Summing up Spring
Posted by: MADCO on: April 19, 2010
Hello again!
Last I left off MADCO was in full swing with ‘Books in Motion’. After another successful round of programs and performances, we headed back in the studio to finish cleaning up ‘MADCO in Concert’, our spring season show at the Touhill Performing Arts Center.
It was fabulous! MADCO had a great turn-out and sold out Saturday night! That’s right! Sold out the theatre! We were quite excited. Live theatre events always have a flucuating audience, sometimes sparse and sometimes jam packed. We were pleased that people came out to see us perform after a lot of hard work.
We also were reviewed in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch with highlights mentioned about Lindsay Hawkins’ piece ‘Little Voices’ and our revised setting of 13×13, originally from our 60×60 performance in the fall. It was a really great March.
After a short break (well deserved of course), we got back into the studio for a couple new ventures including rehearsal for Spring to Dance in May and a performance inspired by human and nature for the United Methodist Women’s Conference.
We are still working hard on getting those shows ready but in the meantime, there were/are more residencys and school programs. Today we performed at Kirkwood High School after first teaching a master class. Lindsay taught a modern/jazz warm-up followed by a jazz combination by Jennifer to music from ‘Fame’. The kids seemed to really enjoy it and hopefully we will be able to make this a yearly event.
Stretching before Kirkwood master class
Lindsay leads the dancers through a stretch sequence
MADCO dancers working with Kirkwood students
Up next:
Come see us at the Old Post Office Plaza in Downtown St. Louis, May 7, 5:30 p.m. – We will be performing works from our spring concert. Did I mention it’s FREE?
- Keli
Company Member
Busy Bees
Posted by: MADCO on: January 27, 2010
Hello again! It’s spring at MADCO which means Books in Motion, Books in Motion, Books in Motion!
Last week the company started the first school of 2010, Conway School in Ladue. Claire, Kari Ann and I have been working with the 5th graders on creating their own production of The Invention of Hugo Cabret. So far, so good! The kids are very excited and have A LOT of great ideas.
It’s always fun to go to a school where the kids really take the project and make it their own. Out of nowhere today one of my students in the ‘Magic’ group did a big roll downstage and whipped out some flowers from his sleeve. It was hilarious and way better than anything I had planned. Plus, no one could even tell he had the flowers in his sleeve; it was a complete surprise. It really made his part more exciting and further emphasized the idea of tricks and illusions.
Some of the other company members just started Ladue Middle School. They have a slew of kids. Unlike our group of about 75, Ladue has almost 300 kids! It will be really cool to see the difference between the two schools and I wish the company members well in working with such big groups. I am sure it will be rewarding…but definitely challenging.
In the meantime, MADCO is still working on our spring concert. It’s March 19-20 at the Touhill Performing Arts Center. Expect to see a lot of variety including some premieres as well as a couple old rep pieces that we missed. And of course as always, expect a little MADCO humor along side some more serious, intense dancing. For tickets visit touhill.org.
We also just had a photo shoot with our booking agent, Debbie Corson of Arts Core Productions. Make sure to check our our website and Facebook page soon for new pictures!
And last but not least, congrats to company member Monica Alunday for landing one of the new Weissman’s Dancewear model positions! She will be shooting a TV commerical for the company as well as modeling leotards for their catalogs. Congrats Monica!
- Keli
Company Member
Visual Additions
Posted by: MADCO on: November 16, 2009
After all this text, I thought it would be nice to post up a few pictures to back-up what we have been doing this season!
Pics from our Books in Motion residencies in October, 60 by 60 in November and even a pic of the ladies in before Cecil’s piece last weekend!
-
- Just got our berets for our Books in Motion residencies. Lights, cameras, action!
-
- Group shot during one of Todd’s pieces at 60 by 60.
-
- All the company members before 60 by 60
-
- Jumping during one of Jason’s pieces
Keli
Company Member
Madco thus far is a wonderful journey.
Posted by: MADCO on: November 14, 2009
I am very pleased to say that I am a new member of Modern American Dance Company. They offer a lot of different opportunities and experiences to help their company members grow artistically, physically, educationally, among others. I feel that my growth as a person has been ten fold and am thankful for the opportunites yet to come. Also, I am extremely excited that Stacy West asked me to help a team of company members create a new program about Body Language and Character Education called “Body Talk”. So far, It has been very rewarding and I have been able to use my teaching degree even though I have decided that dance is my true calling. Tonight, we just finished a performance at the Lee Theater as guest artists in the University of Missouri-St. Louis dance performance. Even though we have performed this piece before in a previous show, I feel that I continue to find new adventures with in the work. It is quite a difficult and challenging work and am thankful to have had the opportunity to work with such a talented choreographer such as Cecil Slaughter. I am eager to find out what the future holds for me with MADCo and can’t wait to get started. If you are looking for a great performance, I suggest you come check us out. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Company Member: Vance Baldwin
I’ll try to sum everything thus far the best I can
Posted by: MADCO on: November 14, 2009
In the rare occasion that I found some free time I thought I would come back and add to the blog and fill in what has happened since the last post. Keli had informed you all of our show that went amazing and we had a very good turn out and feed back from the audience about the show and the way the show went. I for one also enjoyed the show a ton and hope to do another one similar in nature just because the atmosphere was so different from anything that I had done before.
After the show was completed we moved on to the next task at hand which was starting the program Books In Motion for the season. We kicked it off by starting at two elementary schools this time, Keysor Elementary and Rohan Woods Elementary. This year the book of choice was The Invention Of Hugo Cabret. The book is a very exciting and easy read for many ages. With having over 150 illustrations in the book it makes it that much more exciting to read cruising the border of a picture book and straight literature. The story keeps children involved by following a young boy through his adventures and misfortunes while trying to live on his own after his Uncle disappears one day. Im not going to tell you the whole story because I want you to read it for yourself. The book is definitely one to get all kids involved and get their brains moving on a pure adventure ride. With the book being so exciting it comes hand in hand with the program that we hold with the kids. The buzz from the children just walking into the school was one to be a part of. The kids were so excited to get started and it made it that much easier for us to dig in and really shape the kids into a great production.
On top of all this excitement the author of the book came to visit us and the children and to also participate in the annual Big Read festival in Clayton, MO. He did a book signing, read from the book, gave a little background information on the creative process, then sat down to enjoy the work that the kids and our company worked very hard to put together. All in all the show went amazing and Mr. Celznick (the author) was overjoyed to have taken a part in our program and for us to use his book. Some of the members also got the rare experience to speak with and really get to meet Brian and talk with him outside of the work environment.
Now to the next thing….We recently just started another adventure which is learning all of the next material. I wont go into too much yet, but from what I can tell is going to be a “whirlwind” of choreography…..HAHA Sorry that was a little personal joke seeing as though the piece we are working on is called Private Storms. Anywho I wont give you anymore bad jokes. I hope to stay more involved in the blogs and keep it more current from now on. Until next time.
Company Member
Jason Flodder
Performances make what we do worth it.
Posted by: MADCO on: September 1, 2009
Ever since MADCO started this season, rehearsals have been an absolute whirlwind. Already in the first month we have participated in a flash mob performance for a corporate sales event, worked with four guest choreographers and began a wellness program that involves group training sessions to help keep our bodies in shape. Everything has happened so fast and we are barely into the season.
With all this stuff going on, I think it is safe to say my emotions have been a bit high…I have been feeling very nervous about remembering all the choreography and MADCO dancing well as a group. As with any job, you always want to improve, but when things are flying at you from left and right, you really have to stay focused and in the game. Then comes in the physical part; all of our bodies are starting to get a bit mad at us. Shoulders, backs, knees…every dancer has some sort of ache or pain. However, as professionals it is our job to keep pushing through. We must deal with all the mental and physical stuff together to help create a great final product. It’s a lot to think about…
Today it really hit me that from here on out comes the fun part: performances! It makes all the hard work completely worth it. Performances are the highlights of our day to day work.
In two weeks we will be performing ‘Music and Moves’ in a flat floor configuration. This is one of my favorite ways to perform because the audience gets to walk around while we dance, sip a cocktail and then talk to other patrons about the show. It’s very interactive and takes dance out of a traditional setting. My first year at MADCO we did a performance with a similar concept, ‘Club MAD’ and it was probably one of the coolest shows I have danced in of my professional career.
We are all feeling the pressure to dance great, but things are starting to really come together and I can feel the energy getting more and more excited and positive as the shows get closer and closer! I truly hope you will attend and experience the excitement with us.
Keli
Company Member
July 29, 2009
Posted by: MADCO on: July 29, 2009
So we just finished with the first choreographer, Rob Scoggins. The experience was definitely one of the most fun pieces I have ever been involved in. Having never worked with Rob I didnt really know what to expect, but of course being part of the dance community, you always hear about works by the choreographers. From the minute we got in the studio I knew it was going to be an interesting ride to get into Rob’s mind and really deliver what he wanted when he introduced the idea by saying he was reading an Elizbethan fantasy novel and couldn’t get it out of his head. We quickly got into the piece and our characters and flew through the choreography in a matter of a week and had a basic skeleton for what the piece was going to be. I am very excited to see where the piece will continue to go through many more rehearsals and runs until the show. I can most certainly say this will be a piece that I will remember performing many years from know. So thank you Rob Scoggins for your “unique” persona and quirky personality. “Charmed” 
Jason Flodder Company Member
7/7/09
Posted by: MADCO on: July 7, 2009
It’s week four of St. Louis Artworks and our group is still choreographing. The apprentices began working on the ‘toy’ section of The Invention of Hugo Cabret on Monday, making phrases relating to toy soldiers, rag dolls, puppets, and even Barbies. They are pretty entertaining. I especially enjoy the all-male group of toy soldiers where the phrase starts percussive and precise and then moves into a freestyle step phrase with one boy even throwing in a back handspring mid-combo! It comes out of nowhere and is really exciting!
Along with the ‘toy’ section we have finished up two other sections. If we can just finish up the last section and get the apprentices silent films taped we will be in business…which is good because our first performance is next week!
Come see the apprentices:
July 15 – University City Library @ 2:30 p.m., 6701 Delmar Blvd.
July 21 – Old Post Office Plaza @ 12:30 p.m., 9th & Locust, Downtown
July 22 - Schlafly Branch Library @ 1:30 p.m., 225 N. Euclid Avenue
July 23 – Commerce Bank Education Center, 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., 4651 Shaw Blvd.
All performances are free, open to the public and last about 25 minutes. Donations are accepted and put towards further funding for St. Louis Artworks.
Thanks,
Keli Hermes
Company Member
St. Louis ArtWorks Visit
Posted by: MADCO on: June 23, 2009
I visited St. Louis ArtWorks today to see the dance apprentices hard at work. Wow. What great energy from both the MADCO teachers and the St. Louis ArtWorks Apprentices. Next week is their first informal showing of the stuff they are working on. I’m sure these enthusiastic students are coming up with some great ideas for choreography of their own. As a teacher, one of the things I have enjoyed most in my career is to see the creative process from young people who don’t have very much experience in dance. Sometimes, I think they are more creative than professionals who have taken all the required college composition classes. I believe when we know the “rules” of choreography we are bound by making sure we use levels, vary our time, and use a variety of spacial patterns, etc. Often flat out creativity is lost or perhaps there is more fear about movement invention when you have taken a lot of technique classes. Because the ArtWorks Apprentices are young, new to the art form and not bound by all the rules they know, I think I’m going to see some wonderfully unique stuff from them! I can’t wait.
Stacy West
MADCO Executive and Artistic Director
6/21/09
Posted by: MADCO on: June 23, 2009
6/21/09
Whew, am I tired! Lindsay, Sandy and I have been working all week at the St. Louis ArtWorks summer program. Teenagers 14-19 years old are hired for six weeks to learn an art discipline, the business of being an artist and other life skills helpful in the workplace. It is such a unique experience for the apprentices, plus they get a paycheck! I think they would agree with me…it’s better than flipping burgers!
As employers of the dance discipline, we are using the MADCO ‘Books in Motion’ educational program as our base. By the end of the six weeks the apprentices will make a 20-25 minute performance based on the Caldicott winning book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. The book covers early silent film making, automaton, and magic and has a slew of pictures to help the teens visually connect to the story. But in order to make a performance, the teens need to learn to dance!
Lindsay has been teaching the apprentices basic modern and ballet class. They have been really responsive considering some have never danced before. One girl is a basketball player and has been taking her ‘new moves’ to her personal trainer. He told me that she has been talking non-stop about Artworks and how excited she is to dance.
I taught basic jazz class this week. I really wanted to get the teens moving so we made it light and fun. I was so excited when the apprentices mastered a combination involving pivots, chasses, and 3-step turns. It was no beginner combo. I used a couple songs recognizable from the radio and that helped some of the shy ones get a little gutsier.
Sandy has been helping with improvisation and choreography. In the afternoon, the apprentices learn tools for choreography and make phrases, partner and get their mind in the creative mood. A lot of times they have been basing these exercises off of bits and pieces of the book. The apprentices have already begun making phrases for our final performance.
Week one was a success and I can’t wait to see what we have in store for us!
- Keli Hermes
Company Member
