Excerpts and Investigation of The Shire – a dance/ theater piece in Hip Hop/street style dance created by Anthony Bounphakhom
Location: The Factory on Willow in Manchester, NH
Date: 9/14/2022
This event was created in order to preview the performance of The Shire in an intimate environment where the audience was situated on the same level and just feet away from the dancers. The dance portion was kept to 20-30 minutes so as to whet the appetite for more. It was moderated by Matt Cahoon, Artistic Director of theater KAPOW who asked dance maker Zackary Beatty and the NSquared dancers compelling questions which provided context and an explanation to the audience.
Because dance can baffle the general audience, Excerpts and Investigation was designed to provide a learning experience for the viewer and also to provide them an opportunity to ask their own questions. Dance creates waves of energy. The audience was able to hear footfalls and breathing and witness the hard, physical work involved in this craft. The goal of New Hampshire Dance Collaborative was to better prepare the audience for the full performance on the proscenium stage a week later.