Water is life sustaining. It is precious, beautiful, powerful and fragile. This dance is a prayer for humanity to be present, and to draw on spirituality in respecting and protecting our natural world.
- Dorothy
Premiere Date: 7 May 2017
Stepping Out - Music: M'EnVoyer Des Fleurs, Artist: Sandrine Kiberlain
A fun French piece done in high heels to a song about indulging oneself. Women stepping out for the night... The Eiffel Tower may be their starting point under a full moon... Femininity at its peak. That's how I envision being in Paris... someday!
Un souvenir
A memory spoken in French of the dancer's personal experience while visiting France as a student.
lament - Music: Quelqu'un M'a Dit, Artist: Carla Bruni
A lamenting woman dreaming that in a "passing instant she is still loved"
-Paulina
Premiere Date: 15 May 2015
“Reverie" is a danced daydream/ love song inspired by many happy and romantic moments in Paris with my husband. Balletic in style, the choreography provides a challenge to the more modern dance trained members of Encore. I sometimes refer to it as "Elaine’s Revenge”... a bit of schmaltz that I love dancing!
- Elaine
Premiere Date: 15 May 2015
This piece, affectionately referred to as “Sponges” for the first year of its creation, evolved out of a discussion with a friend who commented that people were like sponges. “People need to be careful what they put out into the world” ... because we will soak up what comes back down on us. During this conversation, I immediately had images of dancers throwing sponges into the air, and trying to avoid being hit by them as they fell back down to the ground.
Encore dancers were given sponges to hold and use during improvisational rehearsals, and again after choreography was set. Initially, I had planned for the dancers to use, and to wear the sponges as part of their costumes. That plan was altered as the piece developed, as the movement evolved, reflecting the initial discussion of people being like sponges.
The dancers are sending good upwards/outwards, grabbing the good, washing it over themselves, swirling it around their worlds, and avoiding the bad. Upward palms are representative of being open to accepting good things.
~Patricia
Premiere Date: 15 May 2015
When I started putting this piece together, a number of images came to mind. As a young bride to be, I remembered how special I felt, and how in love I was. Not only was I in love with my fiancé, I was also in love with the process of being engaged and planning a wedding. I was in love with love!
I have been married for over 20 years now. I have a caring, supportive husband who is my best friend. But, sometimes, as I look back over the years, I realize that I have made sacrifices for the relationship and the marriage. And I believe that many women make those sacrifices, some more than others. And so I asked myself - How much do we fight for our needs, for ourselves and who we are, and what WE want out of life, and how much do we just let go of for the sake of the relationship, the marriage, and later, for our children.
My artist friend, Mary, had made a wedding dress out of dollar bills, and one out of green combat material, for an art exhibit. They were both beautiful and intriguing – the combat material wedding gown even had a bouquet of bullets that Mary made as an accessory. I loved it! I knew that I wanted to use it in a dance piece, and Mary was agreeable to it.
I started to think about these ideas, and the dress, and wondered if it was possible to combine them into a dance piece. I found the music I wanted to use, and realized I wanted to add some humor due to the seriousness of the subject matter, which is how the 4 brides dancing to Nat King Cole’s L-O-V-E came to be. I decided to use real wedding gowns and veils as costumes, to assure it would be as authentic as possible.
Finally, I decided to call it “Underneath”, because of the many layers of emotion and thought that make us who we are as women, and as human beings. We are complicated.
- Christine
Premiere Date: 7 April 2013
I think about all the things we do, every day, every week, year after year, to keep up with life and all of our responsibilities. I think about how we worry, and pray, and become anxious, and nervous, and all the stress, paperwork, filing, forms and phone calls, and wonder if any of this really matters. As time marches on, and as we approach the end of our lives, these things have less and less meaning. What matters most are the people and things that elevate us, love us, help us, and protect us.
The lyrics in the second half of the piece I found to be especially touching, and the music is sad and haunting. It reminded me of a dear friend who was diagnosed with depression, and the daily challenges she faced with stress and anxiousness as well. I think there is a little of that in each of us. I decided I wanted to explore the specific lyrics, as they have negative aspects, and positive ones as well. I contacted my artist friend Mary, who agreed to be part of the piece, and create performance art as the dancers moved on stage. As the piece progressed, it made sense that the dancers participate in this process as well.
Sometimes I follow my emotions, rather than directing the process, and this piece was more the former. It was only at the end of the choreographic process that it revealed itself to me, and I was able to see the intention and meaning of the piece.
Although difficult at times, I believe it would be best for all of us to let go of some of those incessant, stressful, and negative aspects of our lives that take up so much of our time, day in and day out. That is, of course, easier said than done. And although we all go through difficult times, I pray the positive aspects of life prevail. For all.
And as for my dear friend, she is feeling less anxious about all those worrisome, and yet mundane, activities that we all face day in and day out. The negatives are finding their proper place, and the positives are becoming more prominent. She is getting better.
- Christine
Premiere Date: 15 May 2015
Have you ever had a really difficult, challenging time in your life, or watched a friend go through an especially difficult time? And when you (or your friend), found your way through it, and finally got to the other side, you could look back at that difficult time. And what you saw was this:
You saw that there were people all along the way that helped you through it. There were family members, friends, and strangers, people that did not even realize that you were going through a difficult time, but they said something meaningful to you at just the right time, in just the right way. It made a difference and helped you through. They tossed you a lifeline, and helped you on your life’s path.
This piece, entitled “Lifeline”, is about that journey.
- Christine
Premiere Date: 25 January 2015