IT'S ALMOST SHOWTIME! 

So we asked Megan...

In CoEXIST, how do you prepare for a performance?

anytime I perform, it's important to me to have a small work out that day, in order to warm up, and I often find myself needing some quiet time.

coexist is unique in that the performance space varies a lot. so does the stage, or lack thereof, and the type of dancing, so I like to see and be in the space for a while and consider how the piece fills in.

Don't miss out tonight! The show starts at 7pm and we want to see you there!! www.coexist.com!!

We asked Sean...

What are you most nervous about in preparing for the show?

Making sure that I have all the movement down and correct. And not messing up the choreographer's image of each piece.

Better make sure it's ready, Sean! Tomorrow is finally the show and we can't wait! Get your tickets and more at coexistdance.com!

We asked Kelsey...

What do you like about performing with CoEXIST?

I enjoy performing with CoEXIST because I feel like I can be myself on stage with the other company members. I don't think nerves are a big factor in my performance. If anything, it helps.

Come see Kelsey and the rest of the CoEXIST members perform! Visit http://www.coexistdance.com/ for info about tickets!

We asked Lauren...

How has your experience as a company member evolved since joining?

In terms of experience as a company member and how I go about conducting myself in rehearsal and performances, I don't actually feel as if anything has changed for me. I feel equally committed, invested, and inspired by the people and art surrounding me. 

Since joining in January 2012, many things in the company have changed: rehearsal space, company members, company rep, expansion to different styles, and the addition of a junior company. In that sense, I feel an evolution adjusting to bigger spaces and readjusting to smaller performance spaces, opening up to more dance genres to help evolve my versatility as a dancer and being able to work with the younger junior company members and just being a role model to them as a member of a professional company. 

I feel the same way about CoEXIST as I always have but the changes that have along with the company have shaped and added more into life as a dancer and person.

We asked Whitney...

As a dancer, what do you do to ensure you are fully embodying the choreographer's intent?

I take the information the choreographer provides, 

then try to empathize with the character or concept, like actors do. 

I blend my own experiences with the choreographer's shared experiences

and play with the execution. 

After that, the director's ongoing criticism is most valuable 

to provide immediate feedback on ways to alter my performance 

so that it is as fully and accurately embodied as possible.

We asked Sean...

Are there moments where you feel dis    conne     cte     d from the material in "Dream Baby Dream"? How do you cope with that?

I feel disconnected from the material 

when the movement style is new and not totally in my body. 

I cope with it with 

practice 

and trying to look like the choreographer. 

I just keep going over the movement in my head 

and focus on myself and 

the relationship between the other dancers. 

We asked Antoinette...

about "Dream Baby Dream"...

How do you

"make this piece your own" 

while maintaining your 

assigned role 

in the dance?

I make the piece my own by just  

focusing 

on what I bring to the piece individually. Its ultimately Katie's vision but 

without the company it would stay just a vision.

Just knowing that always gives me a 

sense of purpose 

and importance in the company with the director and my fellow company members!

What was she thinking?!: Inside the mind of Artistic Director/Choreographer Kathleen Glynn

As we prepare for CoEXIST Celebrates 5, Artistic Director and choreographer Kathleen Glynn takes the time to give audiences insight into "Dream Baby Dream", the newest addition to CoEXIST’s repertoire.  We hope this conversation provides a fresh perspective on the viewing of the piece when it debuts at the show on Monday, June 23, 2014 @ Act II Playhouse in Ambler! Tickets available here!

Tell me about the piece.

The name of the piece is "Dream Baby Dream". I committed to the name during towards the end of the choreographic process. It is named after the song I chose for the piece, which is off the latest Bruce Springsteen album. 

What is this piece about?

As the process continued and as I searched for music - I realized "Dream Baby Dream" was perfect for this piece. This piece is where I would like to stop and look around as I approach the 5 year mark with CoEXIST. It illustrates the struggles, relationships, beauty, creativity, ideas, failures, successes, craziness, and brilliance that have brought CoEXISTdance to this point, to this dream. The choreography and movement also reflect that - some of my evident choreographic tricks will debut, some new manipulations will take the stage, and everything in between. As a director and as a choreographer, I am proud of what our 5 year mark reflects. I am proud of this piece :) 

Where did you find inspiration for "Dream Baby Dream"?

This piece was so weird for me because I had NO IDEA what it was about when I started. Normally, I am inspired or distraught about something and I use that as fuel to dance. This time, I wanted to create movement first. I fell in love with the phrase I created and realized afterwards it would look beautiful if I pulled it apart and stitched it back together throughout other phrases of movement.

Were there changes between your original vision/choreography and what was set on the dancers?

Actually, not really! I wanted this piece to be a combination of scattered and organized chaos and those breathtaking "ah" moments” - moments of purity I call them. I like to think I have created both [types of] moments; the dancers do a lot of work in duets and trios and then come together to perform very fluid, specific choreography together. 

Once you see your dancers embody a movement phrase, does that change the way you move forward in your process? How does that inform the next decisions you make as choreographer?

This question is intimidating. I think my answer is sometimes. There have been a few occasions where I change my mind once I see the dancers own the choreography. For example, with "Blackbird", I was adamant about the dancers figuring out how to be birdlike. I asked them to watch birds in their everyday life journeys. Megan did this so well I think she is more bird than she is human! With "Dream Baby Dream" I knew I wanted a sequence of broken-up duets and trios, tied together with group unison, and then repeated with different groupings of duets and trios, brought back together with more unison. The only thing I really considered when assigning the duets/trios was challenging dancers to work with other dancers they have not worked very closely with before. 

When do you know it is finished?

Honestly, are we ever done editing and tweeking?

Does this piece overlap in any way with other pieces in the CoEXIST repertoire?

If I had to choose a piece, I would say this piece is [most similar] to "Beacon" (except without the flashlights). They are similar in the way that multiple things are happening on the stage at once, and then everyone unites with a common sense of time, space, movement, or all three. I love creating that feeling. 

Do you appreciate audiences integrating their own subjective experiences of the piece to make meaning of it?

Absolutely! We make art for each other; it is meant to be shared. We do not create things to hide them. This piece has turned into something very specific for me - my journey as a director and as an artist - but I always love hearing how others interpreted a piece. I hope everyone is touched by this piece in some way or another, there is no wrong answer. 

Relay for Life

Relay for Life 

was a great success: community, dancing, fighting for a great cause...it couldn't have been any better!  And with many of us having personal ties to battling cancer, the event was close to our hearts.

Here's a little taste of what happened Friday, May 30.  Enjoy!

Though we changed rehearsal to the afternoon, many of us had places to be in the morning, whether running errands, dancing in a Flash Mob, or getting our cars fixed. As always, coffee is a good kick-start, which gave us energy as we came together for rehearsal later..

 Katie and Kelsey arrived first, who had a meeting while we trickled in with excited energy and warmed up.

Then we rehearsed! We ran all the pieces for later that night.  There were some confusions about counts and movements, but we always find a way to communicate and work through our conflicts, whether with the dance or with each other. So we danced and danced..

...and took a couple breaks along the way. 

The more we dance with our newest member, Sean, the more we love him. Look at him workin' hard! 

With all that hard work, our bodies needed refueled, so to Applebee's we went! The salads were great, the service was not, and the company was divine. 

Then...finally...after months of preparation...Relay for Life! After getting ready at Katie's house, we walked to Amosland Park to set up our table. To support Relay and do a little fundraising of our own, we held a raffle for 4 different themed baskets: beach, lottery, fitness, and (of course) dance! We also sold Yankee candles earlier this year. Thanks to all who supported!

We lounged in the beautiful grass and soaked up the sun. We got a little silly at times, too.

Together we walked laps and made new friends.

Here are the Professionals together! This was after an inspirational speech by a survivor during the opening ceremony. It's always so touching to watch survivors, fighters, and caregivers make a lap around the field with the support of everyone else cheering them on from the inside of the track.

 And what a way to end... Antoinette may not have gotten to eat ice cream from the truck like she wanted, but she DID get to meet and walk around with Santa.

Well, we didn't quite end on that note. After all the fun and games in the park, we got serious and performed six CoEXIST pieces between the Jr. and Professional companies. We were reminded of the beauty in bringing together community and dance. Everyone was there for the same reason: to support the end of cancer, and it was touching to be there supporting the same cause with others, supporting each other.  This is what CoEXIST and what life is really about, and I think I can speak for everyone involved with CoEXIST when I say how proud I am to be part of such a strong group of of artists and humans.