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  MONKEYHOUSE

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Getting to Know Sarah Friswell Cotton

3/18/2019

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Picture
by Sam Mullen
Sam has been busy interviewing the artists we are working with for re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT} at the Multicultural Arts Center.  Here is our guest artist, Sarah Friswell Cotton!

​Sam Mullen: You used to dance with Monkeyhouse a bit more regularly before you went to grad school.  We are so excited to have you back working with us again!  What are some ways you keep dance in your life?
Sarah Friswell Cotton: I use dance as exercise all the time. It helps keep me active and helps keep me happy when life gets crazy. I try to take dance classes when I can but it's hard to get into the city where the classes I want to take are happening.
Dance and performance impacts my teaching all the time. I use my performing to try to engage my students all the time. We even create dance moves to help remember different science ideas. I use my expression and performance techniques as much as I can. It also makes my job more fun.
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SM: You grew up dancing with Nicole and Karen at Impulse Dance Center.  The piece you are performing for this concert came out of an adult tap class you took at Impulse just last year.  Can you talk about transitioning from being a student to the world of Monkeyhouse?
SFC: It's funny because I have known Nicole for a very long time in a number of capacities so the transition has not been something I've put much thought into. She has been my babysitter, a family friend, a teacher, a mentor, a company director, and now a friend so it has felt like a very seamless transition to be performing together now.
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SM: In addition to dancing you also sing. At times you can even be found with an a cappella group based out of Brookline!  What do you think draws you to those two art forms?
SFC: I think my passion for performing is what keeps me looking for opportunities like Monkeyhouse and like a cappella. I really enjoy performing and being in front of an audience. It is really thrilling and really fun to have an audience enjoy watching you or listening to you. I guess, for this performance, they will be watching AND listening since I'm performing in a tap piece.

Three dancers in black room. Text reads: Monkeyhouse Presents React, Rebuild, Recollect. March 29-30th- Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge
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!
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re[ACT] re[BUILD] re[COLLECT] Program

7/27/2018

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Image of three dancers. Text: Monkeyhouse & OnStage Dance Company Present React, Rebuild, Recollect. March 29-30 Multicultural Arts Center, Cambridge
Costume Design by
Karen Krolak
​unless otherwise noted

Lighting Design by Jason Ries

Special Thanks to
Impulse Dance Center,
Clayton Raithel, Catrin Evans and the Groton School Theatre Department,
​Aisha Cruse & Kelsey Griffith.

The biggest thanks goes to OnStage Dance Company for providing such an incredible opportunity to our community.  Monkeyhouse Loves You!

Photo by Olivia Blaisdell
Conglomerate (2018) *
Choreographed by Elizabeth Powers in collaboration with the dancers
Performed by Elyssa Berg, Sarah Feinberg, Nicole Harris, Caleb Howe, Samantha Mullen, and Olivia Scharff
Music by Kourosh Dini
This piece was created as a part of Monkeyhouse’s Choreography Mentorship Program and was originally presented at NACHMO Boston 2018. So many thanks to Karen Krolak and Nicole Harris for their mentorship throughout this process. Thank you to Jason Ries for mentorship in lighting and design. Special thanks to each of the performers for all of their input and trying the same prompt so many times while never producing the same outcome and to Karen Krolak for being at each rehearsal and always asking the right questions.

Ricochet (premiere)
Choreographed by Sarah Feinberg in collaboration with Elizabeth Powers
Performed by Sarah Feinberg and Elizabeth Powers
Music by Psycliq
Thank you to Monkeyhouse for providing me this opportunity to create and perform. Thank you to Karen Krolak for the mentorship you have provided throughout this choreographic process but also throughout my life. Thank you to Nicole Harris for inspiring me with your movement and creative choices during Musings. Thank you to Jason Ries for asking questions and challenging me to think about my work in new ways. Thank you to Elizabeth Powers for being a wonderful dance partner and for everything you have contributed to the choreographic process both in Musings and rehearsals.
Two dancers rehearse, One lies on ground, one stands above, In room with wood floor

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

Two dancers, one sitting on ground, one standing. Blue light reflects on reddened floor
Photo by JK Photo
Connexa (2013)
Choreographed by Sarah Feinberg and Nikki Sao Pedro-Welch
Performed by Olivia Scharff and Samantha Mullen
Music by Drop Trio
Thank you to Monkeyhouse for the opportunity share this piece again. Thank you to Olivia Scharff and Samantha Mullen for taking this piece on with such energy and enthusiasm. It’s been a blast working on it with you two!


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
This piece was created as part of the OnStage Dance Company Residency Program in the Spring of 2018.  Thank you to Jennifer Kuhnberg for organizing OnStage Dance Company’s Residency Program and providing the space for this work to be created.  Thank you to Karen Krolak for her always wise words of wisdom during this process.

[82] (premiere)
Choreographed by Karen Krolak in collaboration with Olivia Scarff
Performed by Olivia Scharff   
Sound Design by Karen Krolak
Special Thanks to Chris Lanier and to Olivia for being brave enough to take on this solo.
www.DictionaryofNegativeSpace.com

In a studio,  Dancer walks on rope on ground,  One arm out, one bent
Photo by Sarah Friswell Cotton

Dancer silhouette One arm and two feet planted firm Stomach to the sky
Photo by Sarah Friswell Cotton
Irradiance; In Three Parts (premiere) *
Choreographed by Elyssa Berg
Performed by Sarah Feinberg, Nicole Harris, Caleb Howe, Elizabeth Powers   
Music by Daniel Birch, Kevin MacLeod, and Mathieu Lamontagne and Emmanuel Toledo
Thank you to Monkeyhouse for the opportunity to create work and share the space with so many talented and supportive artists. Thank you to all of the artists who participated in musings to bring inspiration and insight into the direction of the work. And lastly, a special thank you to Nicole Harris, Karen Krolak, and Jason Reis for their guidance and support of working in new ways with new resources while growing as an artist.


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
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reAct reBuild reCollect Guest Artists -- Part I

7/9/2018

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by Nicole Harris
Three dancers in dark room. Text reads: Monkeyhouse and OnStage Dance Company Present: React, Rebuild, Recollect. March 29-30
OnStage Dance Company Summer Series
We are very excited to have several guest artists as part of reAct reBuild reCollect on July 27th at OnStage Dance Company in Malden.  We have been slowly introducing you to all of the artists participating in the concert on social media but here's a look at two specific groups of guest artists!
$10 Tickets
can be yours right now by clicking here!  Any tickets using the VIP Code MH10 not only are less expensive, but give a higher percentage of the ticket price to the artist.  (psst, that's us!)  VIP Code rates are NOT available at the door, so get yours today!

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.
Headshot of woman Brown hair pulled back, brown eyes, smile Wears a yellow shirt
Picture
Headshot of woman Shoulder length blonde hair, wears black Smiles at camera
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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