New Dance Works to Premiere in Greater Philadelphia Region and Florence, Italy
After the success of last year’s work, Conversations, which included a tour in Toronto, Canada, the dancers of MM2 Modern Dance Company have been in the studio creating an entirely new body of work for the 2013 season. THREE is a collection of short stories, if you will, with dances that are no more than three minutes in length. The structure of the dance company is such that there is no single choreographer; rather each dancer is charged with setting work on their fellow company members. THREE poses the challenge of fulfilling a concise vision by creating a carefully orchestrated piece in a brief and fixed amount of time.
A total of eighteen new dance pieces have been developed by the nine company members. The subject of these pieces is as diverse as the company members, covering such themes as cycles of life, finding balance, mental health, selfless love, strength and even a personal journey to a most surreal world.
Dancer and choreographer, Jenna Faye Eugenides, who has been with the company for four years, goes on to elaborate about the choreographic process – “The feeling behind a piece needs to show through, but you don’t really have the luxury of time to set up or elaborate on any specific part. I think it’s actually helped us to create some very rich pieces with much greater depth, because we’ve weeded out all the unnecessary movement and really brought the work down to the heart of what is trying to be said.”
The company, funded with grants from both private and corporate foundations already has a busy schedule booked for the year, including performances at Grounds For Sculpture, Solow Festival, James A. Michener Art Museum, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts , Philadelphia Fringe Festival and a tour for ten days in July in Florence, Italy.
While company members are paid for their art, the various non-profit venues selected receive a completely donated performance to offer to their membership as well as to new audiences and the public. This innovative business model and collaborative effort has been fertile ground for both MM2 Dance as well as the organizations who have presented them. Artistic Director, Steven Weisz is quick to add, “It serves the greater good, utilizing shared resources to broaden our audiences and to provide quality, cost effective programming.”
MM2 Modern Dance Company continues to expand its programming as an incubator, providing support, space and opportunities for new emerging dance artists who wish to explore the choreographic process, while cultivating and introducing new works to new audiences.
This season’s dancers/choreographers for THREE are: Jessica Bryan, Katelyn Capato, Jenna Faye Eugenides, Heather Fleischman, Angela Frezzo, Kaylee Goodwin, Jennifer Laucella, Brianne Scott and Matthew Varvar.