Performing, Teaching, and Travels in June and July
Phew! It's been a busy but rewarding past couple of weeks full of traveling, dancing, and teaching.
After weeks of intensive preparation, on June 30th Alison Chase Performance had a successful evening at the Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine as part of the Portland Performing Arts Festival. We showed some great repertoire (Tsu Ku Tsu, Devil Got My Woman, Ben's Admonition, Femme Noire) and premiered a new dance theatre work, The Handsomest, a retelling of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short story "The Handsomest Drowned Man" using dance, sound, and photo and film projections. The team put a lot of hard work into this show, and we were all proud of the results.
A quick turnaround to Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Faithful dance partner Jeremy Finch and I joined up as part of a team of over 25 artists taking part in the new FleetMoves Dance Festival, July 5-8, which got the town moving with a daily offering of visual art, performance, and dance classes. Some highlights included: site specific "secret" dances that took place all over town each day, a 5:30am Dawn Performance on the breathtaking Whitecrest Beach (we had a substantial audience of purposeful attendees, and others caught by surprise), and a productive week spent living, working, exchanging ideas, eating and bathing with a new group of inspiring artists.
Jeremy and I co-led the FleetMoves Workshop with Brandin Steffinson, a four-day dance movement workshop encouraging playfulness with our energy, weight, and intention as we became friends with the floor and each other. As a group we listened to our bodies and moved in ways that felt organic and delicious, waking up the muscles and joints. Jeremy, Brandin and I shared some partnering/weight-sharing and improvisation techniques, and generally encouraged freedom and joy in movement. Based on our feedback, I think it was a great success!
As part of the Mainstage Performance which featured a handful of the FleetMoves artistic team, we premiered a new duet called "Glue Like Always"; video to be posted shortly. It was a varied and colorful evening that included works like our oozy and flowy partnering, a professional ballerina solo, and a dance that used only lighting and projections powered by two bicycles (and amazing bicyclists!).
We were so grateful for this full and invigorating experience; thanks to Zena, Katie, and the FleetMoves team!
After weeks of intensive preparation, on June 30th Alison Chase Performance had a successful evening at the Merrill Auditorium in Portland, Maine as part of the Portland Performing Arts Festival. We showed some great repertoire (Tsu Ku Tsu, Devil Got My Woman, Ben's Admonition, Femme Noire) and premiered a new dance theatre work, The Handsomest, a retelling of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short story "The Handsomest Drowned Man" using dance, sound, and photo and film projections. The team put a lot of hard work into this show, and we were all proud of the results.
Image courtesy of Alison Chase
A quick turnaround to Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Faithful dance partner Jeremy Finch and I joined up as part of a team of over 25 artists taking part in the new FleetMoves Dance Festival, July 5-8, which got the town moving with a daily offering of visual art, performance, and dance classes. Some highlights included: site specific "secret" dances that took place all over town each day, a 5:30am Dawn Performance on the breathtaking Whitecrest Beach (we had a substantial audience of purposeful attendees, and others caught by surprise), and a productive week spent living, working, exchanging ideas, eating and bathing with a new group of inspiring artists.
Jeremy and I co-led the FleetMoves Workshop with Brandin Steffinson, a four-day dance movement workshop encouraging playfulness with our energy, weight, and intention as we became friends with the floor and each other. As a group we listened to our bodies and moved in ways that felt organic and delicious, waking up the muscles and joints. Jeremy, Brandin and I shared some partnering/weight-sharing and improvisation techniques, and generally encouraged freedom and joy in movement. Based on our feedback, I think it was a great success!
Jeremy & Stephanie teaching demonstrating some moves during the
FleetMoves Workshop at Wellfleet Preservation Hall
Photo by Zena Bibler
As part of the Mainstage Performance which featured a handful of the FleetMoves artistic team, we premiered a new duet called "Glue Like Always"; video to be posted shortly. It was a varied and colorful evening that included works like our oozy and flowy partnering, a professional ballerina solo, and a dance that used only lighting and projections powered by two bicycles (and amazing bicyclists!).
We were so grateful for this full and invigorating experience; thanks to Zena, Katie, and the FleetMoves team!
View at Whitecrest Beach