Monkeyhouse Loves BOSTON!

It has been one hell of a week here in Boston.  So much fear and uncertainty surrounded by wells of strength, support and generosity.  Monkeyhouse is proud to call Boston home and our hearts are with everyone who is struggling to deal with the events of the past few days.  Through all of the trials and challenges that members of Monkeyhouse have faced in the last two years this community has held our hands and helped to carry us through.  Now it is our turn.  

One of our biggest sponsors, J.P. Licks, is donating 10% of their sales all day tomorrow (Sunday) to The One Fund Boston, Inc. to help the people most affected by the tragic events that occurred in Boston on April 15, 2013.  To show our support, Monkeyhouse will be hanging out at the Charles Street store from 1-4pm.  Come on by, meet new people, talk about the arts, show your support and of course, eat some ice cream!

Not able to come to Charles Street?  Stop by any of the eleven stores to do your part!  They will also be donating 10% of all catering sales for the remainder of April.  So instead of monthly birthday cake in the office this month, how about an ice cream party?!  Don't forget, these are all 10% of SALES, not profits.  So treat yourself!  After a week like this, you deserve it!

J.P. Licks

150 Charles Street

Boston MA 02114

Sunday, April 21st

Join Monkeyhouse from 1-4pm

Show your support ALL DAY!

David Parker Awarded 2013 John Simon Guggenheim Fellowhip

By: Elyssa Berg

Congratulations to David Parker who has recently received the John Simon Guggenheim fellowship this year for his creative accomplishments! Every year, out of 3,500 - 4,000 applicants, there are 200 fellowships awarded to those who have demonstrated exceptional creativity in the arts. This fellowship provides a block of time in which the recipient can work with as much creative freedom as possible to continue to develop their work. Applicants include "advanced professionals" such as writers, scholars, scientists, composers, artists, choreographers, and more.


David Parker is choreographer and founder of, The Bang Group. This is a company that is strongly based on the focus of rhythmic potential in the body. You may know David for his comedic take on choreography that will be sure to keep you laughing and entertained. He is sure to push the comedic limits with pieces full of concepts that you may have never seen before. David expresses himself through this comedy as he is able to instill messages in his choreography that people are likely to take with them, along with a few laughs.


The Bang Group has internationally toured and also spent an ample amount of time at Summer Stages Dance Festival in Concord, MA for their past 12 seasons. You may know The Bang Group for their performance of Nut/Cracked ( a comedic take on the holiday classic Nutcracker) or Showdown. Through The Bang Group you can see everything from men on pointe shoes, to bubble wrap choreography, and even thumb sucking duets. David's creative mind will never fail to allow you into a world of his own; full of entertainment, laughs, and lots of rhythm.

Jacob's Pillow's 2013 Award Winner: Michelle Dorrance

By Laila Fatimi

The $25,000 annual Jacob's Pillow award was just given to Michelle Dorrance, who was recognized for her new, but still classic tap pieces. The award is given each year to a more than deserving choreographer who has moved the dance world forward. Michelle Dorrance is known for pushing the envelope on new ideas in the tap world, but sticking to classic technique at the same time. 

In 2011, Dorrance established her own tap company called Dorrance Dance. The ensemble performs a variety of styles, from blues pieces, to comical ones. The rhythms are fast, but musical, and are never off the beat. Dorrance and her company will be performing with Toshi Reagon, a blues musician, at the Jacob’s Pillow Festival starting July 24th and through the 28th.

The award winner is able to use the $25,000 for however they think their company will benefit best from the money. Dorrance will be accepting her award this summer, on June 15th, at Jacobs Pillow where she will also be accepting the other prize connected to the award; a glass sculpture by Tom Patti. There, she will also be performing with American Idol contestant, Aaron Marcellus.

With the Jacob's Pillow award, Michelle Dorrance will push the dance world forward to make it an even more intricate cherished art form.

Monkeyhouse at PEM

by karen Krolak

A wonderful family at  the Creative Costumes workshop I led at PEM

I am leaving in a few minutes to prepare for Monkeyhouse's choreography workshop at the Peabody Essex Museum called Activating Objects. Then Nikki, Nicole, Sarah and I will be vibrant parts of a Nick Cave inspired parade through Salem. In a city that has become wary of gathering in large groups after the Marathon bombings on Monday, this event seems even more courageous and meaningful. If you are in the area today, please come join us from 1-3 in the PEM atrium or at the parade starting at 3PM.

Leftover fans that may become parade attire.

Intentions of Movement

By: Elyssa Berg

This week Laila, Nicole, and I spent a good amount of time exploring movement through improvisation. During a specific exercise Nicole had Laila and I improvize while focusing on specific body parts that she would call out. We explored movement through body parts including the hands, feet, pelvis, lungs, and even the kidneys. With such an extended amount of time to focus movement using a specific part of my body I found it easy to explore. I was finding new ways to lead with that body part, use it as a space hold, put weight on different parts of it, and use it to initiate other movement in my body. There was a clear purpose to my movement as I was focused on how I could use the specific body part in new ways.

After this exercise we wrote about which body part was our favorite to focus on, which was our least favorite, and why this was. One of my favorite body parts to move with was my toes. I found different ways to move on my toes, different ways of following where my toes were leading, and it was easy to allow the rest of my body to relax and follow without restricting other movements. Another one of my favorites was moving with my ear. It is not usually a body part that I think of as influencing my movement so I thought it was enjoyable to focus on as I surprised myself with the outcome. My least favorite body part to move with was my elbow. When I was moving with my elbows I felt like I was focusing so much on the specific movement of the elbow that my body wasn't able to respond and react to the movement; making me feel stiff and contained.

Once Laila and I decided what our favorite and least favorite body parts to move with were we were given the task of creating two phrases, one with our favorite body part and one with our least favorite. I chose for my least favorite body part my elbow and for my favorite body part my toes. When going into this exercise I figured that it would be more difficult to create a phrase with my least favorite body part than it would be to create one with my favorite. It turns out that i was completely wrong about this. Going into this task I had no intensions for the phrase with my elbow to be anything that I would like, for it to be interesting, or for it to be easy to create. My phrase actually came naturally and after I had previously written down why I didn't like using that body part I was able to change my approach to my movement making it more enjoyable. When I started creating my phrase using my toes I had a lot of difficulty. I felt like I put a certain expectation on what the phrase needed to be. I thought that because it was my favorite it had to be an amazing phrase using everything I had discovered when I improvised. It turns out that my expectations and intentions on what I thought my movement should have been greatly effected the creative process.