24 Hour Choreofest!

by Shannon Sullivan 

 

Back in May, when Nicole Harris asked me to jump on board Luminarium's 24- hour ChoreoFest I was very excited.  My initial thought was that this was a fabulous opportunity to work with Nicole. I also love performance venues that provide opportunities to bring different dance forms together.  

As August 16th quickly approached, however, my enthusiasm was equally matched with trepidation.  One of the major factors that I left out when I made my decision to join this project was the fact that I do not pull all-nighters.  How in the world was I going to function well enough to choreograph into the wee hours of the morning and also tap the next day?  I would love to say that the creative process carried me into the wee hours with endless enthusiasm, but my short and more realistic response is that I accepted that I was going to be tired, I tried not to wallow in my tired state, but I was indeed exhausted by the end of our performances.

Photo by Ryan Carollo

Aside from fatigue, the second greatest challenge that I faced was creating a dance piece while our music was simultaneously being composed.  David Wechsler, the composer for our piece, was actually working from his studio in Chicago.  This made transmitting ideas and sharing in the creative process a bit more difficult than if we were all collaborating in the same space.  I had never worked in this manner before.  Typically, I use recorded music or if I am performing with live musicians, we are "working it out" and sharing ideas in the same environment.  As someone who is truly inspired by music and the energy of live musicians, this forced me to approach the creative process from a totally different angle.  I'm not sure that I liked creating in this way, but I can say that David did a brilliant job composing and in the end, I loved the union of both the music and dance.  

 

Lastly, though I have known Nicole for years and have always applauded her work, I have never had the opportunity to choreograph with her and it was a wonderful experience.Though we have walked in many of the same dance circles, we each have a very distinctly different style and "voice" in tap dancing.  It was a pleasure to learn from Nicole and to gain a glimpse of her choreographic process.  I hope to someday do this again in a more relaxed environment.

My final thoughts and what I'll take with me after watching Luminarium's 24-hour ChoreoFest performance was that we have many very talented dancers and choreographers in Boston.  I appreciated that we were all able to share the same stage in this adventure and I hope our paths will cross again. 

Echoes: Emerging Artist Concert

by karen Krolak

Yesterday's David Parker post mentioned the Emerging Artist Concert at Green Street Studios this weekend. This session was mentored by David and Lorraine Chapman, one of my favorite local choreographers. (If you attend the Mass Dance Festival in August, you can check out one of her zany creations. I am quite certain that you will be instantly smitten.)

I am most excited to see Josh Hilberman's quartet. Shannon Sullivan, who teaches with me at both Impulse Dance Center and Springstep, is performing in it. She  filled me in on Josh's process for building a tap piece in a space that normally does not allow style that might harm the stage. Also, after each mentoring session, she shared insights on the different ways that modern and tap choreographers think. Keep your fingers crossed and maybe I will coerce her into sharing these observations on the blog.

Jason and I are really curious and have made our reservations for the show tomorrow night. Perhaps we will see you there?

ECHOES

features the work by Jennifer Hardy, Josh Hilberman, Jessica Howard, and Rebecca Midler
Mentored by

David Parker and Lorraine Chapman 

Each performance will be followed by a Q&A session moderated by the mentors.

Sponsored by the Green Street Studios Emerging Artists Program:
Green Street Studios' Emerging Artists program is designed to provide infrastructure for choreographers to create new work, and to provide deep, ongoing mentorship between experienced and early-to-mid-career choreographers. For more information: GSSEmergingArtists.blogspot.com

Friday/ Saturday July 8/ 9th @ 8pm
Green Street Studios
185 Green St. Cambridge (Central Sqaure)
Tickets $20 and $15 for Students, Seniors, GSS and BDA Members.
For Reservations:
Email: info@greenstreetstudios.org
or call 617 864 3191

Shannon Sullivan Discusses Her Inside/Out Experience

by karen Krolak

During the school year, I usually sneak in a few minutes to chat with Shannon Sullivan each Monday at Impulse Dance Center. Shannon is the Artistic Director of TAProject, an outstanding teen tap ensemble at Impulse, and she teaches the majority of tap classes at the studio. I love listening to her shuffle warm ups upstairs as I begin my modern classes. When Monkeyhouse moved our office into Springstep, I was delighted to discover that we would occasionally bump into each other before her Thursday night classes there. Her infectious attitude gave me the courage to try tap in 2008. In fact, if it didn't conflict with Your Just Desserts, I would sampling her adult class at Springstep this week.

When Connect 2 Choreography began the Save the Stage series, I remembered that Shannon had performed at Jacob's Pillow's Inside/Out stage in 2009. Knowing that the Pillow had their first tap intensive this year, I thought it would be relevant to get a tapper's perspective on the significance of this stage.

karen Krolak: When you danced at Inside/Out you were working with a relatively new company called the Commonwealth Tap Collective. What prompted you to form Commonwealth Tap Collective and how has the group evolved?
Shannon Sullivan: The Commonwealth Tap Collective is comprised of Suzanne Bouffard, Jill Braverman, Stefanie Weber and myself. We initially came together in the summer of 2008 as a group of artists who each had their own voice and vision for choreography. The group provided a medium for each of us to put work on each other and then have that work performed. Although we are currently not meeting on a regular basis, the members of the Commonwealth Tap Collective continue to create and perform outside of the group.

kK: Last summer there was so much rain and I know that it poured on the day of your performance. Did they cancel or postpone your appearance?
SS: Nope, we danced in a tent on the Great Lawn.

kK: Were there many people who were willing to watch an outdoor show on such a soggy day?
SS: Yes, and they responded favorably to our performance. From a performer’s standpoint, they were supportive, interested and engaged.

kK: That's great. So, do you think it is important to preserve Inside/Out? If so, why?
SS: I do think it’s important to preserve this stage because it’s wonderful and quite special to have a “less formal” space where both new or emerging artists as well as well-established artists can perform. The stage also provides a cost efficient place for people and families who may otherwise not be able to afford live music and dance to be able to experience these wonderful art forms.Finally, the Inside/Out Stage provides audiences with a beautiful venue that fosters education and audience involvement through their question and answer sessions following each performance.

kK: Thanks Shannon! I am excited to see you at the TAProject auditions at Impulse Dance Center on September 11th. Best of luck with Sampler Week at Springstep.