Projects
Past, Present, and Future!
"This Dance Means Something" / "Intuitive Orbit"/ "Surge" / "Weight of a Nation"
"This Dance Means Something"
Choreography:
Libby Bullinger
Original Cast Dance Artists:
Amanda Edmunds
Meredith Price
Odessa Rain
Samantha Rosenberg
In progress showing:
aMaSSiT 2023
Sunday, April 30th 2023
Dance Complex, Cambridge MA
Premiere:
Salem Arts Festival
Sunday, June 4th 2023
Old Town Hall, Salem MA
2024 Restage:
Hannah Brown
Libby Bullinger
Samantha Rosenberg
at
Expanding Community Boston 2024
Saturday, February 3rd 2024
Mass Motion, Brighton MA
ABOUT THE PIECE
Loss, reconciliation, trust, fear, resent, acceptance; these words convey a spectrum of emotions that we may feel in our lives. This Dance Means Something is an abstract assemblage of such feelings that present in pockets of life. The movement score calls for both individual discovery and interdependence in a reflection on the multitude of circumstances we each go through, sometimes simultaneously.
There is no concrete storyline or singular event depicted in the work. Instead, the choreography invites the artists and audience to discover their interpretations, some which may change overtime, and find the individual meaning of the “something” being explored.
This Dance Means Something was presented as a work in process during the aMaSSiT (Make it, Share it, Show it Choreography Lab) 2023 cohort pitch sessions and was made possible by the program’s collaborators, Monkeyhouse and the Dance Complex. The full piece was officially premiered at the Salem Arts Festival, and later restaged as a trio for Expanding Community in 2024. Music for this piece is Angus MacRae’s “Through Shadows.” This piece marks the first time Libby had a title for a piece before creating it, since naming work is usually one of her least favorite (and most last minute) aspects of production!
"Intuitive Orbit"
interconnected circular expression.
Choreography:
Libby Bullinger
Dance Artists:
Jami Cunningham
Amanda Edmunds
Simon Montalvo
Tiff Paris
Meredith Price
Premiere:
OnStage 360°
Saturday July 29, 2023
Arts at the Armory, Somerville MA
Photos from OnStage 360° by Zoe Smith
ABOUT THE PIECE
Intuitive Orbit is a structured improvisation piece that allows the dancers to make real time creative decisions. This piece is inherently built to provide onlookers an opportunity to see chance connections and authentic interactions among the artists. Due to the improvisational nature of Intuitive Orbit, the piece takes a different course each time it is rehearsed or performed.
Libby and the cast of Intuitive Orbit at OnStage 360°
This piece was created for OnStage 360°, a performance setting that places audience members in a circle around the dancers. The spatial organization of this viewing experience creates an internal feeling among the artists. Instead of dancing in a performative manner, they are able to center in on the circular nature of their space and react to other dancers in the space. Sebastian Plano’s “Soul II (Elan)” provides an ambient sound score that builds in intensity as the dance artists explore their movement patterns and relationships within the given phrase vocabulary.
"Surge"
Photo by Haley Abram Photography
Choreography:
Libby Bullinger
Dance Artists:
Jami Cunningham
Margaret Falcone
Meredith Price
Odessa Rain
Samantha Rosenberg
Premiere:
NACHMO Boston
Friday March 3rd 2023
The Foundry, Cambridge MA
ABOUT THE PIECE
Surge, created for the NACHMO January challenge, originally came from the inspiration of the new year, the feelings around momentum and pushing in one direction. A group of humans all striving for achievement, either for a collective goal or individual ones. The resulting energy is impactful, but in various ways. What are the implications of such energies?
For Libby, that initial inspiration brought images of constant movement in a certain and defined direction. The spatial mapping of Surge places the artists on a diagonal path that is revisited throughout the piece with varying intentions.
The piece premiered at NACHMO Boston on March 3rd, 2023. Dmitry Evgrafov's score from the album "Collage" guides the movement through a diverse range of qualities and interactions.
Photos by Moody's Point Photography
About NACHMO:
"NACHMO (National Choreography Month) is an annual challenge that spurs dancers, choreographers, and movement enthusiasts to choreograph by providing a month-long deadline and a community of peers."
There are many local hubs around the nation and internationally, and some hold on-site performances for pieces created during the month challenge.
"Weight of a Nation"
ABOUT THE PIECE
Weight of a Nation is the first piece officially produced by Dance LAB Creative. Set to music by Danny Mulhern, the contemporary duet is loosely based on the relationship between weight within the body and within space.
At the Dance for World Community festival
presented by José Mateo Ballet Theatre.
September 2022 Cambridge, MA
As a guest performance in DISSENT presented by
Nozama Dance Collective.
December 2022 Boston, MA
"Weight of a Nation" has been performed publically at two events:
Photos by Elise Miwa courtesy of Nozama Dance Collective
