More on Mariah Steele (part 2)

Photo Credit: Eli Akerstein

by karen Krolak

Things are a bit crazy this week as we prep for both the Movement and the Mills performance and Cambridge Connections Concert at Endicott College so I have decided to spread Mariah Steele's interview out over a few days. Today's section covers her early dance training...which reminds me that I was going to put up a post about the Boston Performing & Visual Arts College Fair. Ergg...let's see if I can sneak that in before I leave to vote.

karen Krolak: Can you tell me a little bit about your dance training?

Mariah Steele: Throughout my life, I have been blessed with incredible teachers who have been both at the top of the field and dedicated to the art of teaching. I had the unique good fortune to grow up in a dance school that focused on modern dance: the Steffi Nossen School of Dance in White Plains, NY. In elementary school, the program consisted of creative movement classes with lots of imagination.  In second grade, my mother put me into ballet classes instead, and I cried after every class; she put me right back into the Steffi Nossen program.  In fourth grade, I joined the “master class” track and began learning May O'Donnell technique; I would go on to study this technique with teacher Nancy Lushington every single Saturday until I graduated from high school, in addition to other modern classes during the week. I did not take ballet again consistently until 9^th grade, when I joined the pre-professional Steffi Nossen Dance Company.  

kK: I am so impressed by the variety of pre-professional companies open to high school students now. How was the Steffi Nossen Dance Company structured?

MS: “Company,” as we called it, involved working with a different NYC choreographer every semester, in addition to at least three dance classes during the week.  Among other exciting choreographers, we had former Paul Taylor, Limon and Mark Morris dancers make pieces on us.  In this way, I was trained to be a truly versatile dancer and performer because each choreographer brought a different movement quality, technique and choreographic theory to his/her piece. 


kK: My word, that is a very unique program. I am quite jealous. College dance programs might even feel  a bit anti-climatic by comparison.

MS: Well, I then went on to train with Ze'eva Cohen and Rebecca Lazier at Princeton University, two of the most transformative teachers I have encountered in any discipline.  Ze'eva was instrumental in teaching me about breath and intention, and she helped me uncover my own unique choreographic voice. From Rebecca, I gained new insights into how thinking about imagery and anatomy can change how we move, making our movement more efficient and expansive.  Beyond dance, these lessons proved to me the power of our imaginations to create physical changes in our bodies and our worlds. 

Tomorrow we will conclude with a chat about how academics and dance can influence each other...

Mariah Steele on Movement at the Mills (part 1)

Mariah Steele Improvising at Movement at the Mills

by karen Krolak

On a blustery night last January, I popped over to check out a Movement at the Mills performance before Monkeyhouse headed down to rehearsals for the Cool New York Dance Festival. Jason, Caitlin, and I met up in the back corner of the gallery just as Mariah Steele began a sumptuous duet full of subtle tensions and playful vocabulary. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to stay to chat with the choreographers but I made a mental note to track down more of Mariah's work.

In August, I shared this story with Karyn Edison during the second weekend of  the Massachusetts Dance Festival.  Within a few minutes Karyn returned with Mariah who had just finished teching her piece. When she mentioned that she majored in Anthropology at Princeton, I knew I had to interview Mariah for Connect 2 Choreography. Given that Monkeyhouse will appear on at Movement at the Mills on November 5, this seemed like the perfect time to get a discussion rolling. 

karen Krolak: Can you describe your experience working on Movement at the Mills?

MS: Movement at the Mills was a wonderful experience.  Because we found out we had been accepted two weeks before the Christmas holidays and then the performance was the second Friday in January, we ostensibly only had two weeks to prepare.  Thus, we had to take old pieces and adapt them to the space rather than make a new piece specific to the gallery.  

kK: We are doing something similar with a piece called anti-ossification. Coincidentally, that was the piece we were rehearsing when I saw your performance at Movement at the Mills. Did you enjoy adapting a pre-existing work for the space?

MS: That process turned out to be very exciting: something about the white walls of the gallery really distills aspects of the dance.  In addition, entering and exiting through the throngs of people and having audience members on the “stage” while we danced created a unique performance atmosphere.  I felt like we were inside the audience's heads, weaving their dreams.  But I must say, my favorite aspect of the performance was the improvs we did in the smaller spaces.  

kK: Really, how so?

MS: Originally, I had planned to make our costume changes smoother by just wearing black for the improvs, but right before I left my apartment to go to the show, I decided maybe we should have costumes.  In the true impromptu spirit of Movement at the Mills, I just grabbed whatever reached my hands first in the closet.  At the gallery, we threw together some clothes combinations; coupled with our sneakers (because the floor was cement), we had rather hilarious costumes, that I never would have come up with rationally! Plus, the possibilities of playing with the gallery's architecture in the improvs – the walls, the window frames, a pole, the stairway wall and railing – added a whole other character to our dance.  At the end of the two shows, we were exhausted, but exhilarated!   

Check back tomorrow as we delve into Mariah's dance background...

C2C #4 - Transitions and Cambridge Connections

by karen Krolak

Yesterday's post on the Cambridge Connections project at Endicott College has generated a bunch of questions and comments from people. Unfortunately, I am about to head up to Beverly for today's workshop. Luckily, however, Nikki Sao Pedro, the creator of Cambridge Connections, is our guest on the current episode of C2C: Connect to Choreography. So if you can't join us in the studio this afternoon, you might want to check out C2C. There are a couple of great clips from Urbanity Dance, one of the other companies involved in Cambrige Connections. Be on the lookout for Betsi Graves Akerstein, Urbanity's Artistic Director, next month on C2C. 

Monkeyhouse workshop at Endicott College

by karen Krolak

Supporting Caitlin Meehan in Chor-i-dor at ArtBeat 09

Yikes! Looking over the posts from the last month, I just realized that I need to remind you about Monkeyhouse's partnering workshop at Endicott College in Beverly tomorrow. As part of the Cambridge Connections: Urban Dance at Endicott  program,  I will be leading a class about the basics of lifting and weight sharing from 12 - 2.

Most of Monkeyhouse's dancers will be sticking around after to rehearse for the concert on November 6 (yes, that is the day after our appearance at Movement at the Mills on Friday, November 5! This is going to be a wild week.) and class participants are welcome to stay and watch our creative process.

Must dash off to a faculty meeting at Impulse Dance Center now but I hope to see you at least one of our events this week.

Monkeyhouse Dance Workshop

Saturday, October 30

12 - 2PM

Open to ages 15 - adult

$30/ Free to Endicott  ID holders

367 Hale Street

Beverly, MA

This program is supported in part by a grant from the Beverly Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. 

Princess Pamplemousse's Dance Party for Pumpkins!

Princess Pamplemousse performing at BoomTown

by karen Krolak

As the hallways outside our office echo with the squeals of mini-goblins and monsters, I remembered that I had a treat to share with you. Springstep is hosting a free Halloween extravaganza on October 31st and everyone aged 4- 88 is invited. Starting at 2PM, Monkeyhouse's Princess Pamplemousse will get the event hopping with a Dance Party for Pumpkins open to kids 4- 8 years old. So jump into your costume and unleash your creative spirit as we brew up a batch of energetic moves. At 3:30 local jazz dance legend, Adrienne Hawkins, will guide anyone from 8 - 88 through the zombie moves of Michael Jackson's Thriller.

Don't worry if you have kids who are too young to participate, feel free to bring them anyway. They can watch or create Halloween crafts while YOU dance. Oh, and there will be sweet treats provided by Off the Vine Catering.

Springstep
98 George P Hassett Dr
Medford, MA 02145

Act Fast & Just Give Adds $10 to donations!

Artistic Director, Karen Krolak,during a residency at the Groton School April 2010

As you know we are heading into fundraising season here at Monkeyhouse. This week for example, we are knee deep in grant writing. We just heard some exciting news form another organization celebrating its 10th anniversary, though, and we wanted to share it with you. Just Give is giving away an extra $10,000 to nonprofits by adding an extra $10 to a donation from each donor. Click here to take advantage of this offer.

Originally, they planned to run this incentive from 10/10/10 to 10/20/10 (which just happens to be Karen Krolak's birthday...wouldn't an extra fundraising push be a great present for her?) but they blew through $10,000 in the first two days of the promotion. Apparently, another donor has given them another $10,000 to give away. So please consider acting quickly and making a donation through Just Give today.

If just 100 of you donated $10, we could raise $2000...enough to cover our rent for 4 months or bring dance programming to several schools this year. 100 people isn't that many when you consider how many individuals read this blog on a regular basis. Thanks for your support, we could not run this organization without you.

Dance in the Fells Photo of the Day

by karen Krolak

Since we had interviewed Sara Smith as part of the series on The Boston Dance Alliances Open Call Auditions, I thought you all might enjoy this shot of her piece at Panther Cave from Dance in the Fells. Keep sending your impressions from the festival in as we love the dialogue that is developing.

Photo Credit: Melissa Dollman