Oct 12, 2009
Well, yes, we have already started. It seems amazing that we are now heading into the fourth week of classes, and I am just instigating our Blog. So much has happened for Orchesis already this quarter, and I must say we have a wonderful company and are well on our way.
The officers: Kathleen Helm, President; Jessica Thoma, Vice President; Alexandra Thomsen Wolfe, Treasurer; Meghan Hudson and Megan Butala, Publicity, are more mature, self motivated, and creative than I could have ever imagined. These are inspiring business women, creative professionals, and also charming young ladies. All of them have set the tone and generated the enthusiasm needed to create not only what looks like it will be a great performance, but also a very enriching process along the way.
The company of 26 was selected from about 60 dancers who auditioned for Orchesis this year. Each of the company members has something unique to offer, and I look forward to learning more about them and watching them grow. The student choreographers presented some strikingly mature choreographic proposals, and the content of the dances promises to be provocative and deeply explored. Rehearsals are finally underway and I cannot wait to see what transpires.
The dancers have been nothing short of professional in class and activities so far. Some of the younger, newer members are clearly being taken under the gentle caring wings of previous members. All seem extremely committed to excellence. What else would they be other than excellent?
Any creative process is not without risk, and we have plenty of that happening this year. We will collaborate on our Finale this year for the first time, rather than having the dance set and learned. This finale dance will hopefully contain a little bit of everyone; it will have movement from each dancer and each teacher that we experience along the way.
Our trip this year was again to San Francisco and included wonderful classes at the San Francisco Dance Center. It was great to have classical dance techniques fused with contemporary urban styles. Even the old lady – me, Diana – provided the students with some fodder for laughter as I put my 44 year old butt into Hip Hop class with Dexandro also known as “D.” I am so glad Michelle Walter, our Assistant Director was with us for the trip this year. The Bill T. Jones Performance we saw was an amazing Multi Media Dance Theatre experience. The performers were stunning, and the creativity and technological elements blended flawlessly to create a very compelling evening.
We are still breathless from the trip, and have sore muscles to remind us we are back in action. We are at work, it is now time to dig the soil and sow the seeds. We’ll let you know how it grows.
