Click below to learn more about the artists and works that will be featured in our Choreography Showcase on December 4th, 2022 at the Emerlin Theatre in Mamaroneck, NY.
About the piece: The “Hancock Jig” was commissioned by the Wrangell Mountains Center in McCarthy, Alaska. The dance was inspired by the Hancock Jig machine in the the Kennicott Copper Mill. The machine extracts the copper ore from the limestone using an “over/under curve” system. The towns of McCarthy and Kennicott have a rich Irish immigrant history which connects to my use of traditional Irish dancing sprinkled into the solo. The dance is also inspired by the relentless, slow moving, constant Kennicott Glacier. A keystone of the history of the towns, copper mines, and mill. For more information click here.Caitlin Warbelow of Fairbanks, AK and fiddle player in “Come From Away”, performed and composed the tunes. Music composed and performed by Caitlin Warbelow and Chris Ranney, first track titled “The Hancock Jig”, second track titled “Thursday Poetry”
Learn more about Alexandra.
MORE FISH is about the freedom we experience when rejection becomes a stepping stone for new opportunities. It is about adaptation, evolution, and potential. It’s goal is to create a home for artistic collaborations and promote authenticity in dance.
The images of fish, ocean, and water are an expression of our desire (and our ability) to adapt and evolve. Adaptation is a natural process and we can all learn from it. The phrase, “there are plenty more fish in the sea” refers to saying that although a relationship has ended, there are many other people out there to have relationships with. The research on how to move with more joy and confidence opens the door for our movement fantasies. From there, out of a desire to connect with new people, we start to see ourselves as part of larger systems that include others.
“Pedestrian Ballet” explores the merge of ballet steps and free-form movement. Inspired by Jazz music, the interaction between the dancers is authentic and in real-time. The research on how to move with more joy and confidence opens the door for our movement fantasies. From there, out of a desire to connect with new people, we start to see ourselves as part of larger systems that include others.
Learn more about Doren Perk.
Ankita is a bold emerging artist interested in creating genre-resistant performance that holds meaning for diverse audiences. They invest in mining shades of darkness with visceral, immersive work so that audiences can reckon with the uncomfortable and leave reflecting in new ways. Physically, their movement practices are rooted in and influenced by contemporary dance, dance theater, and forms from both the South Asian and African diaspora. Ankita holds a B.A. in Dance and Anthropology and resides in Brooklyn, having shown work in California, Colorado, and along the East Coast. Currently, they are creating new work as a Performance Project Fellow and within the LEIMAY Incubator Program.
About the piece: 2 bodies stuck, unraveling the story of shared grief.
Learn more about Ankita.
Inspired by the aftermath of man-made disasters, “i have always been here” looks at the resilience of the natural world. When humans leave behind that which they have claimed and exploited, nature always reclaims what has been used, abused, and left to die. Nature rebuilds what has been destroyed and then fights to protect this new ground–but it’s never the same as it once was. Throughout this piece, the dancers discover they are not alone in rebuilding what has been lost and they gradually come together to protect the space they build.
Perhaps the dancers have not reached the complete end of what they seek, and there is still work to be done, but they realized they don’t have to do the work alone.
“In Pieces: A Vaudeville Revue” is inspired by the contributions of Aida Overton Walker, an influential dancer, choreographer, activist and producer who thwarted stereotypes about black female stage performers. The finale pays tribute to Walker’s expertise in showcasing dancers as a means to shift thinking. This last act is a contemporary take on early 20th century Broadway Cakewalk and vernacular steps of that time.
Learn more about Barbara Angeline.
This duet is tender and charming, and explores moments of found and missed connections — it appears lighthearted at a surface level, but packs a punch of humanness and the sometimes unclear embodiment of partnership.
Learn more about Neville Dance Theatre.
Learn more about Five Two Dance Company.
Learn more about Jessica DiMaura Marks.
“Appalachian Stomp” Choreographed by Michael Foley in 1996 for MCll. Restaged by Jessica DiMauro Marks (original cast!)
Learn more about Jessica DiMaura Marks.
Janice Rosario is a nationally recognized contemporary dance choreographer, educator, and activist. As a native New Yorker, Janice studied at some of NYC’s most elite institutions including Ballet Hispánico and The Alvin Ailey School. She is a graduate of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts and Hunter College. She is currently on faculty at The Alvin Ailey School and Steps on Broadway. When not in the studio, she is running her nonprofit, The Good Neighbor Collective Inc, to support and empower those underserved in our communities.
Through her work as an artist, educator and activist, Janice is driven to “create spaces where we can see each other past the divides to contribute to making an ever more inclusive community.”
Learn more about Janice Rosario.
