Upcoming Events!

by Aisha Cruise


Saturdays in April @ 10-11:30AM
DANCE+ Series
presented by Luminarium
Armory, Somerville MA
Monkeyhouse Loves Luminarium! Check them out at Arts Armory for their engaging, family-friendly class each Saturday in April exploring weekly themes of dance intersecting other fields: Technology, Science, Music, and Light. Free and open to all ages!

Fri, April 11 @ 7:30 pm  & Sat, April 12 @ 8:00 pm

Body Traffic

Presented by World Music/CRASHarts

Institute of Contemporary Art (100 Northern Ave Boston, MA)

Performing the Boston premieres of Beyond the Edge of the Frame by Sidra Bell Kollide by Kyle Abraham o2Joy by Richard Siegal From Los Angeles, this young contemporary dance company is known for dynamic theatricality and refreshing abandon. With free pre-performance talks with dance critic Debra Cash 30 minutes prior to curtain in the ICA lobby and a free post-performance Q&A with the company Friday, April 11, these performances promise to be lively and engaging!

Friday, April 11 @ 8:00pm
Dance with Me
presented by Paradise Lost
Blackstone Community Center, Boston MA
Friends of Luminarium Dance, Paradise Lost: A Movement Collective is putting on their newest piece titled "Dance with Me" choreographed by Collective member Emily Caroline. Emailparadisemoves@gmail.com to reserve a seat! Admission is free!

Fri, April 18 & Sat. April 19 @ 8:00 pm - 9:15 pm

On The Threshold of Beginning

Mariah Steele/Quicksilver Dance

Simmons Hall at MIT (229 Vassar Street Cambridge, MA)

Monkeyhouse Loves Quicksilver Dance! Mariah Steele's dance company will present an ever-moving poem that evokes the uncertainty of an ever-changing world and the eternal evolution of community in The Constant Effort of Beginning; explore the hazy space of our inner lives in On The Threshold of Memory; and entrance you with a new dance/film collaboration with New York City-based video artist Sarah Outhwaite; and more favorites from the Quicksilver repertoire.

Fri, April 18 @ 7:00 pm & 8:00 pm
Movement at the Mills
Featuring Jessie Jeanne & Dancers and Reject Dance Theatre
Mills Gallery (551 Tremont Street Boston, MA)
Free and open to the public, come see dancers performing in an informal, gallery setting. A showcase of sorts for less formal dancer/ audience dynamics, this series is a perennial delight.

Sat, April 19 @ 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Test Kitchen

Presented by Yuka Takahashi

Cambridge YMCA Theater, Cambridge, MA

Yuka Takahashi's Test Kitchen features several dancers and musicians that I've worked with in the past, including Sara June, Joe Burgio, Matt Samolis, and Steve Norton. Their particular brand of improvisational structures and collaborative dance theater ensures that there's never a dull moment in their performances. I can't wait to see what they've cooked up!

Sat, April 26 @ 8:00 pm & Sun, April 27 @ 5:30 pm
Memory
Prometheus Dance Elders Ensemble
The Dance Complex (536 Mass. Ave. Cambridge, MA)
Prometheus dance is a cornerstone of the Boston modern dance scene, and their work is consistently captivating. The Elders Ensemble makes their premier of Memory, a piece exploring the tricks, trials, and evolution of memory as we grow and age.

Fri, April 25 - Sun, May 11

New Eruptions

Jose Mateo Ballet Theater

Sanctuary Theater, Harvard Square

Jose Mateo's 2013-2014 Dance season draws to a close as the summer begins.

Catch their final program New Eruptions in the intimate Sanctuary theater for a truly unique ballet experience.

Thu May 1st - Sun May 4th
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Presented by Celebrity Series
Citi Wang Theatre (270 Boston, MA)
I love Ailey. They made me want to be a dancer when I was a little girl. Go bring some dance magic into your life and catch the Chroma program on Thursday and Saturday night, or the Ailey/Ellington program on Thursday, Saturday matinee and Sunday.

Sun, May 4

Dance'n Feet

Presented by MayFair

Harvard Square

Monkeyhouse loves the fearless women of Dance'n Feet and this season they are performing to a song by our favorite sock puppet rock band, Uncle Monsterface. Oh, and did we mention that this piece was choreographed by Monkeyhouse's Karen Krolak?

If the city is making you crazy, go and see some Ballet Outside Boston!
Thu, April 10 -Sat, April 12 @ 7pm & Sun, April 13 @ 2pm
Spring Repertory
Presented by Walnut Hill School for the Arts
At Perrin Theater - Keiter Center for the Performing Arts (12 Highland Street Natick, Massachusetts)
Come support the next generation of dancers at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts! Enjoy excepts from classical ballets like Swan Lake, La Bayadere, and Coppelia as well as world premieres of contemporary ballet, modern, and jazz pieces.

Friday, Apr 11 @ 7:30p

The Magic Box

Presented by Providence Ballet Theater

The Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts, Providence, RI

Please join Providence Ballet Theater for an original production of "The Magic Box", featuring original story and choreography by founder, Eva Marie Pacheco, an original score by Roger Seitz, and set and costume design by the students in "The Magic Box" studio class at Rhode Island School of Design. It's always exciting to check out brand new ballet, so if you're looking for fresh choreography in a classic framework, I'd check this out!

Moscow Festival Ballet is coming to New England!
Leading dancers from across Russia have forged under Radchenko's direction an exciting new company staging new productions of timeless classics such as Giselle, Don Quixote, Paquita and Carmen. Fully staged, with stunning sets and costumes, the Moscow Festival Ballet productions of Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake are perfect for all ages, and present a wonderful opportunity to see Russian Ballet technique at its finest. Check out these shows in Worcester, MA and Portsmouth, NH!

Friday, Apr 18 @ 8:00pm
Sleeping Beauty
Hanover Theatre, Worcester, MA

Saturday, Apr 19 @ 7:30pm
Swan Lake
The Music Hall, Portsmouth, NH

Getting to Know Connor Shea!

Connor Shea is a Sophomore at Natick High School who is a new intern at Monkeyhouse. The following interview is conducted by Jacob Rosen, another new Monkeyhouse intern.

JR: Hello, Connor! How are you?

CS: Hi, I am doing well thank you.

JR: So, to start off this interview, when and where were you born?

CS: I was born on November 18th at Newton Wellesley Hospital.

JR: Cool! Now, since this interview is happening because of Monkeyhouse, when did you first hear about Monkeyhouse?

CS: Being a part of Natick High School Drama, Monkeyhouse just seems into your mind, but I remember during Freshman year Nicole invited me to a Monkeyhouse event on Facebook and I was interested in what it was, so I looked into it and I found out about Monkeyhouse as a result.

JR: That’s like how I found out about Monkeyhouse! For those who may not know you, what are some of your interests?

CS: I am really interested in theater and speech, I really love performing! I also am a really big movie buff.

JR: Theater and speech are some of my favorite activities as well! Since you are a movie buff, what is your favorite movie?

CS: I can say, totally, without a doubt, it is Polar Express. I can watch that movie any time of year and I have watched it countless times! It is the greatest movie I have ever seen.

Connor (Left) as Mark Cohen in
"Rent: School Edition", a production
put on by Wellesley Theater Project 

JR: Let’s segue to your love of theater, when did you get started in theater and what was your first show?

CS: Wow, I remember being podded into theater in 4th grade by my mother to do a program at Walnut Hill. I did it and I adored it, then it’s all downhill from there (Laughs). The show we put on was Charlotte’s Web, I played Gander and Mr. Arable. I was the only boy so they had me play all of the boy parts, I loved it nonetheless.

JR: Wow, that sounds like a great experience. Speaking of experiences, what theater companies have you worked with?

CS: I have worked with Natick High School Drama, Natick Drama Workshop, the Walnut Hill theater program, Wellesley Theater Project and Wilson Middle School Drama.

JR: That is quite an impressive resumé. What are your, let’s say, top 3 roles you have portrayed?

CS: Let’s see, the first one that comes to mind is Mark Cohen in Rent, he was just such a privilege to play, Emmett in Legally Blonde was a blast, pure and simple, and lastly I have to say playing Sir Harry in Once Upon a Mattress this past November was a fun and difficult experience,  Sir Harry and I spent some quality time together haha.

JR: Are you working on any show right now?

CS: No, however I am working toward my audition for Little Women: The Musical, that is being directed by Monkeyhouse's own Marie Libbin. So I am excited for that.

JR: I am thrilled for that too, it’s going to be a great show. Continuing on with our subject of theater, what do you like most about theater?

CS: I can confidently say that the environment of theater and the comradery everybody in the theater community has for each other and the work that we are doing. It sounds like a huge cliche, I know, but while most cliches start with a grain of truth, this one started with a bolder of truth. Theater is a place to escape to for me, a place where everybody can fit in. I love it with all of my heart.

JR: Seems like you have some mighty affectionate feelings toward the theater community, that’s great to hear. So, speech, what exactly is speech and how did you get involved?

CS: I guess you could describe it as competitive acting and speaking, however it is so much more than that, to really understand speech you must experience it. I got involved in the 6th grade because my friend was poking and prodding me to join, so I did and I fell in love with it, it is something that found it’s way into my heart and something that I love about is that the activity allows you to push the boundary of the rules and what is deemed acceptable. You couldn’t do that in a sport, you can’t walk into the batters box of a baseball field and decide to catch the ball that the pitcher throws at you. In speech you can find ways to make the activity your own, and not just whatever you are told. Also I like dressing up for the tournaments, for competition everybody gets dressed up in what we call festival dress, which is a different way of saying suit and tie, skirt suit etc.

JR: That is definitely an activity that you seem to put your heart into. Jumping back to theater, what are your strengths? Acting, singing, or dancing?

Connor (Right) as Sir Harry in Natick High Schools
production of "Once Upon A Mattress"

CS: I can say that I feel my strength lays in my voice. I love to sing and I love taking something small, like a song, and making it large. I remember one time, it was the callback for Once Upon a Mattress, I was told to sing my song (Go The Distance from Hercules) as a buff crazy sports coach, it was so fun to make it crazy and take something that seemed small and making it large and wild.

JR: I can certainly attest to the fact that you have a wonderful voice. In conclusion, what do you want to accomplish through Monkeyhouse?

CS: I wish to better myself both in dancing and the art of theater. It is going to be great not working with kids (my own age) for once. I am looking forward to working with such an amazing organization.

JR: Thank you for your time, and best of luck with Little Woman, so pumped to work with you and Monkeyhouse. Jacob and Connor love Monkeyhouse!!