Sam Mullen: You have a lot of choreography that is now being performed by other company members. What has it been like to teach the choreography to each dancer? How does it feel to see your work being performed by each person/personality? Nicole Harris: While we all come from different backgrounds I think one thing that is universal within Monkeyhouse is that we are all interested in seeing how a piece changes as it is performed by new bodies with new personalities and experiences to draw from. Our goal is never to have someone mimic the choreographer but to find their own voice within the work. It's why almost every piece is choreographed in collaboration with the dancers and you'll never quite see the same piece twice. Some pieces, when they acquire a new performer, stay within the same movement vocabulary and the changes come out in tone and texture. Other pieces add, subtract or replace phrases based on the needs of the new performers. Some pieces retain their concept or story but it ends up being told in a completely different manner. I was actually just talking about this last option with Caleb last night. One of the pieces I have restaged for this show is a duet that was originally performed by Caitlin Meehan and Nikki Sao Pedro-Welch. (For this show it will be performed by me and Sarah Feinberg.) The structure of the piece is largely one phrase that gets repeated and manipulated over and over with a final section of partnering between the two characters. In watching Sarah learn and develop her version of the piece I thought I would love to take the same structure but allow the dancer(s) to create their own phrase as the base of the movement instead of just adapting my original phrase - as Sarah and I did. When I first took this piece out of hibernation I had thought that it would be an interesting one to add to the series of duets Caleb and I have been performing, only the vocabulary of the original choreography is completely different than the vocabulary that comes out of where our two movement backgrounds meet. But the integrity of the piece won't change at all if the choreography of that main phrase is completely different. Karen talked quite a bit about restaging Firk II with you and Olivia so I'll skip that one. The last piece I restaged for this show is a solo I created in 2011 with Caitlin Meehan. I have actually taught this piece to two different dancers (Caleb from Monkeyhouse and Julien, my student at the Groton School) in the last few months. In both cases it was much more of the first method I mentioned above. The choreography, which was originally created through improvisations with Caitlin, has become now a set series of gestures. However, the piece is entirely about the personality and idiosyncrasies of the character in a very real and relatable situation. So, despite there being a written list of gestures that defines the structures, Caleb and Julien each had drastically different (but equally amazing) interpretations of the piece.  Photo by karen Krolak SM: You have two duets with both Caleb and Sarah. What has it been like working on the duets with each person? Are the duets similar or completely different from one another with each specific person? Have the similarities /differences impacted rehearsals at all (tough changing from one character/emotion to the next or, if they are similar, is it the same character being continued over into the next story)? N: Yes, since the show is largely about relationships there are quite a few duets. You and Olivia have two as well! All four of my duets are pretty drastically different. It's always possible to draw comparisons. Both of my duets with Caleb are about relationships, although in one the relationship is just beginning and the other doesn't end well... We also have props that make our duets more like trios at times. Sarah and I have a similar partnering vocabulary in the two pieces, so they are definitely alike in that way. However, one is fairly linear in its storytelling and the other is rather abstract. Like any Monkeyhouse show (or any show with many choreographic voices) this show requires a lot of mental elasticity from the performers. Even just in these four pieces I jump from an overview of an entire relationship in which I am left alone at the end. Then I am the one who does the abandoning and we explore what it means to trust someone. The next piece plays with rebound and reaction and how two people intentionally or unintentionally impact one another. And finally I am one of two people who has to learn where baggage, insecurity and mental illness can fit into establishing a new relationship. That's a lot of emotional roller coaster - and I'm in at least 2 other pieces that aren't duets...!  Photo by Clayton Raithel SM: You have quite a few props for your pieces in this show! What has it been like working with vastly different elements, i.e. a very special, large umbrella vs a much smaller light source in total darkness? N: It's interesting because the props all come from very different sources. The light, which is used in Elyssa Berg's Irradiance, was something that Elyssa had been playing with in Musings for months. Caleb and I were asked to dance in that particular piece and the movement entirely came from prompts by Elyssa. So while we did play with the light (and we are always entertained by the patterns it makes on the ceiling while we're performing) it was something that was directed from the outside. Similarly, the idea for the umbrella came from an outside source. Karen, who built the beautiful umbrellas as the start for a project that eventually became the Dictionary of Negative Space, brought them in to Musing almost a year ago and led a series of improvisations around the idea of the umbrella being a security blanket. When Caleb and I proposed the idea of building a duet Karen suggested that those improvisations might be a good place to start. We definitely never would have come up with Voetstoots without Karen's suggestions or her umbrella! So, the umbrella was given to us from the outside, but the movement it generated came entirely from the two of us and our interpretation of the idea. The hardest part of the umbrella is that from a storytelling perspective it isn't supposed to be easy to keep the umbrella under control, especially once we are dancing together. However, like most things, practice makes better - so the longer this piece get rehearsed and performed the easier it is to encourage the umbrella to do what we want. So we have to constantly remember what it was like in the early days and try and keep that feeling in every performance.  SM: You are always so busy working on new adventures for Monkeyhouse. Can you tell people about all of the exciting things we have coming up? N: Oh yes! We are simultaneously building three large events at the moment. The first is this show, of course. Then on April 13th we will be performing with Karen for her I-ARE residency showcase at the Dance Complex. And on April 27th we will be out on the Malden Community Trail co-hosting the very first Malden Dance Mile with OnStage Dance Company as part of ArtWeek 2019! Everyone should keep an eye out on our social media and here on the website for more information about how you can be involved with all of these exciting choreographic adventures! 
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Sam Mullen: You created a new piece, Ricochet, for the version of this show we did at OnStage Dance Company in July. This winter you restaged it with Nicole for our upcoming performance. What was that like? Sarah Feinberg: Honestly, setting Ricochet on Nicole was easy. She participated in the musings that lead to building the piece and already knew portions of the choreography. We made a few minor adjustments to sections to make them work better for our partnership but other than that not much had to be changed. Both Elizabeth (who originally danced the piece) and Nicole move so fluidly that their natural movement aesthetics worked well for this piece. I’d love to see Ricochet danced by the two of them together. Maybe next time!  SM: In addition to dancing you can often be found upside down or up in the air at AcroStrong in Charlestown, MA. How are acro and and the partnering you do at Monkeyhouse different? How are they the same? Does being fluent in both impact the other? SF: All the training and experience I have received in contact improvisation and partnering was definitely beneficial to learning partner acrobatics. I was no stranger to being picked up, picking people up and being upside down. Even more important and useful is my understanding of connection and weight sharing. Acro is much more structured than contact improvisation and there are clear roles (base, flyer, mid, spotter) that are agreed upon before starting a skill. When we improvise at Monkeyhouse we don’t necessarily make those decisions in advance. You have to be ready to play any combination of those roles at any time. Having strong connections and clear weight shifts make that possible. I like to improvise in acro when I have a willing partner. It’s fun trying to come up with creative transitions and new shapes. Acro continues to challenge my perception of what I am capable of. A few years ago I never would have believed I could do the skills I am doing now. Acro has definitely made me stronger, a little more fearless and expanded my knowledge of partnering. For me, dance and acro compliment each other nicely.  You can catch Sarah at
re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT} on March 29-30th at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA Get your tickets today for $5 off the door price!
Sam Mullen: Since you received your MFA last year, you have been exploring the question of where dance can happen. Could you possibly speak about your quest up the East Coast and how it has influenced projects you are working on now? Kim Holman: Sure! Truly I think dance can (and should) happen anywhere. My project Roadtrip Dances consisted of a 1500 mile drive up the entire East Coast, where I stopped in each state for some sort of site-inspired public performance. I think back often to a moment in Durham, NC. I didn't anticipate discovering that nearly no one in the South spends time outside during the day in the hot summer except for tourists and the homeless. I had a great impromptu performance for an audience consisting of exactly one elderly homeless man who cheered and laughed and voiced his delight, afterwards asking a few cautious questions. That moment sticks with me and keeps me conscious of the fact that my work is for everyone—patrons, skeptics, casual bystanders alike.  SM: In the last year you started boxing, how has it influenced your performing? KH: Boxing has cemented my own personal philosophy of not performing (and therefore performing... confusing, I know). When I enter the dance space to participate in work in front of an audience, I do so to complete a series of tasks I've been assigned. I know this sounds unbelievably boring and far from the performances we seek out onstage, bear with me. I don't love performing work that requires me to pretend to be something I am not. I love work that requires rigorous inquiry, absolute authenticity in the present moment, and asks something of me as a performer that I can discover again and again, whether I'm digging to unearth an emotional reaction, or seeing what my body can do in a specific situation. Boxing does this. I enter a ring to fight and I'm there to use the skills I have to engage with another human. It asks me to work towards the same goal each time and uses the same structure, but it's completely new each time. It's exactly the same "piece", but each performance might look completely unique. I can be most present and most myself when I can navigate through choreography in this way. Even if there's set movement, I want to find my way through the work as genuinely as possible each time.  SM: You are the co-director of Luminarium Dance Company. We are thrilled you could take time out of your very busy schedule to work with us this year! While our companies are good friends and have a lot in common we also tackle things from a variety of perspectives. Is there a specific thing you can point to that is different about the two experiences for you? KH: I think the main difference is that I'm coming in as a guest performer, as opposed to my work with Luminarium as an Artistic Director! It's been interesting to be on the other side of things as a performer, though Monkeyhouse is delightfully democratic and the idea of leadership is far from one-sided. I love the trust amongst the group and the willingness to take risks and try everything.  SM: Speaking of Luminarium, what is the company up to these days? KH: Lots! We are preparing for several festivals and collaborations all over New England. You can catch us working alongside Verdant Vibes in Providence, RI in May, and with visual artist Adria Arch in Portsmouth, NH in June, and as part of many great events that are part of the vibrant festival season in the Boston area. We are in the early stages of building new work, likely for late 2019, where you might see me try to merge my physical work in boxing with contemporary dance (among many other things). One of the most exciting updates is that we are relaunching 24-Hr ChoreoFest this year—an event I hold dear to my heart, and that Monkeyhouse has supported over the years. Keep an eye on our site, luminariumdance.org and our social media for updates!  You can catch Kim at re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT} on March 29-30th at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA Get your tickets today for $5 off the door price!
 Photo by Kathryn Swayze Photography Nicole Harris: What is the work you'll be performing at re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT}? Jennifer Crowell-Kuhnberg: I'll be presenting excerpts from "Selichot." The piece explores themes of wrong doing, repentance and forgiveness. Selichot ("s'lichot" in Hebrew meaning "forgiveness") precedes the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. It marks a period of time in which we are encouraged to reflect on wrong doings of the past and consider how we can better ourselves, ask for forgiveness from those that we've hurt, and move forward into the new year with a fresh perspective and a motivation to be better. N: This isn't the first time you've shown this piece. Where/when did it premiere? JCK: This piece was originally commissioned by Cantor Peter Halpern for Temple Shalom in Newton, MA, where it premiered in September 2017. It was created as a site-specific work for the congregation as a way to reflect on the themes of the holy day of "Selichot." N: What made you want to restage it now? JCK: I was struck by a recent conversation with Karen Krolak, in which we discussed an expectation in the dance world that seems to demand that choreographers constantly create new work. However, for emerging or smaller local companies, it means that a lot of old work is only performed once or twice for a small crowd and then never sees the light of day again. I felt excited by the opportunity to take a piece that I loved very much and allow it to be seen in multiple settings by as many different audiences as possible. This has also allowed me to take another look at certain parts of the piece and adjust, add, subtract, or just see how it evolves simply by being set on a new dancer. This piece was an unexpected joy to work on. The movement feels so natural and fun to do and I genuinely enjoyed creating it and setting it on my dancers. I’m excited for the opportunity to bring it back to life and present it to new audiences.  Photo by Kathryn Swayze Photography N: Who are the dancers you are working with? JCK: Aside from myself, the other dancers performing with me are Marisa Cohen, Alaina Sawyer and Amanda Untracht. (Natalie Schiera is also in the new cast but will not be performing on the 29th.) N: This is the first time you've worked with some of these dancers. How has that process been? JCK: Yes! Marisa is the only other dancer from the original cast of this piece, and I’ve brought in Alaina to join. I’ve worked with both for several years through other OnStage projects. I’ve never worked with Amanda before, but she is currently in residency at OnStage and I thought she’d be a great fit for this. I met Natalie through recent collaborations with Nozama Dance Collective, but also never danced with her before. It has been an absolute joy working with these dancers. They’ve learned the work at lightening speed and are beautiful movers. I’m so glad that we’ll be able to perform the work several times together! N: Where can people see the full piece? JCK: The full piece will be presented at the AS220 Providence Movement Festival on Thursday, April 25 and Saturday, April 27!  Photo by Olivia Blaisdell N: What other amazing things are you doing that people should know about?
JCK: Oh! Just a couple of things: - April 13: Empower One Another - A performance series focused on the themes of the female experience and female empowerment, co-produced by myself and Nozama Dance Collective. Featuring 6 dance companies, including work that we have choreographed collaboratively, at OnStage Dance Company. - April 27: Malden Dance Mile for Artweek Boston - An outdoor street festival celebrating dance and movement. Co-produced by myself and the lovely Nicole Harris and Karen Krolak of Monkeyhouse. Located on the Malden Walking Path between Ferry St and Maplewood. - June 15: OnStage Dance Company’s Season 17 Performance featuring original work created by emerging choreographers and performed by our company of 50+ dancers, at BU Dance Theater.
Nicole Harris: You will be doing two duets with Olivia Scharff during the show. Can you tell me a bit about what it has been like to have one partner that you work with with more regularity? Sam Mullen: Working with Olivia has been a completely different experience than I’ve had with any other partner. We had a natural connection from the instant we met and partnering together was completely organic. We gravitate towards each other when working on improv prompts in monthly Musings and have similar movement styles. It was obvious early on that we needed to explore partnering pieces together. Our personalities compliment each other well which comes through in our movements. We trust each other entirely which allows us to try out tricks that we would otherwise feel anxious about. We’ve been able to grow together by supporting and encouraging each other over the last year and a half. I cannot wait to bring our quirky friendship to the stage this month!  Photo by Clayton Raithel N: Connexa is a duet you and Olivia have performed before but you're adding a new one to this show called Firk II. The piece was originally choreographed in 2006 by me and Karen and this is the first time anyone else has danced it. Not surprisingly for the two of us, there is no small amount of partnering in the piece. What has it been like to learn the piece and all the new lifts? SM: Most of my recent work in Musings and rehearsals has been very grounded and slower paced. Learning Firk II for the first time was shocking! There are flips, tricks, and lifts sprinkled throughout the choreography. At first, I was afraid my body wouldn’t allow me to do some of these tricks anymore. Would my body still be flexible enough in the ways needed to be able to perform this piece? Within the first two hours of learning the piece, I was obsessed. Karen and Nicole choreographed this high energy, strong piece in a way that is very easy to learn. There are tricks to the tricks that make them much easier to perform than they appear. It is so invigorating to perform! It might even be my new favorite piece.  You can catch Sam at
re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT} on March 29-30th at the Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA Get your tickets today for $5 off the door price!
Musing Prompt #46.329 (premiere) Improvisation Prompt by Karen Krolak Performed by Caleb Howe, Elyssa Berg, Nicole Harris, Olivia Scharff and Sam Mullen Music by Twink the Toy Piano Band Special Thanks to Aisha Cruse Ukiyo (premiere) Choreographed by Nicole Harris Performed by Sarah Friswell Cotton, Olivia Scharff, Nicole Harris Costumes by Nicole Harris Special Thanks to Kelsey Griffith, Impulse Dance Center Ukiyo (Japanese) - the “floating world”; a place of fleeting beauty and living in the moment, detached from the bothers of life. [220] (premiere) Choreographed by Karen Krolak in collaboration with Sam Mullen Performed by Sam Mullen Music by Twink the Toy Piano Band Sam would like to thank Karen for the encouragement, freedom of expression and constant support. www.DictionaryofNegativeSpace.com
4 things (2018) Choreographed by Elizabeth Powers in collaboration with the dancers Performed by Michelle Boilard, Michela Doherty, Sarah Feinberg, and Elizabeth Powers Music by Mystified Costumes by Elizabeth Powers
Voetstoots (premiere) Choreographed and Performed by Caleb Howe and Nicole Harris Music by Francois Couture Sound Design by Nicole Harris Umbrella Design by Karen Krolak Special Thanks to Karen Krolak and Peter-John de Kock Voetstoots (Afrikaans) - refers to something, usually sold, with all its faults and without guarantees - “As is” * Created as part of Monkeyhouse’s Choreography Mentorship Program
by Karen Krolak  Photo by Karen Krolak Nicole enjoyed interviewing the other choreographers we are working with, but Karen stepped in when it came time to interview the choreographers of Voetstoots, Caleb Howe and Nicole herself. Here are their thoughts on collaboration, the choreographic process and working together. Nicole and Caleb will also be dancing in work by Elizabeth Powers, Karen Krolak and Elyssa Berg. reACT reBUILD reCOLLECT Friday, July 27th @ 8pm 665 Salem St, Malden, MA Tickets available here for only $10 if you use the VIP Code MH10. VIP tickets are not available at the door so get yours today! karen Krolak: Lots of people loath collaborating. What drew the two of you to want to build something together? Caleb Howe & Nicole Harris: We improvise well together. We’ve had a lot of opportunity to experiment with movement together over the last year and while we are both happy with what comes out of those exercises, this was an opportunity to see what could happen with a more prolonged process. Caleb has never choreographed before, and so collaborating gave him the opportunity to build a piece without having to take on everything at once. kK: Can you describe how this piece grew out of specific Musing exercises? C: When you first made the umbrellas during the first generation of what later became the Dictionary of Negative Space, they had a very different intent than the prompts you gave when you brought them into rehearsal back in March. You handed an umbrella to me and asked Nicole to coax me out from underneath it. We were the only two in attendance which gave us the opportunity to do a lot in a short amount of time. Working with the same partner over and over again allowed us to build an understanding of how the umbrella moves even as the specifics of the prompt changed. N: When we left the studio that day both Caleb and I were interested in continuing to play with the ideas you had introduced. Knowing you and what you know of the roles depression and anxiety can play in both mine and Caleb's lives, I am not surprised that you selected those particular prompts for us. When we got in the studio this spring we tried to stay true to the idea of finding the ways you can help support another person, even when that means temporarily setting your own problems to the side. The idea of the umbrella expanded and the journey of the characters developed, but the seed of the piece continues to be that same exercise of two people supportively coaxing each other. kK: Caleb, how did the umbrella shape your movement choices? C: Much of the movement that Monkeyhouse is drawn to tends to be very grounded, either on the floor or with hands on the floor. The umbrella does not like to be upside down and so it restricts choices and required me to find more upright movement. While I do have some background in ballroom dance, the choice to use it here came much more from the restrictions the umbrella posed than simply relying on what I knew. kK: Nicole, this is the first time the you have collaborated with Caleb on choreographing a piece, how was the process different than other choreographers in Monkeyhouse?
N: Since I have primarily collaborated with you for the last 18 years, we have developed a shorthand (both verbal and physical) in working together which doesn’t exists yet with Caleb, so the experience was very different in that regard. I think my biggest challenge was making sure I supported Caleb, who hasn’t choreographed a piece before, in a way that didn’t impose my own agenda on the work or the process. kK: Caleb, what were some of the challenges you dealt with as you choreographed a piece for the first time? C: I don’t have any training as a dancer, The challenge for me building this piece was not having a movement vocabulary to draw upon, and having to construct each of the movements from scratch. N: Caleb described it to me as being similar to when a child learns to read or write. They don’t yet have the experience to recognize entire words but instead process each letter one at a time. I thought that was a really great analogy for what I saw in working with Caleb. kK: Nicole - how did you find the music for this duet? N: Before we knew what the piece was going to be we were playing Pink Martini’s “Hang on Little Tomato” in rehearsal. The movement instantly began to transform itself. However we knew we would not get the rights to Pink Martini’s music, so we slowly introduced other pieces of music discovered on Ilicensemusic.com until we found the right combination of what we were looking for, not too fast, no lyrics, not too heavy a swing. Once the music was selected I did a little editing to the beginning to help support the story we are trying to tell. by Nicole Harris  Photo by Lucas Buriche Next up, Choreography Mentee, Elizabeth Powers! You saw the piece she created as part of the Choreography Mentorship Program at NACHMO Boston in January. You'll have the chance to see it again on stage tomorrow. We're excited to see what Elizabeth brings to the company in the future! Elizabeth is also dancing in work by Sarah Feinberg and Elyssa Berg. Here she is talking about the two pieces she has in tomorrow's concert. re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT} Friday, July 27th @ 8pm 665 Salem St, Malden, MA Tickets available here for only $10 if you use the VIP Code MH10. VIP tickets are not available at the door so get yours today! Nicole Harris: You have two pieces in this concert that you created as part of two different choreography programs this winter. What were some of the highlights of your experiences with each program? Elizabeth Powers: Many of the best parts of each program are the same! Both gave me as an emerging choreographer free space along with lots of freedom and little pressure to make something new. A highlight from OnStage Dance Company’s residency program was that I had the opportunity to bring together dancers who I new from different dance communities as well as meet other dancers from the OnStage community. A highlight from the Choreography Mentorship Program with Monkeyhouse was all of the opportunities for feedback and reflection on the work I was making. Additionally with this program I was given mentorship in all kinds of areas of the field including working with a lighting designer, finding/licensing music, costuming mentorship, and more.  Photo by Olivia Blaisdell N: The piece you created for OnStage Dance Co's Residency Program was fairly significantly less improv based than the one you created for Monkeyhouse's Choreography Mentorship Program. Can you talk about the differences between those two processes? EP: The main difference between the two processes was what I came in with. For OnStage, I began the first rehearsal by teaching a phrase. The first rehearsal with Monkeyhouse began with several improvisation prompts as well as dancers creating their own phrases from these prompts. With the OnStage piece, the improvisation tasks were mostly developed into set material. For this piece, I imagined very specific images while working to bring them to life. Comparatively, the Monkeyhouse piece was created by honing specific improvisation scores and combining them into a cohesive dance. N: Will you be making any changes to the two pieces from their first performances? EP: Definitely! Every time I see my work I think of something new to add, alter, or take out. The main structure of each piece will stay the same but I definitely made several small edits to both. Additionally, since there are elements of improvisation between each piece, there is no question that the pieces will not be exactly the same as they were in their original form, which is what I love about dance :)  Photo by Sarah Friswell Cotton N: What is a favorite rehearsal moment for each piece? EP: A favorite rehearsal moment for the OnStage piece was the moment when all of the pieces finally went together. There was a time in the process when we had so many bits of material that we had been playing with, but they didn’t seem to work together. Trying one combination that finally worked was a great moment. A favorite rehearsal movement for the Monkeyhouse piece would have to be the first time we played with creating the duet between Sam and Olivia. It was just so much fun to watch them explore their silly and playful movement that was fun and thought provoking to watch.
reACT reBUILD reCOLLECT Friday, July 27th @ 8pm 665 Salem St, Malden, MA Tickets available here for only $10 if you use the VIP Code MH10. VIP tickets are not available at the door so get yours today!
N: You have led a series of Musings (a time for choreographers to play with ideas in a low stakes setting) over the last several months in preparation for creating this piece. How have you used Musing time to help get you where you are now? SF: Musings have been a great opportunity to try out ideas and get feedback. I had some improvisational prompts that I started with but then got stuck when it came to setting choreography. I was challenged by Karen during a musing to come up with a phrase to teach and then use the improvisational prompts I had been playing with in conjunction with the phrase. This was a major turning point in the choreographic process for me. The phrase I came up with that day ended up laying the foundation for the entire piece. N: What is a favorite rehearsal moment from the creation of this piece? SF: One of my favorite moments was when the last bit of choreography came together and all of a sudden I had an ending to my piece. I had initially came in to rehearsal that day with a very different plan for a possible ending and as we were working through the choreography the ending came naturally and that was that.
they make it their own. A few bits of choreography got adjusted here and there but the biggest change is just new dancers bringing new life to the characters. One of the things I love most about this piece is that no two dancers are going to perform it the same way. Every time this piece gets performed its a little bit different and that is part of what keeps it exciting.
by Nicole Harris
For the past year I have been honored to have three former students return to the studio to take class as adults. It began with Olivia Scharff, who sweated out the summer with me last year at Impulse Dance Center during my adult tap class. When September rolled around she was joined by Kelsey Griffith and Monkeyhouse alum Sarah Friswell Cotton. Towards the end of our first ten week session these ladies approached me to ask if they could dance on the "big stage" in Impulse's end of year concert. LuAnn (Impulse's director) was more than happy to include three Impulse alumni in her show so we got down to work and the second ten week session was dedicated to creating a piece of choreography. The piece they performed this June was to Waving Through a Window from the Broadway show Dear Evan Hansen. The choreography was intricate and the incredible music gave the piece body and character. However, the music also allowed for the dancers to hide within its orchestrations. Don't get me wrong, these ladies aren't lazy! But the fullness of the music overpowered some of the rhythms and counterpoints they were working so hard on, so we decided to also create a version of the piece with no music at all to be part of reAct reBuild reCollect in July. The original plan was for all four of us to perform this new tacit piece but unfortunately, Kelsey tore her ACL this spring and will not be able to join us at the performance. However, you can still learn about the amazing things she, Sarah and Olivia are doing by clicking on their images below. It's exciting to see how people keep dance in their lives and these three are doing some pretty incredible work.
I can't describe to you how much fun it was to work with these ladies again. Teaching adults is a very different thing than teaching children or even teenagers. I loved seeing the different ways each of them had learned how to learn in the ten years since they last took class with me. I am impressed by their ability to see their strengths and also their weaknesses and not be afraid to ask for or offer help. I am honored to dance with them on July 27th and continue working with them in the future!
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