Video Gallery
The Shire
April 2023
Sponsored by New Hampshire Dance Collaborative (NHDC) and presented by New Hampshire Humanities, The Shire took place on Friday, April 21 at the Lebanon Opera House. Created by Zackery Betty, co-founder of NSquared Dance Company in Manchester, The Shire is a bioregional exploration of the state of New Hampshire through the lenses of location, economics, historical references, agriculture, nature, and the region’s culture.
Are You Okay
December 2022
This performance asked the pertinent question of our tumultuous time: Are you okay? In a noisy, hyper connected world in which a pandemic, political tensions at home, and geopolitical tensions abroad have created existential angst, our mental health has been strained to the breaking point. Bounphakhom’s performance portrayed this angst through the lives of several recognizable, archetypical characters. Threaded throughout the narrative, the central theme is accepting the dark side of one’s inner weather in order to find healing.
The Shire
October 2022
While many contemporary dances often delve into somewhat esoteric and philosophical themes, The Shire is a sharp departure from that model. Choreographer Zackary Beatty traveled through the state of New Hampshire and took his physical cues uniquely from a sense of place. New Hampshire is diverse in almost all ways, and our regional differences reveal cultural, geographical and environmental elements that set each region apart. The Shire pulls all of this information together into a one powerful, mysterious and joyful dance while also capturing the essence of region.
The Dysfunction of Social Practice
December 2021
Curated by partners Karina Kelley and Bill Stelling, “The Dysfunction of Social Practice” features the art of Zackary DeWitt, Emmett Donlon, Rosemary Mack, Heather Morgan and Meghan Samson. As artists in particular and people in people general come back to gathering as we once did, what scars remain and how do we rebound? Dancers Kelly Diamond, Alyssa Desruisseaux, Anthony Bounphakhom and Sallie Werst will embody the humor, awkwardness and tenderness of those experiences.
Birdie
December 2021
Conceived of and choreographed by Lorraine Chapman, Birdie honors the story of Alberta Kirkpatrick, the last orphan accepted by the Canterbury Shakers. In collaboration with Canterbury Shaker Village’s archivist, Renee Fox, Lorraine not only researched Kirkpatrick’s personal story while at The Village but also, the Canterbury Shaker’s unique tradition of creating theater productions that they “the Entertainments”. Birdie combines dance, song and acting, using first person letters that Kirkpatrick wrote to her father during her stay. He struggled to find employment in a changing landscape of growing industrialization and placed her permanently with The Shakers.
Hidden In Plain Sight
June 2021
Based upon interviews with three, imaginative and visionary leaders in the state, Paul LeBlanc, President of SNHU. Dean Kaman, Inventor and Founder of FIRST and Howard Brodsky, CEO of CCA Global Parters, the film by John Hession, captures through text and dance, the essential role that creativity plays in business growth and survival. Carey and Matt Cahoon, Artistic Directors of theater KAPOW, and Amanda Whitworth, New Hampshire State Artist Laureate, have created a performance using 20 of New Hampshire’s most diverse and skilled performing artists to bring this story to life.
The Spark
June 2021
What triggers that divine spark between artists that gives birth to the creative process? That’s what Artistic Director Lorraine Chapman and musician Elissa Margolin set out to discover as they were inspired while sharing bits of original music and short videos of improvisational dance. Joined by bassist Nate Therrien and dancers Emily Jerant Hendrickson, Jen Passios and Jacob Regan, the group responded to each other’s musical and dance offerings to illustrate through song and dance, The Spark.
Can’t Quite Fathom
May 2020
New Hampshire Dance Collaborative brought a film by John Hession of three separate solos. Dancers responded to the shock, uncertainty and finally the hope and challenge created by the pandemic. The video was filmed in the historic North Shop at Canterbury Shaker Village.
That’s How the Light Shines In
May 2020
New Hampshire Dance Collaborative brought a film by John Hession of three separate solos. Dancers responded to the shock, uncertainty and finally the hope and challenge created by the pandemic. The video was filmed in the historic North Shop at Canterbury Shaker Village
The Unexpected Dance Bash
December 2019
At CCA’s annual Christmas Party, NHDC tasked dancers to act and dress as waitstaff until actor Carey Cahoon of theater Kapow used tailored quotes to bring the dancers from service into performance mode. The resulting improvisational dances augmented by spoken word, illustrated the many characteristics of the Cooperative model of interdependence, support, individuality and solidarity.
The Nefarious Gaze
March 2019
Deb Disston, Director of SNHU’s McIninch Gallery invited NHDC to bring a dance interpretation to her exhibit by Didier Williams called The Nefarious Gaze. William’s work was propelled into being when he learned about the acquittal of George Zimmerman on all charges, in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. Hession created a video of Mwano’s dance response to original his original, electronic score which ran in a nearby auditorium to the gallery. Meanwhile, small groups of attendees witnessed Mwano’s powerful performance in the intimate gallery space. Providing a live dance performance within the exhibit gave a visceral voice to William’s work. Adding the extra layer of viewing the exhibit and dance through the lens of videography allowed for an even deeper dimension of the collaboration to penetrate.
Village Rising Celebration / Zealous Laborers
August 2018
NHDC commissioned a second version of The Zealous Laborers to be performed in the iconic Meeting House. A collaboration between David Parker of The Bang Group and Lorraine Chapman of LCTC, the performance added elements of the “what if” musings about Shaker life and relationship.
A Beautiful Mess
May 2018
Kelley/Stelling Gallery mounted an ambitious installation by Boston artist Sarah Brent Myers. New Hampshire Artist Laureate, Amanda Whitworth collaborated with Myers on integrating dance into the installation entitled A Beautiful Mess. Whitworth created three vignettes in which with wit, tenderness and imagination, she brought to life the stages of integrating motherhood amidst Myer’s powerful backdrop.
The Clumsy’s
February 2018
Kelley/Stellling gallery hosted a pop up show of New Hampshire Furniture Master’s work. In a surprise visit, dance artists Lauren Allen and Max Auger entered as clumsy guests and, in three separate performances, slowly evolved into dancers to the delight of the audience.
It’s All Gorgeous
NHDC crafted a full collaborative project by including Linda Pagani in the planning as well as videographer John Hession and dancer/choreographer and State Artist Laureate, Amanda Whitworth. Elissa Margolin, musician and composer, approached NHDC in search of a dancer for a dance video of her new tune, Gorgeous. She suggested the location of 3S ArtSpace in Portsmouth who was exhibiting an installation, entitled female woven landscape, by Linda Pagani.
Fusion
Can the movement and energy of dance embody the form and stability of finely crafted furniture? Does the physicality of individual masters show up in the distinct style and aesthetic of the furniture that they create? Can dancers help to answer these questions? Amanda Whitworth, Zackery Beatty, Nick Neagle and Janelle Abbott Staly have taken on a unique challenge and opportunity in doing just that.
Keep Up With NHDC