Life as a Modern Dancer

Inviting Us In: Four Ideas Around Marketing and Communication For Your Next Performance

From my personal archives - the paper program from Bebe Miller Company: A History (Friday, January 25, 2013 at the YBCA Forum)

Inviting Us In: Four Ideas Around Marketing and Communication For Your Next Performance

By Jill Randall, Director of Life as a Modern Dancer

When I think about the many effects of technology on dance performances over the past two decades, and specifically on producing your own work, it truly is amazing. I love the subtle and clever ways that technology can actually support and boost modern dance. So many marketing and PR aspects are for the better – and many components are basically “free of charge” for the field (Facebook posts, sharing articles, etc).

Today I wanted to tease out a few thoughts. Yes, sometimes we want to streamline our production processes and tasks for productions, but sometimes we need to step back and remember the value of each discreet component of a project.

Let's hone in on four components. I am coming from the viewpoint here as a website/blog director and editor for dance reviews (ie supporting professional level artmaking). I want to know about your project and support your project!

A landing place, a starting place. Your website/ticket link.

Interested audience members and dance writers alike want to find out more about YOU, the project, and your collaborating artists. Your site doesn’t have to be fancy. But having a site for someone to Google and find easily is really important. Presenters and theaters both large and small want to link to your site too. Here are two examples of sites I appreciate for their content and clarity - Kayla Farrish’s site and  Nicole Wolcott’s site.

Press release. Please write a press release. Please share the press release.

Yes, this is an ounce old school, but I just encountered a writing dilemma where referring to a press release might have answered some questions and wonderings for the dance reviewer. When in doubt, write a short press release. If you think writers are coming to your show, email them the press release. Keep press releases easily available on your website. For example, I like that I can find Jo Kreiter’s press releases on her site. Check out the Press section here.

A preview is a beautiful thing, and can take many forms.

Yeah yeah, we still crave and need a review for a variety of practical and artistic reasons.

But, more than ever, a preview can serve multiple roles before AND after a project ends. Previews can hold equal weight if you are needing documentation and writing about your work, especially for grant proposals and residency applications.

If you can get a local writer to interview you for a publication, great. If this is feeling not possible for your project, consider a few other options. Can a colleague do a Q and A with you? Can you publish it on your own site? (You can also pitch this piece for my site Life as a Modern Dancer. Write to me!)

Another strong option is that you craft a short first-person essay/musing for your website. Then, share it widely through social media, friends and colleagues, with the theater you are renting, etc. Make the most out of this piece. If you have dance reviewers coming to your show, share this piece with them! Context. Inviting them in. Sharing details, questions, and curiosities.

Here is an interview I did with Lauren Simpson in Spring 2019 in preparation for the premiere of DANCE EXHIBIT.

Dance as Event: An Interview with Lauren Simpson about DANCE EXHIBIT

And, here is a preview I worked on with Amy Foley before her April 2019 show Let Slip the Witches. I provided a handful of prompts, and Amy shared her responses. We crafted them into 4 different short preview posts to share on my site and to share via social media. Here is one of them.

A paper program at your performance.

Last idea here is around paper programs, and this is just a personal note about old school paper programs at performances. I understand and respect aesthetic and environmental choices to eliminate paper programs, to invite audience members in without a ton of preface, and to test out other tech-savvy options like QR codes linking to programs, or simply making your paper program available “online only.”

Again, based on a recent writing dilemma with a performance and the review afterwards, I did stop and wonder if a paper program and a small window into the work (context, intention, curiosities) might have changed the shape and tone of the review? Something I am putting out there to choreographers about paper programs – think about it.

For dance reviewers and general audience members alike, many people still enjoy taking home a program and reading it during the days that follow the performance. Let’s encourage each project to linger as much as we can.

If you have a press section on your website for press releases and past writing about your work, consider adding a program PDF here too. That way – if a paper program gets lost in the shuffle – someone can still access the content.

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Life as a Modern Dancer is a site committed to dance performances throughout the United States. This takes the form of publishing writing before a performance – such as interviews and first-person essays by artists - as well as post-performance with the One Good Quote project and dance reviews/reflections. To pitch an idea, write to me directly at randalldanceprojects.com.

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Dreaming/Preparing/Dancing: 1 Day until Let Slip the Witches with Bellwether Dance Project

This week we are sharing several previews before the premiere of Let Slip the Witches, with Bellwether Dance Project, at the ODC Theater in San Francisco, April 4-6, 2019. We will hear from choreographer Amy Foley as well from her collaborators.

 

Please join us! Purchase your tickets here.

 

Photo by Stephen Texeira. Front, left - Karla Quintero. Back, left - Kaitlyn Ebert. Front, right - Elena Martins. Back, right - Juliann Witt.

Today we hear from choreographer Amy Foley about each of her collaborators, responding to the question, "Can you share a little bit about each dancer in this week's performance and what they bring to the work?"

Kaitlyn Ebert ("Let Slip the Witches" and "Thighs and Wages") has been in almost every piece I have created. She has been with me from the start of Bellwether Dance Project, and I not only love her movement quality and her sheer focus and fierceness as a performer, but I trust her instincts implicitly.

Elena Martins ("Let Slip the Witches" and "Thighs and Wages") is one of those dancers who can seemingly do everything! This is our first time working together but I feel like it has been much longer. As a dancer she is unfailingly quick, consistent and reliable at her core -- covered in a flair and attack that almost surprises.

Juliann Witt ("Let Slip the Witches" and "Thighs and Wages") is another dancer who can do it ALL. She is up for any task, dramatic or technical, and retains everything. I love watching her different approaches to the movement in both pieces -- she is so very versatile and exciting to watch.

Karla Quintero ("Let Slip the Witches") is a dancer I have long been drawn to as a performer but we had never worked together until I asked her to jump into Let Slip the Witches to fill in for another dancer, who had created the role but had to pull out of the show. Karla has met the thankless task of learning someone else's role, quickly, with grace and fire. She has taken the role and made it her own, with stunning and organic results.

Caitlin Hicks ("Thighs and Wages") An absolutely gorgeous mover. She is thoughtful and inquisitive in rehearsal. She has a dramatic, focused quality that is extremely compelling to me. I can't wait to see her in the work on stage.

Kelsey Gerber ("Thighs and Wages") has a movement style that I love. It is different from mine, and I like that. I have admired her as a performer and look forward to seeing her bring the fire on stage. She makes it all look so easy, somehow.

Nol Simonse ("First Love, in 3 Parts") is a dance-idol of mine. I love his work and his movement quality. It is so very fun and humbling to make a work for him. He has had a lot of input on the process which has been invaluable to me. Honestly, it is just a joy to be on stage with him. He is an intuitive performer and gracious partner.

Tanya Bello ("First Love, in 3 Parts") is another dance-idol of mine. I have danced for her in her company, project B. And I have limitless respect for her as a maker. It is humbling to make work with her, but she is game for anything and offers brilliant suggestions. It is a joy to dance with and near her -- she is a generous performer and her technique -- come on! Goals.

All of the dancers really bring themselves to the work -- I love to watch them dancing intensely technical choreography with their own special quirks intact. I am not interested in everyone looking exactly the same, but there are moments of unison and certain other structures that require some "sameness" -- I think it takes a high level of competence and confidence to move with others as an organism but retain and show some of your choices about approach and flair. The dancers all do a beautiful job of riding this shifty middle ground. They are truly embodying the movement, and that is very exciting to me. In many cases they have been a big part of the creation of the movement language for the work, so I am relying on them as makers and well as fierce dancer-thinkers.

A Very Big Leap: Getting 501(c)(3) Status

Banning Bouldin - Founder and Artistic Director of New Dialect

This week, I asked colleagues around the country to share about the decision to get official nonprofit 501(c)(3) status for their company. Thank you to Jo Kreiter, Amelia Rudolph, Banning Bouldin, and Keira Heu-Jwyn Chang for their generosity of spirit and support of the field!

From Jo Kreiter, Artistic Director of Flyaway Productions (San Francisco, CA):

Two thoughts:

• If you have a long term vision for building your work, then becoming a legal nonprofit is a good choice.
• Require that all board members are donors, right from the start.

From Amelia Rudolph, Artistic Director of Bandaloop (Oakland, CA):

 

Use Nolo Press to create your bylaws and articles of incorporation, then hire a lawyer just to get you over the finish line to submit.

 

First year board suggestions include trying to get a professional in the arts community on your board, or someone who has an understanding of the climate and community that you are practicing in. If you know a lawyer, ask them to be on the board. 

 

Remember, you can always use a fiscal agent at the beginning. It is a great way to test the waters as filing for nonprofit status and managing it is a commitment.

 

From Banning Bouldin, Artistic Director of New Dialect (Nashville, TN):

1. Before you even begin the process of filing, reach out to other arts organizations with a long standing history of serving your community. Set up meetings with Executive Directors, Artistic Directors, and Development Directors who are willing to share with you and interview them about their experience. You will need mentors who have more experience in the field than you do and can learn so much from the lessons they've learned over the years.

 

2. When I first realized I would need to incorporate and file for 501(c)(3) status for New Dialect, I reached out to a organization called the Arts and Business Council of Nashville (ABC). ABC pairs legal and business professionals with individual artists and arts organizations to provide guidance on everything from developing a business model, applying for 501(c)(3) status, filing Annual Reports, Arts Board matching (they have helped us secure 2 of our 12 Board Members), and more. Many cities across the country have organizations like ABC that work to provide arts nonprofits with the business expertise they need to launch and grow sustainably. I HIGHLY recommend researching the service organizations available in your city/county before applying to become a nonprofit. We pay $100 annually in membership fees to ABC and receive free legal, accounting, and business services. This has saved New Dialect $1000s.

 

3. I don't recommend filling the Board with close friends and colleagues to get started, no matter how much easier or more comfortable it may seem. For as long as you're running a nonprofit, you'll be reaching out to and meeting new people, who may or may not share your passionate enthusiasm for dance. Be willing to step out of your comfort zone right away, and draw the support of friends and colleagues around you in other ways (you will need them!). Your Board should be comprised of individuals who believe with you in the value of your mission, and who bring completely different skill sets and areas of expertise to the table. Our Board is made up of accountants, development directors, lawyers, philanthropists, people with marketing experience, teachers, and entrepreneurs; the diversity of our Board is invaluable to me, in that it helps me to see our plans from multiple vantage points and to form strategies to accomplish our goals that I would not have been able to envision surrounded by people who think just like I do. Of course, if you have friends who fit both descriptions, then all the better!  

 

From Keira Heu-Jwyn Chang, Executive Director of Kate Weare Company (New York City):

 

A few thoughts - 

• Make sure you're choosing board members who will return to you as much in donations, ambassadorship, services and networking as they will cost you in time and energy. And even if they can do, make sure you have the bandwidth for that exchange. 
• Don't rush into a board status relationship. It's much harder to get out of if you find the relationship isn't a fit. Vet potential members as donors and advisory board members for as many months or years as you need to to be sure. 
• Understand why the person wants to be on your board and whether that's compatible with the reasons you want them. Major donor and volunteer are equally important roles they could play without having the responsibility and power of a board member.
• We never used a lawyer. Read carefully, call the IRS when you have a question and you can save yourself expense. 

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Related posts:

 

The Arts Administrator's Alphabet: A Downloadable Document of 88 Pages and 180 Terms

 

Blog Series: Building a Dance Company

 

Artist Profile: Jo Kreiter

 

Artist Profile: Amelia Rudolph

 

My Dance Week: Banning Bouldin

 

Artist Profile: Banning Bouldin

 

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Artist Profile #163: Kristin Damrow (Oakland, CA)

Photo: George E. Baker

Hometown: Mosinee, Wisconsin

Current city: Oakland, California

Age: 30

College and degree: B.A. Dance, Columbia College Chicago

Website: http://www.kristindamrowcompany.com

How you pay the bills: Teaching contemporary dance to ages 7-Adult

All of the dance hats you wear: Choreographer, teacher, dancer, marketing / pr person, grant writer

Non-dance work you do or have done in the past: Holistic pet food sales

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Describe your dance life….

The first 2 years after college: Less than a month after graduating I moved to the Bay Area. I never had visited, and knew maybe two people out here. I had one suitcase full of my belongings, and I was ready for whatever came at me. I first lived in Walnut Creek with a family that I knew through friends. I would walk an hour to BART, then take the hour ride into SF. All day I would dance, explore, meet new people. Then hop on the train, hour back, hour walk, sleep, and repeat. I would audition for anything I could. I started to see the same faces in auditions and classes. I made friends and started to feel like I fit into the dance community. Eventually those connections led to positions in companies and performing in friends' work. I was also fortunate to fall into a teaching positions from those friends I met, and after about 6 months, teaching was my main gig. I also had the urge to create work, so I recruited dancer friends to rehearse with me and began to make pieces for showcases and festivals. My first “big break” was gaining a residency at the Subterranean Art House. It was the chance to make my first evening length work.

5 years after college: Many of my teaching jobs shifted over the years, slowly moving towards bigger goals that I had for myself. I first started teaching ballet at the YMCA, and as a Teaching Artist with LEAP. Then I moved on to RoCo Dance, and also began subbing at ODC and LINES Ballet. My goals for teaching grew and grew. I knew that I wanted to be on faculty with the adult program ODC, so I subbed any chance I could get, even if it was one hour before the class started, I would say yes. Saying yes lead to many other wonderful opportunities, including guest teaching at Sonoma State University and University of San Francisco. As a choreographer, goals also began to raise the bar. I first was making work under Venture Dance Project. Which at the time felt right, but as my work and my vision became more serious, I switched to "Kristin Damrow & Company" to give my work a brand that was recognizable and professional. I continued to show work at festivals, hiring dancers and building a company. I began to collaborate with composer Aaron Gold. We collaborated on KDC's inaugural home season, Swallow at the Joe Goode Annex. I also began to launch my Youtube series, offering an inside look at the process of making work, running a company, and presenting dance in the Bay Area.

Now: It feels good to say that I have hit many of those teaching goals that I set out to achieve. I am continuing to teach at RoCo Dance, almost 8 years now, and I have helped to build their teen company, BodyLanguage, in Fairfax. I am also on faculty at ODC, teaching advanced and beginning adult classes, as well with their youth/teen program. I also have had the opportunity to teach at my alma mater Columbia College and in New York City at Gibney Dance and Mark Morris Dance Center. I am currently on the brink of KDC’s next home season, EAMES, which will premiere at ODC Theater January 25-27th. I am proud to stay that I pay my dancers an hourly for rehearsals, and much of our funding comes from grants and individual donors.

Photo: Austin Tovar

Major influences:

I like to look at companies in the Bay Area that are successful in having a sustainable company and that make interesting work: Hope Mohr, Katie Faulkner, FACT/SF, Garrett Moulton + Productions, Robert Moses Kin. I also try to stay up with choreographers/teachers nationally: Yin Yue (NYC), Genevive Carson (LA), Brandon Duggan (NYC)...the list could go on and on. I am a Youtube junkie for finding work and admiring what choreographers are making around the world.

What is on your calendar for 2018 (teaching, choreographing, performing)?

I definitely have goals to teach again nationally, maybe internationally, if I put my cards in the right place. I want to grow KDC’s education program. Continuing to offer workshops to adults, as well as open up programs for teens. This expansion also brings up the mindset of turning KDC into a non-profit. We are currently fiscally sponsored, but that does show some limitations for funding. For choreographing, this year I want to present more. This past year, I was so hung up in making EAMES that I didn’t get a chance to present work as much as I would have liked. So looking forward, showing more works-in-progress or nuggets as they get created for our next home season that will premiere in early 2019 at Yerba Buena. I also want to keep building my vlog channel. Along with it being a great way to track my progress with KDC, it’s a way for me to offer insight to artists who might find themselves asking the same questions about how to run a company.

Current training practices and care of the body:

I also try to take as much class as I can, which now-a-days is not that often. I cross train with yoga and trail running.

What is the role of teaching within your dance life? What do you love about teaching? What does the phrase “teaching artist” mean to you?  

Teaching for me is everything. I love the rigor and physicality. I enjoy the challenge that comes with teaching different ages/levels. I find excitement in finding new ways to explore familiar techniques/patterns. “Teaching artist” for me has a defined meaning as I was a teaching artist with LEAP when I first moved to the Bay Area. I would go into schools, usually k-12, and teach dance to students. As, I look back on it now, I think teaching artist can have many meanings or values. There is definitely an art to teaching.

Role models and inspiration for your teaching practice and pedagogy:

My pedagogy has morphed into what it is today by all of the influential teachers I learned from. At Columbia College: Margi Cole, Darrell Jones, Liz Burritt. Here in the Bay: Katie Faulkner, Christine Cali, Janice Garrett, Mo Miner. In NYC: Yin Yue and Shannon Gillen. To name a few.

Recuperative and restorative practices to care for the teaching body:

SLEEP! Whenever I can get more of it, the better. And water, all the water. I have a morning routine with a theraband and nightly routine with a foam roller. If I miss a day, I can feel the difference.

Photo: George E. Baker

When did you take the leap and start forming your company?

I’d say the idea was a seed in my mind right as I moved here. As I got settled and began to understand the landscape of the dance community, I learned where my work would fit in. Kristin Damrow & Company was “official” in 2011. But the major landmark would be when I gained fiscal sponsorship with Dancers’ Group in 2015. That is when I really hit the ground with funding, and began to build a sustainable platform.

Can you talk a bit about fiscal sponsorship – versus filing for nonprofit status?

One of my goals for this year is to become a nonprofit, or at least deeply consider if it is the right leap to take. I have to do quite a bit more research to weigh my options. Keep an eye out on my vlog channel, as I am sure there will be a video on this topic soon!

How do you find dancers? What do you look for in a dancer?  

Many of the dancers I have worked with in KDC I have danced with, or my dancers have danced with. Often this helps to create a trusting dynamic right off the bat. I have also had auditions. I secretly really like hosting auditions. It gets me excited to see who is dancing, looking for work, and hungry for the next new thing. During auditions, I do look to my dancers for advice and take their opinions into account when choosing, because it is all about having a positive vibe in the company. What I look for is so different project to project. Sometimes I am looking for someone to fit a certain character, other times I am looking for a pure movement quality. Either way, that dancer has to draw my attention, someone who pulls me in while they are moving.

Do you have any “training requirements” for your dancers? Do you have a company class? Do you pay for their classes?

I currently do not have any training requirements for my company, but I do expect them to be keeping up with their technique as my work is quite physically demanding. As a company, we have talked about having company class before rehearsals, but it usually comes down to the dancers not being available because of other commitments. When I can, I offer guest passes, and leading up to show time I pay dancers hourly pay to attend my classes.

Photo: Austin Tovar

What does collaboration mean to you in your artmaking?

For my dancers, each project proves a different level of collaboration. For my current project, EAMES, there was much more collaboration, as the piece is character driven. I trust my dancers to build material/make decisions in the dance as their character sees fit. My last work, Swallow, was much more of an abstract piece. I generated much of the choreography, then looked to the dancers for collaboration on partnering work.

I have been working with composer Aaron Gold for about five years now. Each of our projects is very collaborative. We are always tossing ideas back and forth. Aaron really went all in on EAMES. For this work he sampled over 300 jazz songs from the 1950s and re-composed them into the score for the piece. Collaborating is about having that much drive and excitement towards the project.

How many hours a week do you handle the administrative side of your company?

Oh, this is something I really need to keep on log! I would say that I spend a good 20 hours a week on admin. This could be filling out invoices for dancers hours, to writing grants, to following up on emails to funders. One of my goals is to hire an assistant in the near future.

A few pieces of advice for dancers wanting to start their own company:

Do it. No matter how scary or intimidating it feels. It does take time, and it is a lot of work, but if that’s something you really see being of value in your artistic career, it is possible. Don’t be afraid to reach out and talk to people and let them know you love their work. Be humble about the experience of trying to make it work and trying to figure it out.

Non-dance interests or hobbies important to you:

Being a dog mom is the best. Spending time with Olie gets me outside and gives me a chance to slow down for a bit. I also love baking. This is something I don’t get around to too much, but when I do, I love it!

Advice to dancers wanting to move to the SF Bay Area:

Weigh the options. Are you inspired by where you are now? Investigate the dance community and see if it is the right fit for your dancing/choreographing.  Will it fulfill your needs in your career as well as personal life? If all of those are yes, then move. Taking the leap into a new adventure is just what you need to figure out your dance path.

Final thoughts: Hope/belief/love of the profession:

It’s a crazy ride. But worth every minute.

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Related posts:

My Dance Week: Kristin Damrow

A Modern Dancer's Guide to....The San Francisco Bay Area

The Arts Administrator's Alphabet: 88 Pages, 180 Terms and Concepts

Blog Series: Building a Dance Company

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2017 in Review: From the Series "Building a Dance Company"

The blog series "Building a Dance Company" aims to offer brass tacks ideas as well as inspiring stories and questions. Please find below the links to 8 posts from the year.

Questions for Choreographers: Ideas from Dayna Hanson, Heidi Henderson, and Raja Feather Kelly

Reconnecting with Choreographers Jenny Stulberg and Lauren Simpson of Simpson/Stulberg Collaborations

My Dance Week: Banning Bouldin of New Dialect

Mission Statements: 13 Examples

How much does a dance project cost?

Building a Dance Company: Some Financial Advice from Six Choreographers

My Dance Week: Nina Haft (Artistic Director of Nina Haft & Company)

Dreams and Goals for 2017

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Related posts:

A New Kind of Dance Review: The One Good Quote Project

A New Kind of Dance Preview: 7 Days of "Dreaming/Preparing/Dancing" (see links in post)

2016 in Review: The Blog Series "Building a Dance Company"

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Questions for Choreographers: Ideas from Dayna Hanson, Heidi Henderson, and Raja Feather Kelly

When a dancer writes an Artist Profile for the blog, we frequently ask them to offer questions for other choreographers to consider. These questions and wonderings are beautiful opportunities to deepen and craft our work. Click on any artist's name to read their full artist profile.

The work of Heidi Henderson; photo by Ian Douglas

Questions from Dayna Hanson:

Why am I doing this? Why do I want to do this? Am I enjoying this? Am I following default impulses? What is my work in dialogue with? Who am I communicating with? How do I situate my work in a larger context, and how do my values show up in my work and process? Can I express in words my aesthetic concerns? And really, why make durational work?

Questions from Heidi Henderson:

As a choreographer, questions on your mind right now:

How boring can I be? How can I stick to making what I make despite the fact that I do not make evening-length pieces about issues? Waffling between caring and not caring if lots of people see my work.

From Raja Feather Kelly:

When does the performance start?

Is it what or is it how?

When, why and how is the audience necessary?

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Reconnecting with Choreographers Jenny Stulberg and Lauren Simpson of Simpson/Stulberg Collaborations

Jenny Stulberg and Lauren Simpson; photo by Robbie Sweeny

Five words or phrases to describe your work together this calendar year:

We listen to each other.

We speak words.

We are learning about lighting.

We are learning about the way we work.

The first dance we made together was some sort of divine dance gift; every dance since then has been a learning process about how we did it and how we can improve upon it.

What has been on your calendar this year in terms of performances, residencies, guest teaching, etc?

• Yerba Buena Gardens Festival performance
• CHIME Residency Program through the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company
• Artist in Residence Program at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley

In terms of your collaborative process, can you talk about risk, vulnerability, and growth?

Risk. As a collaboration, we have made two firm commitments: One, to making our dances in a thematic series (Still Life Dances). Two, to making these dances together. These commitments tend to preclude us from any number of other things we might like to do, i.e. making dances about something else and pursuing individual artistic interests. We haven’t bound ourselves to any sort of contract, but the amount of time, resources and energy it requires to do what we already do crowds out these other possibilities. As with most collaborations, we also cede control of many parts of the process. This, along with the opportunity costs of our commitment to the series and each other, are the risks we take on individually in deference to the collaboration.

Vulnerability and growth. These topics are probably two sides of the same coin. We have both grown more as choreographers in this collaboration than in any other. Our series has taught us the value of seeing a commitment through because you can’t just jump ship during the dark times, the difficulties, the slumps. Like everyone says, growth tends to come from moments like these. Ironically, our biggest slump may have been this year when we were blessed with the most support and resources yet. Our two simultaneous residencies gave us ample time in the studio (dare we say too much time) to swim around in our ideas, spend weeks on material and throw it away, to meander. It was more often a space of confusion and doubt rather than the sweet satisfaction of a “productive” rehearsal. These times made us think our series had run its course, the work was stale, or we were no longer fit as a choreographic collaboration. In October we turned a corner, and the new work seems to be spilling out of us, finally! Over the course of the year we have made hours of material (thankfully archived on video) from which are pulling, rearranging, and shaping into this new piece. Pending deadlines certainly contribute to a sense of urgency and purpose, but the most interesting moments in the work, “the gems,” were made back in the confusing/meandering part of the year.

What is your latest project? What are the questions you are asking in your work right now?

Our latest project is “Still Life No. 7.” The dance seems to be asking questions about hope, which has become most evident in our lighting concept. There is a very large HMI lighting instrument shining in from outside the stage left theater doors. While the theater is black, the door slowly opens, letting in a sliver of light, and then over time a larger wedge of light. It’s the familiar experience of opening a door into a dark room and watching the shadow move on the ground and walls. What kind of movement makes sense when there is only a narrow beam of light in which we are visible? When there is only a sliver of light, or a sliver of hope, what is possible? How do we behave under these conditions? Light in the darkness is obvious metaphor and hackneyed theme, but we hope we’re exploring it in new ways

In the movement language, we’re also exploring ways of being we hope to cultivate in ourselves, in others, in our leaders. We consider how the experience of unison dancing requires a sense of deep listening, how small movements require clarity and specificity, how gestural fast actions breeze by so fast they almost leave no trace - a sort of camping in the wilderness policy for our choreography. We are attempting to move in ways we hope to see more of in the world.

What is on the calendar for 2018?

January, 2018 Premiere of Still Life No. 7, Missoula, MT. Produced by Bare Bait Dance.

April, 2018 Premiere of Still Life No. 8, Counterpulse Theater, San Francisco. Edge Residency at Counterpulse.

October, 2018 Performing Still Life No. 7 (and teaching), Lion’s Jaw Festival, Boston, MA.

 

Find out more about Jenny and Lauren's work at stilllifedances.com.

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Related posts:

Building a Dance Company: The Pre-Company Stage (Part 1 of a 3-Part Series) - with Jenny Stulberg and Lauren Simpson

Establishing Simpson/Stulberg Collaborations: My Biggest Challenge So Far - By Lauren Simpson

What Now? - By Jenny Stulberg

Building a Dance Company: The Art of Decision-Making - By Sumi Clements

The Choreographic Moment: Ideas from Jeanine Durning

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My Dance Week: Banning Bouldin

Banning Bouldin is the Founder and Artistic Director of the company New Dialect, based in Nashville, Tennessee. To read her full artist profile from January 2016, please click here.

From Banning: My break down for last week is below. We're performing our HEAP Project in multiple site-specific iterations throughout our 2017/2018 season, and just received word that the piece was voted Nashville's Best New Dance work in the Nashville Scene's Best of Nashville 2017!

To watch the trailer of HEAP, please click here. 

Saturday, 10/14

10am- Run to the coffee shop for a black coffee and lemon chamomile tea for my husband, Kevin, and me. (We're still building the kitchen in our new house, so cooking has been a challenge this month!)

11am-12pm- Prepping volunteer materials for our afternoon HEAP Pop UP Installation

12pm-1pm- Quick gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free lunch with Kevin at home

1:15pm- Trying to leave the house at 1pm (I always leave home later than I mean to!)

1:30pm- Arrive at Church Street Park in Downtown Nashville and connect with New Dialect on some last minute spacing before our show

2-3pm- New Dialect gives a fantastic performance of HEAP on Church Street (literally, on the street)

3pm- Pack up costumes and set pieces and head back home

4-10pm- Unpack, work on the kitchen a bit, eat dinner, and go to bed early (I have MS, so rest is key!)

 

Sunday, 10/15

Sundays in general are a mix of admin work for ND, catching up on emails, laundering dancers costumes from the show yesterday, doing some housework, and this particular Sunday, 10/15, one of my dear friends came over for dinner with my favorite green curry and a bottle of sake.

 

Monday, 10/16

9am- I realize I'm having an MS episode, so I cancel rehearsal for the day.

10am- Get up and do my routine - make a vegetable smoothie, take an arsenal of supplements, and do my PT exercises and nerve stretches.

11am-1pm- New Dialect bookkeeping, emails, Winter Intensive registration, more emails, coordinate with the presenter of our show on 10/21, and update our website

1pm-1:30pm- Gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free lunch (I'm eating medicinally to keep the inflammation in my body at bay.)

1:30-3:30pm- Sketch new staging for ND's HEAP Pop Up at Plaza Mariachi and rework the soundtrack

3:30pm- Becca picks me up to take me to PT

4-5pm- PT at P3 (Heather Herod Cole is the co-chair for Dance USA's Task Force for Injury Prevention and my knight in shining armor... She's literally helped me knit my nervous system back together.)

5:30pm- Emma picks me up from P3 and we have a lovely drive back to my house

6-10pm- Dinner and lots of laughing at Between Two Ferns with Kevin (because when I'm having an MS episode, laughing with him is the best medicine)

 

Tuesday, 10/17

7am- Wake up

7:30am- Stop by the coffee shop on my way to PT

8am-9am- Pilates private lesson at P3 (with Dawn who is ALSO my knight in shining armor)

9:30-11:45am- Payroll, bookkeeping, catching up on ND emails, also scarf down breakfast and supplements at some point in there.

11:45am- Windship, Manon, and Agathe, the phenomenal French artists and friends who've been leading our Afro-Contemporary Community Workshops, pick me up for rehearsal so they can say goodbye to the company before heading back overseas.

12-3pm- Reworking HEAP with New Dialect for our Pop Up at Plaza Mariachi

3:30pm- Meeting with the powerhouse Director of Metro Parks and Recreation Dance Division, Kathryn Wilkening.

4pm- Kevin picks me up. We head to my favorite Green Market, the Turnip Truck, for groceries and dinner.

5pm-6:30pm- Finish up emails for the day

6:30pm- Dinner, rest, and some writing

10pm- Bedtime 

 

Wednesday, 10/18

8am- Wake up

9am- Breakfast routine (same as Monday)

9:30- Stop by the coffeeshop on the way to PT

10am-11am- PT at P3

11:15am- Lunch meeting with Julia Marx, who leads Dance with Parkinson's at Centennial Performing Arts Studios, in preparation for our workshop with her class on 11/3.

12-3pm- Rework HEAP with New Dialect for our upcoming Pop Up

3:30pm- Kevin picks me up to take me home

4pm-6:30pm- New Dialect admin and emails, emails, emails

6:30pm- Dinner at home with Kevin 

7:30-10pm- Downtime

10pm- Bedtime

 

Thursday, 10/19

8am- Wake up

9am-10am- Breakfast and self-PT routine

10-11:30am- New Dialect admin, bookkeeping, and data entry

11:30- Drive to Centennial Performing Arts Studios

12-3pm- Run our new iteration of HEAP and work notes. Students from Watkins College of Art visit rehearsal. We have a short discussion about creative process and site-specific performance.

3:30pm- Phone meeting with Lauren Vogelstein about our physical thinking project and using movement to experientially learn the basics of mathematics. (We're a part of her PhD research.)

4:30pm- Early dinner at home

5:30pm- Kevin drives me to Antioch (about 45 minutes from our house in Nashville)

6:30-8:30pm- Support group meeting for people suffering from chronic illness

8:30pm- Kevin picks me up to drive me home

10pm- Bedtime

 

Friday, 10/20

7am- Wake up, breakfast and PT routines

8:30am- Drive to Plaza Mariachi

8:45am- Meet with the Director of the Hispanic Family Foundation

9-10am- Dancers space new iteration of HEAP at Plaza Mariachi

10-11am- Coffee with New Dialect at Cafe Maderas to talk through the logistics of our workshop and performance on 10/21

11:30-12:30- Acupuncture at Nashville Healing Arts

1pm- Lunch with an old and dear friend

2pm-3pm- New Dialect admin, bookkeeping, emails, and prep meeting at 3:30pm  

3:30pm- Meeting with the Director of Harpeth Hall Dance Program re: future outreach and performances at their all girls school

5:30pm- Fight rush hour to get home

6:30-7:30- Left over New Dialect admin and emails

7:30pm- Dinner

10pm- Bedtime

 

Saturday, 10/21

7am- Wake up, breakfast and self PT routine

8am-9:45am- Prep for workshop at Hispanic Family Foundation, pack supplies, New Dialect admin

10am- Drive to Plaza Mariachi

10:30am-12pm- Curtis, Rebecca, David, Emma, and I lead a creative process workshop based on HEAP with 20 teenagers from Hispanic Family Foundation's Baila Program

12-3pm- Break, lunch, go home, pack HEAP set pieces, costumes, and volunteer materials

3pm- Drive back to Plaza Mariachi

3:15-3:55pm- Last minute spacing and talk through of HEAP with New Dialect before the show

4-5pm- New Dialect gives another inspiring performance of HEAP 

5pm-5:30pm- Pack up and load out

5:30-8pm- Dinner and drinks with the dancers 

8-10pm- Rest and quality time with Kevin

10pm- Bedtime

 

Sunday, 10/22

Sleep. In.

Spend the day laundering costumes, cleaning house, catching up on New Dialect emails, and packing for our residency in Sewanee, Tennessee next week. (I'll be researching an ongoing project with sculptor Greg Pond that uses motion capture technology to build abstract sculptures of the dancers' movement histories AND creating a new work for the University of the South's dance program.)

 

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Related posts:

My Dance Week: Kristin Damrow, Artistic Director of Kristin Damrow & Company

My Dance Week: Daniel Charon, Artistic Director of Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company

My Dance Week: Alexandra Beller, Artistic Director of Alexandra Beller/Dances

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Mission Statements: 13 Examples

Image: From AXIS Dance Company

 

Writing the Mission Statement for your organization, or re-writing it? Consider these 13 stellar examples from various dance companies, dance centers, theaters, and schools throughout the United States. Please add your org's Mission Statement in the comments section below too.

 

Camille A. Brown and Dancers:

Committed to implementing and advancing the artistic vision of Camille A. Brown, Camille A. Brown & Dancers creates and presents performances, offers dance engagement activities, and investigates historical and contemporary cultural, personal, and social justice issues through the art of dance theater, in order to provide a multi-faceted platform for sharing and building understanding of and appreciation for the African American experience and fostering interaction and dialogue among diverse communities in our hometown of NYC, across the country, and globally.

These opportunities are possible because of the serious movers and incredible performers in the company who are able to act and dance, step into the world of history, and come soaring into the present.

Alvin Ailey:

Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation's mission is to further the pioneering vision of the choreographer, dancer, and cultural leader Alvin Ailey by building an extended cultural community which provides dance performances, training and education, and community programs for all people. This performing arts community plays a crucial social role, using the beauty and humanity of the African-American heritage and other cultures to unite people of all races, ages and backgrounds. 

Monica Bill Barnes:

Monica Bill Barnes & Company is a contemporary American dance company that brings dance where it does not belong. 

Repertory Dance Theatre:

Repertory Dance Theatre is dedicated to the creation, performance, perpetuation, and appreciation of modern dance.

AXIS Dance Company:

AXIS Dance Company: changing the face of dance & disability

Triskelion Arts:

Triskelion Arts has a two-fold mission as a 501(c)3, non-profit organization: To foster the development and presentation of the performing arts by providing quality, affordable, accessible rehearsal, class, and performance space to the general public and to provide opportunities to the arts community, especially choreographers, for the creation and presentation of new work.

The Joyce Theater:

The mission of The Joyce Theater Foundation is to serve and support the art of dance and choreography, to promote the richness and variety of the art form in its fullest expression, and to advance the public interest in, and appreciation of, dance and the allied arts of music, design, and theater.

Jacob's Pillow:

To support dance creation, presentation, education, and preservation; and to engage and deepen public appreciation and support for dance.

Perpich Center for Arts Education:

Our mission is to provide all Minnesota students the opportunity to develop and integrate their artistic and academic abilities to their highest potential. We do this by teaching in and through the arts.

North Carolina School of the Arts:

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts provides gifted emerging artists with the experience, knowledge, and skills needed to excel in their disciplines and in their lives, and it serves and enriches the cultural and economic prosperity of the people of North Carolina and the nation. UNCSA is the state’s unique professional school for the performing, visual, and moving image arts, training students at the high school, undergraduate, and master’s levels for professional careers in the arts.

The Wooden Floor:

The Wooden Floor's mission is to empower low-income youth from diverse backgrounds to strengthen self-esteem, self-discipline and a sense of accomplishment through dance, academic, and family programs.

Dance Place:

Founded in 1980, Dance Place builds a community of artists, audiences and students through high quality performances, commissions, training and educational programs. We are committed to enriching the field of dance locally, nationally and internationally. Our thriving arts campus serves as an anchor in the development of our Brookland / Edgewood neighborhood in Washington, DC.

Djerassi Resident Artists Program:

 The mission of the Djerassi Resident Artists Program is to support and enhance the creativity of artists by providing uninterrupted time for work, reflection, and collegial interaction in a setting of great natural beauty, and to preserve the land on which the Program is situated.

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Building a Dance Company: How Much Does a Dance Project Cost?

Today I am pleased to have permission to repost Kristin Damrow's latest vlog - a video blog post. In this 8 minute clip, she speaks openly and honestly about the cost of producing a show in San Francisco. I highly recommend that you check it out. 

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Related posts:

Building a Dance Company: Financial Advice from Six Choreographers

My Dance Week: Kristin Damrow

Essays: The Choreographic Moment

A Modern Dancer's Guide to....the San Francisco Bay Area

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