CoEXISTdance: 2013 In Review

CoEXISTdance: 2013 In Review

SOS: Our Response to the Philippines

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! As we gather with family and friends this holiday to acknowledge our blessings, please remember how little the Philippines is surviving on. Any donation will help! Thank you thank you thank you! Click here to Donate Now!

A message from our own CoEXIST dancer, Lauren Sion:

A category 5 super typhoon (Haiyan/Yolanda) devastated the Philippines on November 8, 2013 displacing 4 million people and affecting 13 million.  Thousands have lost their lives and more than a thousand people are still missing as the Philippines continues to find relief for all of the areas affected by this natural disaster.  A little less than a month earlier, the province of Bohol was hit with a 7.2 magnitude earthquake where thousands lost their homes and more than a million people were affected. 

My family was blessed that everyone was ok.  My mother grew up in the Bohol province where our ancestral house of more than a 100 years is still standing with partial damage but others have been completely decimated.  We have many relatives still living there and their personal accounts of the earthquake aftermath is horrifying.  There are others who need our help.  While my family wasn't affected and we are so far away, it is still my heritage and my heart breaks.

The best and most effective way to help is through monetary donations.  Even if it is just $5 - that can go a long way.  It can buy, 16 pounds of rice, 10 cans of sardines, or 21 liters of water which, at this magnitude of devastation, will save so many lives!

Please. Open your hearts and donate whatever little you can!  You will be making more of a difference than you know for these people who have lost loved ones, homes and literally everything. 

Thank you, thank you, thank you-
Lauren Sion

Dance Kid

One of my longtime, dance studio friends recently brought an article titled "27 Undeniable Signs You Were A Dancer" to my attention. The buzzfeed article instantly brought back so many memories and it was prefect timing to me personally for two reasons. 

First, this past Saturday I substituted at my dance studio, teaching a long sequence of Ballet Technique, Somatics & Stretching, Lyrical, and then hosting a CoEXISTdance Master Class. This ultimately meant that the young dancers and myself spent Saturday at the dance studio from 9:30am to 3pm! Almost a full school day! The most amazing part: I loved every second of it and so did they. I used to LIVE for Saturdays at my dance studio: Ballet Technique, Ballet Repertoire, Dance Composition, Lunch, Modern, Modern Competition. Talk about the glory days. I mean really, what could be better? It's Saturday, you spend 8 hours doing what you love, with the people who become your closest friends. 

Second, the exciting start of the CoEXISTdance Jr. Dance Company has ignited so many reminiscent thoughts for me. It is so refreshing to see such young and genuine dedication, commitment, and pure passion. These are dancers who simply want to dance and want to dance more. All of the Jr. dancers are so hungry for the art form and it is so evident in the studio at our rehearsals and master classes. From their professionalism to their detailed questions, the way they practice on the side of the performance space and watch each other dance, the respect they show to their teachers and their excitement about upcoming shows. 

As a professional, it has been such a rewarding process to touch base with my own roots in my dance training as I work closely with the Jr. Dance Company. The young dancers have inspired me to take a step back and look at my own dancing and choreographing in a much bigger way. Instead of thinking only about my work over the past few months or years, I am so much more inclined to look at my work over the decades, accounting for the past, the present, and the future. Also making me feel ancient, but that is a whole different blog. I feel so much more well-rounded as an artist and I have the Jr. Company to thank for that :) 

Anyway, looking back to the article, I must take a more humorous and personal route by sharing my favorite point. 

1. You and your friends would choreograph dances after school "for fun"
HUGE UNDERSTATEMENT! Me and my friends not only did this after school but at sleepovers, down the shore, at the studio, anytime and anywhere! We had rehearsals and mock performances. From the Lion King's "Hakuna Mata"to Britney Spears, "Tainted Love" to Annie the Musical, choreographing was clearly more than a passion from a really early age. Still is. 

There is no point to this blog other than the simple joy of looking back upon dance memories and laughing. I encourage readers to jump in and share a dance memory or two below in the comment section. There is a beauty to sharing past memories and reminiscing and it feels so good! 

If anyone would like to check out the full article… http://www.buzzfeed.com/jessicamisener/27-undeniable-signs-you-were-a-dance-kid

Hope you enjoyed the read and I look forward to some great comments! 

Katie :) 

Music and Dance are Life

Ever believe in intense dream analysis? Yeah I have those amazing dreams where I can turn a billion times, do a billion flips and partner w/Matthew Powell or Sascha Radetesky (or just be Stella Abrera who is married to Sasha Radetesky and is a Filipina-American principal dancer w/ABT... One of us made it!). However I never really weighed in on them too heavily like the deep meanings of forgetting your shoes, being chased by dinosaurs, or having your teeth fall out... But occasionally I get these dreams where something profound happens - like I fall off my couch and into my glass coffee table because in my dream I was jumping out of a car to escape a bad situation.  That's an extreme example...

Luckily for me I also dream movement and choreography and if I'm able to wake I will get up and start recreating it or at least writing it down.  I always have a pen and paper on my bedside for when these things randomly happen. Words also come out that mean something to me and sometimes I can never forget them. 

About a month or so ago I dreamt the words in the picture above. I know where some of it came from. When I lived in NYC this summer I was sitting at a coffee shop in the east village when I looked out the window and saw a bunch of Asians who seemed to be doing a project w/their class. They were writing things on the sidewalks with chalk. I found it so interesting i followed them all the way to union square park. My favorite one was: 

I stood there and stared at it, music blasting in my ears about rooftops, never feeling alone in New York City, and the ed sheeran song my student sent me saying it made her think of me (aww!) When I went to NYC this summer I was kind of on a mission - to feel - to feel free, happy, and to refuel (amongst other things). I'd literally walk around, ear phones in, dancing around the streets, w/a silly smile on my face. I am first and foremost a dancer in life and the phrase "dance is life" has always been ingrained in my being. I'm single and live in a world where everyone's too busy to stop and just TAKE TIME (myself included). It occurred to me that music is just as important in life - if dance is life... So is music.  (Read my next blog on the importance of the dance-music connection!)

*Lauren

Looking Closer

"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance."
-Aristotle

This reminds me of geodes, which are amazingly beautiful, but encompassed in rough, dull-colored rocks.  They are hidden not far from sight, but to one who may not have the patience to consider taking a deeper look, the geodes are easily overpassed.  

Art endures a magnified study of one topic, idea, area of interest.  At first glance, this topic may seem easily understood from simple facts and a superficial perspective.  Art, though, digs deeper, then offers that insight to the human race.

Zip-Lining and Dancing

on Sunday i ventured to a zip-lining trail in Delaware with my family. i will describe with short phrases....

exhilarating
ADRENALINE
shaky
30 ft. above ground
do not look down
stay attached
strength
jump through the hoops
balance
screaming
Tarzan jumps
climbing rope
trees
rough landing
extreme sport
small steps
water
ladders

it was such a beneficial experience for all of us to do together. we were all able to bond over how different of an activity this was, the scare factor, and how we all pulled through and finished the course!

what surprised me the most, as a mover, was how foreign it felt to step onto unstable and/or shaky objects. Examples: standing on platforms in swaying trees, jumping from one swinging platform to another, or placing my foot through swinging metal hoops (while holding on for dear life). my muscles seemed to have no idea how to handle this sort of challenge, my legs felt useless, shaky and jello-like. although exhausting and scary, this challenge was so good, so outside of the box, for my body.

it was just another reminder to me about how comfortable we often get by DOING THE SAME. everyday, we step, and we know it will be solid ground. shocking my body by doing the opposite was so thrilling. we all know in order to be fit, we must shock the body; keep changing workouts, adding new challenges, etc. as dancers, the more we make ourselves uncomfortable, the more strength, confidence, and dynamics we gain. but as human beings, we need change, to grow, to be reminded, and most importantly so that we do not become complacent. that is when time, energy, ideas, and so much potential is unconsciously tossed to the wayside.

so, although i will definitely be zip-lining again, there are so so many different ways to throw a zig-zag in a daily routine. find them and insert them! into your dance, into your life :)

- kathleen

Dance is food. Dance is life.

As a dancer, I realize that every dancer tries to categorize what type of dancer they are. Contemporary, jazz, tap, hip-hop are just a few genres of dance and we ask ourselves which one am I? Try something different and compare yourself to food. If my dancing were a food, it would be eggs. There are so many different ways to make them. Scrambled, over easy, sunny side up are just a few and I feel that is who I am as a dancer. All the genres of dance are a part of me and have shaped me into the dancer I am today. No need to categorize yourself. We can be any food we want to be. Most importantly, we can be any type of dancer we shape ourselves into being.

Sara

Dancing Under Water

If I could dance like any aquatic animal it would be an…

Energy proliferating from every direction

Lingering in silence until the prime moment to strike

Elongated motions, moving through a journey

Capturing its beauty is a rarity

Tampering with it is risky, but exciting

Rising to the top for new breath

Initiating power through movement

Coping with power through control

Elegantly shifting between deep-sea waves

Eerily hidden until the proper time arises

Lifting hopes to advancement through self experimentation

Love Whitney

marriage!

for today's blog I want to share a poem I wrote about my relationship with my best friend and my fiance and this exciting time in our lives!!! I have translated the poem into movement and the dancers are currently working in pairs to create a beautiful piece :)

I hope individuals and couples of all ages and at all different places in their lives can take something from the poem and/or the dance piece! enjoy :)

marriage

we twirl

carefully, spontaneously.

racing minds, 

hearts intertwined. 

carry me

catch you,

belong here.

we understand

transparently, purely.

soothing words,

forgiveness deserved.

lean on me

listen to you,

discover us. 

we soar

courageously, deliriously.

beautifully high,

home's the sky.

flight with me

follow you

move as one.

we love

honestly, unconditionally,

building together,

fighting for happily ever.

accept me

adore you

adventures of our own. 

- kathleen 

CORE: Right Time, Right Place.

Yesterday marked the beginning of CORE, or CoEXISTdance Out-Reach Education. We had such a wonderful afternoon (despite the heat!) working on Ballet basics and some Modern intro.

The girls were working so hard and it was so obvious that they were really INVESTED in being there. They want this! That was a beautiful thing to see.

I was talking to my fiance last night about that peaceful feeling one experiences when you know you're just in the right place at the right time. I always feel this right- time, right-place peacefulness when we visit with our great aunt, she is overjoyed to see us, converse with us, and pass on so much wisdom to us as a growing couple.  I take comfort in thinking that I am exactly where God would like me to be at that moment, doing something positive with my heart and my mind all together.

The right-time right-place feeling almost always ignites in me when I am dancing. But yesterday was an even more overwhelming peacefulness and complete sense of purpose.  Happiness, diligence, self-worth, support, motivation, kindness seemed to all be swirling around and inside me.

I knew CORE would be something special on so many different levels. In a business sense, this could be the beginning of  whole new image for CoEXISTdance. In terms of being a leader, I am giving my dancers the opportunity to teach in a new setting and with new students. In terms of our mission statement, we are fulfilling it by bettering the community and integrating the arts somewhere new. But on an all around human level, CORE is absolutely what it is supposed to be.

I am proud to say that CORE is a complete translation of a desire I felt in my heart to serve and to do good using what I already have.  It is simple and it is good.

I am so excited to see how much the students, teachers, and myself blossom through this program.

thats all for now! thanks for reading :)

kathleen

Don't Go Changin'....Or Maybe Just a Little

Transitions.  Growing and shrinking.  Forward and backward.  New and improved, but letting go of old wonders.

As the season of hot hits us, we settle into new relationships with new members and say goodbye to some familiar friends.  Our company refocuses.  Less performance, more community.  More rehearsal, expanding on and creating fresh work.  New flavors.  However it’s hard to retire beloved classics that have had such success! 

That’s usually how changing works.  We make decisions, acknowledge then ignore our reservations, and jump in.  There’s no need to look back for second guessing because our plunges usually throw us somewhere better than we could have imagined.  Past the transition, there is goodness.  In the meantime, we stay optimistic that we made the right decisions and that hope will guide us triumphantly.

For me, these words speak to Tia departing, progression in my solo (adding text, modifying the choreography to become more connected), and a change in company numbers.  In my personal life, they speak to new jobs, my ill mama, and major life decisions about things like housing and education.  The beautiful thing about this perspective, though, is that it works for everyone in some way (or at least hopefully).  General inspiration becomes intimate by choosing to apply such an outlook on our own lives.  Then we influence one another with that positive energy.  Our stories and experiences make us who we are, not to mention how we deal with those experiences.  Then we come together and impact each other, consciously and not.  Our decisions and logic blend into the minds of those we interact with.  Together we create the community—a community filled with our ideas of ideal characteristics.  Though it may not be ideal, we have set ourselves up in an environment where failures are only moments of learning, opportunities to grow together, melding ourselves into a stronger team.  We are a team with a solid history, a notable past, inspiring presence, and promising future.

Love, Whitney

Untitled

I have never interacted with such insightful and beautiful people.  Becoming a part of CoEXISTdance has been my first professional dancing experience, and I could not have started with a better company.  I was extremely nervous yet ecstatic to branch out into the dance world.  Among these ladies I never felt inadequate, but that I was part of something special in which each individual was of equal importance. 

"CoEXISTdance strives to make dance and movement accessible to people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities. Ms. Glynn and her dancers work for all peoples to "coexist" and connect through dance, using movement as a unifying force.  The modern dance collective is interested in blending the "real world" with the "dance world" by introducing dance into new places and spaces.  CoEXISTdance yearns to use artistic innovations, collaborations, polished talent, and personal experiences to better the world on both an individual and a collective sense.  CoEXISTdance is an outlet for all people - dancers, audience members, collaborators, and colleagues - to feel, move, experience, reflect, and simply be."

Feeling, moving, experiencing, reflecting - BEING. Making dance accessible to EVERYONE.  Using movement as a unifying force... this is all the world needs, and all I have ever wanted for people.  Every word of this mission statement is greatly supported by the words and actions of every company member that I have worked with.  I am so thankful and touched that I was given the opportunity to dance and experience life in unity with the CoEXIST dancers, their families, loved ones, and our audience members.

Kathleen - You are a magical human being, so beautiful on the inside and out.  I immediately sensed your open mindedness and loving heart when we met at my audition.  You are constantly encouraging and challenging me to push forth through my movement, and I cannot thank you enough for that.  Your ability to sustain the role of director and friend is amazing and rare, as is your humility.  Thank you.

Whitney - You are one of the strongest people that I have come across. I have learned so much about myself from simply being in your presence. You walk through life with such grace despite your personal tribulations, silently encouraging all of us to do the same. Your intelligence, your giggle, and your movement have touched me.  Thank you.

Sara - Sara, Sara, Sara ... you must NEVER call yourself a "mediocre dancer" again, because you are nothing of the sort.  You're a beautiful dancer, and person.  Your love and appreciation of those who surround you is such a dynamic quality that you possess, which is why you sustain such strong relationships in your life.  I have enjoyed you so much and believe that your passionate personality can lead you to the stars.  Thank you.

Megan - Wow. You are one of the most genuine beings that I have known.  You are constantly progressing in your life and movement, which encourages me to challenge myself. Your honesty, purity and leadership qualities make you a very influential figure in any environment that I have seen you in.  I have discovered myself becoming more aware of my thoughts and actions in all aspects of my life because of you. The positive energy that you exude is inspiring.  Thank you.

Lauren - Your strength is phenomenal. Your mental, emotional and physical strength is phenomenal.  The dedication you have as a dancer in our world is a beauteous gift.  It is refreshing to work with such a fearless and driven artist who truly "dances her way through life." Thank you.

Antoinette - I only wish that we could have worked more together.  You are a person who does not settle, which is a rarity.  I am so happy and excited for what your future holds.  The positive attitude that you constantly share with those around you is what the world lacks, your drive to success and experience greatness is your best asset.  Thank you.

Brittany - Words cannot express how happy I am that we got to dance together again.  You are a beautiful person, one who disregards negativity.  Constant smiles and good thoughts ooze from you, and I cannot thank you enough for sharing. Thank you.


I am sharing these thoughts with each of the girls because now that I am not dancing with the company anymore, I realize how much they have influenced me.  I performed for the last time with the company at Relay for Life a couple of weeks ago - the same performance at which we began our familial relationship, one year prior.  We are all at different points in our lives, we vary in age and background yet when we come together we become an artistic family.  I will forever cherish my experience with CoEXISTdance. I have grown as a mover and an individual.  I am blessed.

Thank you and I love you all very much.

xoxo Tia Dorsey

Strength and Self-Revelation

I'm not sure how much of this is going to make sense as it's 3:00am, but sometimes that's when the clearest thoughts come through.  (Apologizing in advance for the book!)

“All good work requires self-revelation.” – Sidney Lumet

For a while now, I’ve been wracking my brain over how to get this solo done.  Free-writing, dance improvs, different tools you learned in dance comp – but I've been coming up empty.  Today, while I was scrolling through pictures for my summer workshop brochure I came across a picture from one of coEXIST’s pieces “Forgive Me,” and all of a sudden I remembered something that our director and choreographer, Kathleen, had said when we were learning this dance.  She was re-staging a personal story on different dancers but it wasn’t going to be completely the same because “she is a different person today than she was back then.”  All of a sudden I knew what to do.  

This solo is one that I had always wanted to add on to my senior piece in college.  My piece “Out of the Silence” was about my life up until that point.  At the heart of the dance is the subdued voice that’s crying to be heard.  The music is from the “Memoirs of a Geisha” soundtrack, so it naturally had a lot of Asian themes to it.  For the most part, I made the piece about the opposing forces in my mind and in my life – the ones that cry out to be heard and the ones that are perfectly content in this “delicate, soft-spoken, respect your elders, mind over heart” value of the Asian culture.  6 girls begin movement in a circle and in silence until Yo-Yo Ma’s beautiful cello comes in – music he described as the voice of the movie’s main character.  At the time, I was a girl who felt the immense, burdening pressure from her family to be perfect.  I was a girl with concealed frustrations that weren’t supposed to be heard, but I was also a girl who was in love and thought that at least that part of her future was bright.  It was clear.  Her strength came from love.

Six years later the stakes changed.  Pain came.  Life changed.  I changed – for the better.  I am no longer that girl who knew exactly what her dreams were.  Today, I know where my life is.  I know my situation and  I still fight this constant battle of expectations from not only my family but of the world.   The future remains unclear and in a way I can’t really explain, I feel like I need to prove something to the world.  I’m still searching, still wandering, still looking for my true self… and that’s okay. 

Perhaps that is why I’m having so much trouble getting the movement out of me for this solo.  I chose 6 of my advanced girls at the studio I teach and am attempting to re-stage “Out of the Silence,” adding my solo at the end of it and also inserting myself into the group part.  “Out of the Silence” is about cultural identity, speaking up for myself and for my passion in life.  While I still struggle with those same themes, it’s linked to something else.  The girl 6 yrs ago thought she had an identity and destiny linked to another’s but the woman I have become today is linked to so much more.  I stand alone and am doing my own thing for ME.  This solo, more than ever is about the Me I am today and the Me I will become tomorrow and every day after that.  The group part of the piece is part of a past story and the solo is about the present and the future – breaking and unbinding from the things holding me back NOW, letting my voice be heard, and standing up for what is me.  

Kathleen’s words that day had always resonated with me so I went back and dug through my past to where the piece really came from and how it relates to “now.”  In 2001 there was an inspirational book called “Yell-Oh Girls” that was published and it was eye-opening for my middle school self.  In this book, “Asian American girls, speak up and speak out.  They speak for themselves, to each other, and to the world…new voices are heard and new stories become part of our greater American story.”  I looked back at all the passages and sentences I underlined that helped me with “Out of the Silence.” I remember reading one in particular to my cast in college before they performed it for the first time on stage back then, and as I read it again now, I think of coEXISTdance.

“May we look inward to find the truth…May we give words to that which is not yet spoken.  My strength, is your strength, is ours.”

When I think about CoEXISTdance, the word community comes to mind - how we give, how we support, how we stand for a cause.  Not only are we about giving towards the community, we have also built one of our own within the 8 of us.  We dance, we laugh, we share, we create, we support, and through it all we draw strength from each other – my strength, their strength, our strength.  Because of this, the self-revelation has come and the movements and feelings are finally flowing and I am thankful. =)

*Lauren Sion

Teacher Bios: Lauren

Lauren Sion will be teaching at our upcoming workshop, here is a little bio about her!!
Lauren Sion graduated with a B.A in Dance from Muhlenberg College in 2008 with Magna Cum Laude Honors and since then has gone on to perform extensively throughout the tri-state area with several dance companies. She has been an established dance teacher throughout the Lehigh Valley for 7 years - currently a full-time teacher at Nardi Dance Studios in Easton, PA - and is extremely excited to be teaching contemporary lyrical!

Can't wait to see you all there!!

Workshop Teacher Bios: Emma!!!

Emma MacDonald will be teaching at our upcoming workshop. Here is a little bio about her!!

Emma MacDonald is on the cusp of graduating with a BFA in Dance and concentration in Improvisation from Temple University. She is originally from Hartford, Connecticut, where she began dancing at the humble Limelite Studios, learning jazz and tap for ten years. She then moved on to the competitive Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts in high school, with a major in dance and minor in Theater. In her four years at Temple, she has had many wonderful opportunities to further her career in dance. She has presented three works in the student concert, worked with Joellen Meglin and Kun-Yang Lin in Crystallina, Leah Stein in Across the Grid, and Jillian Harris in The Gjeilo Project. She also had the immense pleasure of working with Jillian Harris in Inferno, a site specific work in Rome, Italy. She would like to thank Jillian for supporting her during her time in Rome and in her senior year. It is in her Creative Process course that the idea for this senior thesis took root.

Emma is interested in approaching dance from an intellectual point of view and using dance as a tool for social action and community building. Her education at Temple University, specifically in the dance department, has encouraged and enabled her to begin to do so. She is excited to finally free herself into the world and attack it with all that she has to offer, from all that she has learned.

Workshop Teacher Bios: Julee!

Julee Mahon will be teaching at our upcoming workshop, here is a little about her...

Julee Mahon is originally a native of New Jersey, and is currently on the road to graduation, from Temple University, with a BFA degree in Dance and a minor in history. She has performed in countess works at Temple with faculty such as Kun- Yang Lin, Joellen Meglin, Philip Grosser, Jillian Harris, and Dr. Laura Katz- Rizzo as well as with guest artists such as Tiffany Mills, LevyDance, and Leah Stein. After graduation Julee plans on staying in Philadelphia to continue performing and showing work, in hopes to dive deeper into the Philadelphia dance community!

Can't wait to see you all there!!

Workshop Teacher Bios: Antoinette!!

Antoinette Guinyard will be teaching at our upcoming workshop (https://www.facebook.com/events/116314531891344/ 
Here is a small Bio about her!! 
Antoinette Guinyard attended Rowan University where she received a bachelor's degree in Business Marketing and a Concentration in Dance. She is a Soulmate dancer for the Philadelphia Soul, performing at the Wells Fargo Center. Antoinette is also an accomplished model, working for clients such as Gatorade, Sears, Champion at Target, East Coast Sports, LStudio, Irina Sigal, Joan Shepp, Sean Anthony, Tropicana Casino, The Pier Shops at Caesars, Maternity for Two, QVC , Clinique, and Sketchers. She thanks CoEXISTdance for another chance to dance!

Connecting to Hope

I am anxious to be diving into a new kind of dancing for the company.  I have started learning the solo, Universal Undertow.  I am excited to be working on a solo, a more intimate kind of rehearsal with Kathleen.  It is especially so intimate because of the subject matter—sickness.  Normally I am focused on feeling the group dynamic, finding synchronization amongst the dancers’ individualities.  Universal Undertow invites me to dig inward…really, it’s forcing me to evaluate how I feel and how that translates into my dancing.  I can’t hide behind a group consensus of how to express the movement.

Having dealt with personal sickness all my life and now my mother’s cancer/chemo, the piece plucks closely at my heart.  More than other repertory, I can very directly identify with and embody the emotions that the dance addresses.  With every movement I resonate connectivity.  I rub my stomach to soothe it and I am reminded of the times I grip my abdomen from pain.  I raise myself from the floor to sitting and I see my mother in her attempts to stand during weakness.  My tense hands throw themselves in the air before falling to the ground—a rollercoaster of built frustration and hopelessness.  Through this hopelessness I find support.  I find the ground.  I find strength.  Through this dance, I’m learning how I’m actually coping with the sickness in my family-current and past.

Lately I find it much too easy to dismiss hope and embrace despair.  But it’s hard to get away from it, especially since my mother put hope in my name.  Regardless of how much we get defeated and encounter new villains, hope endures.  Like a beacon, it moves in the rocky ocean, waiting to be seen.  Whether I pout or maintain my proactive, optimistic lifestyle, life continues throwing rocks and flowers at me.  Through writing and dancing I confront the aggravation, pain, and struggle of sickness in Universal Undertow.  Equally, we celebrate the patience and empowerment from fighting for life.  Sometimes all we have is hope…there’s nothing else tangible, no written promises.  As humans without the power of a fortune teller, we are forced to rely on this feeling and invisible light.  And in this process we gather a deeper appreciation for life’s quirks and unexpected ways, which becomes easily drowned out during our experiences.  I’m especially hopeful that the piece will reach out to all viewers in some manner, whether they are regular dance viewers, or new to the modern dance scene.  What’s most important for me here is to share my own experiences as honestly as possible so that someone else can feed from the hope I offer and possess.  I want to connect through hope.

May each day fill you with new hope and bright perspective.  Help others discover their own hope.  Go watch a ladybug crawl or listen to the wind blow.  Take advantage of the small things in life which are not actually so trivial.

Love, Whitney Hope

Tribute: CoEXISTdancers

So the last time I was here I wrote about "The Necessity to Move" and my fear of CoEXIST falling onto a plateau, being stagnant, and lacking in progression.  I am happy to write that although this is something I think about with CoEXISTdance each and everyday (usually while in the car, when I should be paying attention to the road perhaps) I am making baby steps towards a solution.  No, I have not whipped up some brilliant, 20-page business plan, but I have discovered and experimented with small tricks and strategies to continue to attract new audiences, expand the popularity of our company, and most simply just to keep PROGRESSING instead of simply MAINTAINING.

I would not have the confidence of an Artistic Director and the courage to continuously push myself to think outside of the box without my team.  The CoEXISTdancers remind me of my own Mother in the sense that they support me no matter what. They have no idea how much their own solid foundation has allowed me to soar.  I am beyond thankful for the beautiful group of women I have carrying out the same mission I dreamt up, through their dancing, their actions, their collaborations, and their ideas. So I would like to take a quick second to recognize each and every one of them :)

Megan has been part of CoEXISTdance since its birth.  She has such a purity about her and I think it is because she is so honest ALL of the time, with both herself and with others. She never pretends, she confronts reality and truth and accepts them.  I wish there were more people in the world like this, myself included.  She has assumed a leadership role with the company; I love watching her help others figure out the certain mechanics of a movement (the baby freeze) or assist others with an injury, prescribing how to strengthen the area, stretch the area, etc.  She is always so happy to be at rehearsal and she is always laughing and causing us to laugh, an important ingredient to success I have found.

Tia came on board during CoEXISTdance's rebirth in 2011. From the get go, she blew me away with her professionalism and dedication to CoEXISTdance. It was evident that CoEXISTdance was a priority based on her attendance, work ethic in rehearsal, and participation in outside events.  She has impressed me even more by consistently maintaining that same professionalism and work ethic, something which I think is easier said than done.  She is a BEAUTIFUL mover and she has a way of capturing my own personal dynamics and movement style quirks immediately after learning new material.  Her own sense of humor has carried us through MANY rehearsals, again adding laughter into our recipe for success.

Whitney also joined CoEXISTdance on the same day as Tia.  One of the most outstanding qualities of Whitney is her pursuit of absolute perfection.  Once she has learned a new phrase of movement, she repeats the movement over and over again, pulling it apart, questioning the dynamics and focus, and never stopping until she is 100% satisfied with herself.  It is such an honor as a choreographer to watch a dancer take what you have given them so seriously, treating it with the utmost respect and striving to maintain its originality.  She has also been such a professional and diligent coEXISTdancer.  Her willingness to open up and talk with me and all of the dancers about what is going on outside of rehearsal has really helped us to bond more as a family than as a group of professionals.

I have known Sara since 2006, when she came in as a freshman at DeSales University.  I still remember how pleasantly surprised I was when I saw her walk into the CoEXISTdance audition last year!  As if her dancing were not beautiful enough, it felt so nice to connect a piece of my past to my present work. It's a really colorful blend of memories, memory-making, past training, and new movements.  She is never shy to call me out of pulling out a move similar to one of our old professors!  In addition to our past connection, Sara is so loving.  She is the first dancer to notice when another dancer is struggling, in pain, or feeling under the weather.  She is a great listener and advice-giver.  As an Artistic Director, what I love most is that her love pours out in her dancing.  It is evident to anyone watching her how much she loves what she is doing, who she is dancing for, and who she is dancing with.  It's a rare and beautiful quality.

Lauren also joined our team in 2011. We had met a few times before, attending neighboring colleges, but I never imagined that we would have worked so closely together!  Lauren is an extremely technical dancer, her rigorous training is transparent in every movement she does.  She has such a fluid quality to her dancing, but she can also execute small and sharp movements beautifully.  One of my favorite things about Lauren is her fearlessness. She is never scared to try one of my crazy ideas that usually start with, "I have this idea, but its only in my head right now I'm not sure if it's physically possible".  Whether its throwing herself upside down on a stool, jumping into a new lift, or balancing in the baby freeze, she is not only fearless but relentless.  She is so strong in a physical, mental, and emotional sense.  She will continue to fight until everything is exactly the way it should be.

Brittany jumped on board this past January.  She immediately molded as another member of our CoEXIST family, picking up the same work ethic as the others, opening up to everyone, and being honest.  Brittany is so full of life and energy; she is always so excited to be at rehearsal and so eager to learn new material.  She has been so flexible in terms of jumping into previous pieces, learning another dancer's part, and simultaneously being cast into new pieces. Her passion for dance is so obvious based not only on her eagerness, but on her diligence with new movements, her professionalism, and her dedication.  She is clearly a part of CoEXISTdance both inside and outside of rehearsal.  I am so excited to watch her grow through her journey with CoEXISTdance, and of course I am so excited to see how CoEXISTdance will continue to blossom through her efforts and contributions to the company.

Antoinette entered CoEXISTdance at the same time as Brittany.  She is a natural leader, she has already contributed several great ideas for the company to do.  She has also offered advice, ideas, and words of encouragement to the other dancers in times of frustration.  She has certainly assumed a motherly role and she is so generous with her time, energy, and resources.  It is so clear to me that she wants the absolute best for CoEXISTdance.  Again, to see that sort of intention in another dancer is just utterly uplifting. To realize that another individual is just invested in your dream as you are is beyond touching.    She is also a beautiful mover, another one who really pulls apart as many details and dynamics to make the movement as accurate as possible.

I could not have drawn up a better team for CoEXISTdance.  This blog is a tribute to my dancers and all of their hard work and dedication.  You will probably never know exactly how much this means to me. "Thank you" does not even begin to do it justice.  I love you very much and thank you for building CoEXISTdance with me!

Kathleen :)

Desales University Alumni Concert on March 16, 2013.

Some of the awesome photos captured during our performance at the Desales University Alumni Concert on March 16, 2013. Thank you so much for letting us be a part of such a great show.

Dance Life

“My world is full of dance floors, inspiring music, and speechless audiences. I love my dance life #dancesaveslives”

I've always loved dance quotes and this one in particular caught my attention.  It wasn't the typical Graham, Pavlova, Nureyev, Fosse, Duncan quotes I keep seeing all over social media, but from an organization that randomly started following me on twitter one day: "Dance Saves Lives" - an organization dedicated to teaching dance to orphanages in third world countries.  Reading this, I can't help but think of my life, coEXISTdance, and the wonderful things that are happening.

It's completely true.  For me, my world IS dance.  Maybe it's sad, but in the last few years of "re-finding" my lost self, I've tried to literally breathe dance to get through the heartaches of life.  So I teach, choreograph, rehearse, perform, take class, even just improv in my basement as much as I can.  

"Dance floors"?  Since the beginning of the year, in a given week I could have been in 8 different studios rehearsing, teaching, or just dancing for myself.  

"Inspiring Music"? I'm constantly moved by music that inspires me that all I want to do is dance to it, feel it, and share it.  

"Speechless Audiences"? Like most dancers, I thrive on the high of performing on a stage and giving out to the audience what is inside of me.  Numerous times, I've been complimented on my latest solo "The Lonely," (set to Christina Perri's song) about how "the lonely" is ok, how dance has filled my heart and taken up the other half of my life that had been ripped away . "Emotional, inspiring, sad but uplifting, graceful, technically strong, made me cry" people would say.   Recently, however, I performed it to an instrumental cello cover of the song wanting a reaction to the purity of the movement without the lyrics and it was met with generous praise.  It isn't the fact that people are saying all these wonderful things about your work, but the fact that your movement and your passion is recognized as coming from a real and honest place - that the audience, whoever they may be, can relate, share, and experience what you're trying to say with your movement as if they were right there on that stage with you.  To know that is a truly fulfilling feeling.  You feel your passion, know your purpose, and hope it makes a difference - even for just one person, it's enough.

This week I've tried to find a way to catch my breath through all of life's struggles and happenings and once again, find myself throwing my body, my heart, my soul into dance on the only 6 days from September-June that I can have to myself.  As I sit here, computer on my lap, coffee in hand, sunlight beaming through the window on the bed of a cozy little studio apartment on the lower east side of Manhattan - starstruck by the fact that this place is owned by a Paul Taylor Dance Company principal dancer described by Dance Spirit magazine as an "amazing petite powerhouse" and that right upstairs is a former Martha Graham dancer who literally just invited me to a housewarming party tomorrow - ready to fill my weekend with classes at Broadway Dance Center - I feel like I am temporarily realizing a dream I once had.  But one I no longer foresee because I know my purpose now.  

People always say "everything happens for a reason", "there is always darkness before the dawn," "if it weren't for the pain you experienced in life, you wouldn't be the strong person you are today". 5 years ago, my dream was where I currently sit, but dreams change.  Since then, the role dance plays in my life has shifted and I know where I'm supposed to be, what I'm supposed to do. 

One of the many reasons I love coEXISTdance is the fact that we strive to give back to the community through dance.  Our mission statement that "dance exists for everyone" is thought-provoking.  The work we've done at CHOP, Relay for Life, Aid For Friends, and our upcoming outreach summer program C.O.R.E is inspiring.  You don't have to be a professional dancer to be touched by dance.  It's everywhere, within everyone, a way of life.  It saved mine.  

"Dance exists for everyone."

"Dance Saves Lives."

So "dance life"?  Yes, I love mine. 

*Lauren Sion

Dancers Aid

A few weeks ago the dancers of Coexistdance joined forces to put together breakfast bags for a local elderly community. Coming from a commitment in the city, I arrived a few minutes late, but that meant I was lucky to walk in on a scene of all the girls already at work. Half of the group was at the table making “Good Morning” cards with happy or silly drawings on them. They were giggling and complimenting each other’s ideas, making sure each card felt special in some way. The other half of the group was putting the bags together. They had stations set up all over the kitchen: a napkin, 1 of these granola bars, 1 of those, 1 applesauce, 2 small candies, 2 tea bags and 1 card. Without focusing too much on what they were doing, they moved seamlessly around each other to each spot in the room as they talked intimately about one of the girls and a concern she was having. Their responses were only positive, hoping to empower and encourage her to make choices that would make her feel positive about herself and her lifestyle. It was so nice to know that I was a part of a group so comfortable with each other and so committed to supporting each other in a completely judgment free environment. I think of our most recently renovated and performed piece, Beacon, and the message that you are already who you need to be, you already have everything you need to go where you want. Glynn’s young lab picks up on our happy-to-be-together energy and proceeds to bite everything in sight for attention. We laugh and hide our purses. One dancer pets him and uses a treat to remind him to sit, lay down, can we shake hands? I think this is something special for coexist, a sort of nurturing environment and I hope that we bring a sense of our community with us when we perform, encouraging audiences to be happy where they are, to feel positive about who they are. 

Megan Quinn

The Necessity to MOVE

Change. It's exciting, somewhat unknown, and our human symbolism of progression or digression.  It is essential and natural, we need change to grow as both individuals and as a wholistic (is that a word?) community.  We all must MOVE and CHANGE - for to stay stagnant in one spot is dangerous.  Too much of the same eventually leads to a slow crumbling and disintegration of human energy, potential, ideas, time, and values.

We need to move on all sorts of levels.  Physically, it keeps us healthy and fit.  We use it as an emotional outlet and as a way to relieve stress or frustration.  Emotionally, we need to move and change emotions, experiencing all of them.  Although no one yearns to feel sad or angry, these emotions help us to truly appreciate happiness and joy.  We also need those emotions so that we can empathize with others and help to lift others out of hard times. Mentally and Intellecutally, we need to focus and concentrate on an array of subjects in order to understand everything in a bigger picture.  Change is good. Change is healthy. Change is ESSENTIAL in order to thrive!

CoEXISTdance needs some changes. I am scared of them!

Of course, this is a problem I am honestly thrilled to have. The thing is, CoEXIST has achieved all of the realistic goals I could clearly foresee.  We have a great, consistent team working as the structure of the company. We have established relationships with several organizations allowing us to collaborate: The American Cancer Society, Aid for Friends, The Philadelphia School District, The Red Cross, and The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. We have and are continuing to do outreach performances, fundraisers, and community service events. We are on our way to non-profit status (!) and we are maintaining and creating artistically fulfilling and challenging dance repertoire.  So now I find myself at a speed bump in the road - where to next?  Where is CoEXISTdance going from here? We need to MOVE and we need to move in a direction that is forward.  If we remain the same, I fear that we will slip backwards.

Being a leader has pushed me to be much more courageous and confident than I ever expected. I need to advocate, represent, and invest 100% of myself into CoEXISTdance if I want anyone else to! Now I need to articulate and confront the upcoming changes for CoEXISTdance and embrace them.

Cheers to changes and to always MOVING on so many different levels in life :)

Kathleen

Balance. Collaborate.

Balance.  Collaborate.  Push & pull, give & take.  These are characteristics of a dance company that I did not understand I valued so highly…until I joined coEXIST.  From other experiences I have learned that professional dance companies are demanding on schedules, mental energy, physical commitment, and loyalty.  In coEXIST I learned that a company can also request that you’re committed artistically and genuinely.  In accepting the position of company member, I also signed myself up for a new family and support system, somewhere I felt comfortable enough to allow my creative juices to flow.  My ideas and contributions became important and heard.  I began to grow in my dancing and in my real person life.  The company’s dedication to the community has been especially rewarding.  It’s a 2for1 deal: community&company!  We all challenge each another in a multitude of different ways, and I think that’s what makes us so magnifique. 

From being here I’ve solidified my own life’s philosophies and the more specific role I’d like dance to play in my life.  I want dance to be energizing, enlivening, enlightening for everyone.  I do wish to continue dancing professionally, wearing costumes and hairspray and lipstick and getting butterflies.  When I am dancing I get a feeling that could never be put into words.  On an equal level, though, I want others to have their own experiences with movement, finding those indescribable feelings in a personalized way.  But that’s why I want to become a dance therapist, eh?  And from engaging in the community with coEXIST through performance, workshops, intensives, eating lunch, I can be sure that I’ll do whatever it takes to get there.

But I know somewhere along the past something-over-a-year, I’ve also helped coEXIST to grow.  And that’s what I mean by my opening words.  We support and challenge each other, shining beacons in darkness and pushing forward.

Whitney