like NACHMO is a way to reenter that aspect of the creative process. 

N: Monkeyhouse and NACHMO Boston believe that we wouldn’t be here without the support of our community. Who is one of your favorite local choreographers and why?
LB: ​This summer I saw KAIROS Dance Theater’s work in progress showing of “Folktales, Fables, and Feasts.” The athleticism and variety of the dancers’ movement was astounding, and their ability to convey the plotline of the opera fit right in with their collaboration with RenMen. I can’t wait to see the premiere this year!

Nicole Harris: This is your second time doing NACHMO. (WELCOME BACK!) What did you learn through this process last year? What do you hope to do differently this year?
Carli DiMeo & Claire-Solene Becka: Thank you for having us back! We are so excited. Last year, we worked on a piece about laundry; from this experience, we learned about the intricacies of everyday or quotidian movement and gestures. The mentoring session was crucial in our understanding that domestic labor like laundry is so evocative and at times contentious. As we are again working in a duet, we hope to lean into the vulnerability and intimacy of our connection as perceived by the audience. 

N: For last year’s NACHMO you did a piece centered around laundry. There have been several other artists recently looking at invisible labor (including NACHMO Boston mentor Kim Holman’s Common Circus) in their work. Why do you think that is such a relatable theme in our community at the moment?
CD & CSB: With COVID-19 and the following lockdown, our lives were suddenly jammed into our homes. Zoom invited the outside world inside our homes, and so invisible and domestic labor became increasingly visible. Now the boundaries between traditional work and domestic labor are blurred as people work remotely – we ourselves do our laundry in between (or during) meetings!

N: Your laundry piece, Did You Check The Dryer?, was based around the use of props (socks and a laundry basket). Will you be working with props again this year? How do you decide where to begin when starting a new work?
CD & CSB: We will not be working with props again though we are considering having a musician on stage with us – and therefore be part of the piece!

Last year, we began by journaling on the theme of Lost and Found, which is how we arrived at the idea of using socks on stage. This year, we are doing a “physical journal” based on some images we have collected to explore how those shapes manifest in our bodies. This will be the basis of our movement vocabulary. ​

By Nicole Harris

Nicole Harris: For NACHMO this year you are choosing a non-performance track. How do programs like this benefit your process? Are you working towards a specific project outside of NACHMO that you are using your NACHMO time for? Or is this purely exploratory?
Jessica Roseman: NACHMO is the perfect reboot for the start of my year. I love its casual creativity, playfulness, and the supportive environment. This year, I am combining several repertory dances into one longer piece, and I am playing with an interactive installation concept. At this point, both projects are in exploration phases, as I have yet to figure out where or when they will actualize.

N: If this is purely exploratory, or in other places without a clearly defined end product, how do you make sure the process is meaningful? 
JR: Working by myself, I have zero tolerance for tortured process. Alone, I am responsible for meaningfully shaping my work to suit my vision. So I think a lot about what motivates me to dance, what excites me. I am inspired to use stories from my family and identity, by using my senses, and my location.  

N: What are your tools for prioritizing process at least equally to product?
JR: Scheduled time in the studio. In rehearsal, I set my stopwatch for 5 or 20 minutes, for example, to play out a beginning, middle, and end around an idea. I may do timed dances several times throughout a rehearsal. Often the dance is aimless; some sessions I choose to do nothing. Sometimes I phone a friend in rehearsal, or bring in stimulating props for encouragement. Regardless of what happens, by putting in my studio time, I can trust that my process is growing the dance. Over enough weeks, I come to understand a sense of the story I am shaping. Inevitably, I develop a dance I can live in. My process becomes product.

N: You’ve built three distinct pieces for fairly high profile programs in the last year. Do you have any advice for choreographers to care for themselves in the midst of those high pressure situations?
JR: Choreograph wellbeing into your dance. If the piece is emotionally or physically taxing, put a recuperation section in there, or creatively modify the action! Work with things, people, costumes, music that make you happy. Bake care into your artistic process and business practices - schedule daily writing, life coaching, affirmations, play, and rest time to keep grounded. Surround yourself with people who you easily share with and trust. Be honest with yourself. Don’t be afraid to say no, or to ask for what you need. 
 
N: Thanks to a conversation from you a few years ago we started offering childcare during mentoring, tech, and performances for choreographers who need it. Are there other ways that programs like NACHMO Boston can be supporting artists who are parents?
JR: One of my biggest challenges as a parent is balancing my time and energy. I really appreciate how NACHMO offers flexible options in scheduling dates for mentoring sessions, and how to participate. I would love programs for parenting artists to consider offering open, cumulative scheduling, allowing the artist to choose a schedule that works for them. 

It would be ideal if other programs asked accommodation questions to parent artists up front, even if they’re unable to provide. Parents need to feel welcomed to ask for support; so thank you for asking!

N: Monkeyhouse and NACHMO Boston believe that we wouldn’t be here without the support of our community. Who is one of your favorite local choreographers and why?
​JR: The work of Laura Sánchez really resonates for me, among many other local choreographers. Laura is creating new ways to incorporate all aspects of her being in her dances, including beyond her expertise in flamenco. I am excited to see what she’s doing next!  ​

By Nicole Harris

Nicole Harris: You are a NACHMO pro by now. Do you have any advice for newcomers or those who have been nervous to take the NACHMO challenge?
Marissa Chura: Remember that NACHMO Boston is one of the most welcoming and supportive dance communities around! No one is being competitive with each other, or trying to tear anyone down. Something I love about NACHMO is that there’s no hierarchy among the participants- everyone has something to offer, everyone’s contributions and creations are valued and appreciated.

Also, don’t put too much pressure on yourself! That’s something I have to remind myself a lot when choreographing, and it’s especially true in NACHMO. This whole process of creating something in a month can feel really intimidating, and it’s easy to get caught up in the idea of creating that “perfect” final product- and for me, that’s not what NACHMO is about. Don’t get so stressed about your final piece that you miss out on the overall experience, because this really is such a great opportunity to experiment with movement and connect with so many other artists. 

N: You generally create solo work for NACHMO. What draws you to creating for yourself? How do you keep yourself feeling connected to a community when your rehearsals are just you?
MC: For NACHMO specifically, one reason for solo work is just practicality- this is a very fast-paced endeavor and with my current schedule and location, it just makes more sense to create solo work than to try and coordinate with a group. On a more general note, I’m often drawn to creating solo work because it gives me an opportunity to explore movement that feels satisfying in my own body. Sometimes in a class or rehearsal for something, you’ll find that one movement that just feels really satisfying, but then you might have to move onto the next thing without getting to explore that movement as much as you might want to. So I guess in a way, creating solo work is my “me-time” when I get to revisit those sensations that interest me and keep digging deeper into them. It’s an opportunity to focus on what feels good to my body, and then figure out how to build more movement around that.

I think NACHMO Boston makes it really easy to feel connected to the community even when I’m creating something by myself. There are so many opportunities to directly connect with other people, especially through the various mentoring opportunities. I love group and peer mentoring. It’s always so interesting to hear about other people’s processes and see what they are working on throughout the month, and it’s just a great opportunity to connect with other local artists! Another thing that helps me feel connected is the daily prompts. I don’t necessarily use all of them for my actual piece, but I definitely like to play with them. To know we’re all getting the same daily prompts to play with, and then to be able to see how other choreographers are interpreting the prompts through social media, makes me feel really connected to the larger NACHMO community. 

By Nicole Harris

Nicole Harris: Madison, this is not your first time participating in NACHMO. What did you learn last time that will help you this time around? Is there anything new that you are doing this year?
Madison Florence: This year is my third year participating as a choreographer. Last time, it was 2021 and we were creating entirely for video. Choreographing for the stage feels very different and I became very comfortable performing and creating for an audience I could move and choose what angle they could see the piece from while creating video. I'm doing a little unlearning of that this year but I am excited to do some partnering, get creative with music, and push the boundaries of my comfort zone.

N: You will be collaborating for NACHMO this year. Is this the first time you’ve created together? How do you know each other? How will you begin your collaborative process?
MF: This is our first time creating together but not the first time dancing together. We are both dancers with Nozama Dance Collective and became fast friends since the day we first met. Lucky for us our thoughts are very aligned and developing a concept was a simple conversation.

Sarah Ready: Yes, this is our first time creating together but we have been fortunate enough to dance together with Nozama Dance Collective. I met Madison when I auditioned for Nozama and instantly hit it off and found that we work very well together. We began our collaborative process by having a seamless conversation where our concept was developed.

by Nicole Harris

Nicole Harris: This is your first time choreographing for NACHMO. (WELCOME!) What are you most nervous and most excited about the experience of creating work in a month?
Katrina Conte: I have been wanting to create a piece based off the Dr. Seuss book Green Eggs and Ham for awhile now and I’m excited to explore some abstract funky movement to match his whimsical book. I'm nervous about completing a piece in a month that I feel is complete, but I am trying to think of this show as a test run before it's shown again in our ALIVE show in April.

N: You are choreographing this year as part of Alive Dance Collective and your piece will be inspired by their season theme of books. Can you tell us about what book you’re using and how you’re planning to use it? What first drew you to the book? 
KC: I was first drawn to this book when I went to see How the Grinch stole Christmas the Musical touring at my university a few years ago. There was a fun fact page about Dr. Suess in the program and it mentioned he only uses a total of 50 words rearranged to create the story of Green Eggs and Ham. This sparked an idea! I will be generating a move for each word in the story and choreographing it in the structure of the book. I am also having my musician be inspired by a similar idea.

Nicole Harris: It’s so exciting to have you back to NACHMO! We have certainly undergone a lot of changes since you were with us in 2020. What have you been doing during that time? How do you feel your practice has changed? What things have you discovered to be vital to you and your work?
Jo Troll: It's exciting to be back! NACHMO 2020 was actually my last live performance before the lockdown. I think that's the real change that's happening. I struggled a lot during the pandemic and had to refocus much more on my teaching instead of performance. In terms of creation and performance, I feel like I'm just coming out of a multiyear hibernation. 

This pandemic has taught me a lot in terms of the value of virtual work in terms of accessibility. I never thought that I would teach only on zoom, and yet, I see how much the virtual world has allowed more people to be able to access dance. Now, I'm trying to bring these lessons into my solo creative practice as well. I'm playing a lot more with video and the idea of performing live in a virtual way. I've been thinking a lot about space recently - my main rehearsal space is still my bedroom. So what does it mean to see a space differently or experience a space when we're not physically in it? 

N: You have a background in a variety of traditional percussive dance practices. Can you tell us a bit about what you’ll be working on for NACHMO this year? 
JT: Nothing noisy or virtual! I'm working with Irish light shoe dancing, which can feel very percussive but doesn't have the accompanying sound.I'm not quite sure what it is I'm actually doing yet, but it seems to involve a chair. I've always been fascinated by how music for dance can change our perception of time and that has been my main starting point. I struggle between the desire to simply dance and the need to say something with my dancing. I'm a trans, aroace, disabled Irish dancer and if I don't frame my work, someone else will do it for me and usually miss something important. But sometimes, I just want to put on good music and dance. I think that tension is an underlying theme in my work at the moment.

By Nicole Harris

By Nicole Harris

By Nicole Harris

Nicole Harris: This is your third NACHMO which means it’s Collective Moment’s second birthday this month! What have you learned through the process of starting a company? What are your goals moving forward?
​Kaylee Mahan: I am so excited for our second birthday month and am so excited to share it with you all!!! I have learned so many incredibly things. 

• Going with your gut is important - you have to be your biggest advocate but also allow others to help/ support!
• You never know until you try, so try! and not every “success” is a “yes” so, be gentle and not attached to results!  
• Connections and community is everything. To fall in and embrace - all and any. 

​My goals moving forward is to just take more chances and dive in more. I tend to let my brain and mental chatter if you will really hold me back from personally following through with some projects, grants, applications, which is okay its part of the journey, but, I think goal wise: apply to more things,  keep performing, and hopefully making new work.  

​​N: You were part of the aMaSSiT program in 2022 (alongside Circe, Lila, Tess, and Soumya who are also part of NACHMO this year!). The piece you created has developed quite a bit since then. Can you talk a bit about your choreographic journey from aMaSSiT to now? When did you feel most successful? What are you looking for to keep your momentum going into 2023?
​KM: Man oh man - first and foremost being apart of aMaSSiT was and is still one of the best experiences of my life, as a person, choreographer, dancer! I found community, happiness, and good healthy dance connections! It was so lovely to be in a shared space of artists of all styles and just share! As for my choreographic journey - I’ve taken a lot of time and put more thought into recent works, allowed myself to really slow down with some movement and approaches.
I’m honestly not to sure where I have felt most successful - thats one that I think I have to ponder on!

To keep my momentum going into 2023 I think is to just really keep diving into making connections and communication with my fellow artists!  To create and move for nothing else other than to just move  - I’m really excited to follow the daily prompts of NACHMO - i enjoy being able to follow along prompts and see what comes up and out of it.

By Nicole Harris

N: This is your fourth NACHMO, making you a pro! Do you have any advice for first time participants or artists who have felt nervous about taking the challenge?
Christopher Croucher: Honestly, I feel like NACHMO is the perfect way to shake off those nerves.  The way that NACHMO Boston supports the choreographers really makes it a choose-your-own-adventure kind of challenge.  Put in as much or as little energy as you have to give, really, it’s okay!  As Brenna Banister and Alive Dance Collective say, we’re full time humans and part time dancers.  It’s okay to jump in at the deep end or stick a toe in the wading pool.  No matter what, you’re going to take something from this experience!

I think the most important things to remember are that 1. This should be fun, otherwise why do it? and 2. You’re stepping into one of the least judgmental and most supportive communities you’ll find in the dance world…enjoy it.  You never know what will come out of it until you shake it off and go for it. 

​N: You have been incredibly busy in the last year working on Letting the Land Lead. Can you tell us a little more about it? Where are you hoping it goes from here?

CC: My film was shown at the virtual 8th Annual We Create Festival (June, 2021) the Festival of You, Us and Them, The Dance Complex (September, 2021), and the City of Malden Winter Festival (December, 2021).

CC: For me the difference I have noticed is the “when” I want to practice or produce in each medium. As I continue to view my dance journal I see that I am able to draw and dance, but not dance and draw. I don’t let myself go on the latter. Perhaps because I am a visual learner, to “see” a movement or shape then embody it is easier. I am excited about using NACHMO to explore dance then drawing as a prompt for creating work. I think it will help me let go of worrying about technique and just dance!

N: We love our local community! Who are some of your favorite local choreographers? And why?
CC: Marsha Parrilla, Danza Organica - I have learned a huge amount from Marsha’s workshops and was honored to be part of her first and most recent We Create Festival, celebrating women of color. Marsha has truly been a social justice warrior through her company’s work. Her dance aesthetic is strong and graceful, and she is generous with her curriculums in cultural storytelling and research.

Jenny Oliver, Modern Connections - Jenny’s choreography makes me feel like this is what I am supposed to do in the world. Her classes are fun, hard and you will walk away each time so proud of yourself because she has told you to “live” when you perform her center choreo. She answers every question and when you are lucky enough to see her perform, it is magical!

Jean Appolon, JAE Expressions - Jean takes me back to first Saturday dance classes in Haitian Folklore. I did not know all the connections to healing this grounded dance style has as a child. I learn and practice through JAE. His company members are just as kind in teaching and welcoming the community to move into healing.

I am SO excited to see Wisty Andres on the list of NACHMO participants. Wisty is a beautiful dancer with such control of their body. I have experienced their choreographic genius as a dancer, and their healer’s spirit in their mindful workshops.

And have to shout out Boston choreographers McKersin Previlus, LaKai Dance and Ronnie Thomas, Mystique Illusions. Both have a quality of movement that back up their beliefs and dance styles. It was an honor to see their growth as company founders and creative directors. They also promised I could jazz hands in their shows, a flare I think is underused.

Being from Boston, a predominantly white city, I saw a need to focus solely on Black dancers & choreographers in my first archival project. Boston’s black dancers deserve a space to know their works are exhibited with the best intentions and stored in ways that will preserve them for true historical research and reference in all the mediums possible.

It will also be a space for honoring our lost and living legend of multidisciplinary artists, who can be researched at the BPL. I want to support and honor black artists of all mediums.

Please join my website or follow me on instagram for project highlights and how you can help Cassandre bring The Black Arts Sanctuary to public and private institutions across Massachusetts and beyond.

Insta:
@charleyarts
Cassandre Charles
The Black Arts Sanctuary

By Nicole Harris

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!
​
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!

​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.

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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