Performances & Events

Upcoming Performances

Past Performances

The Lavender Scare

In Lavender Scare, Artistic Director Zack Betty & Creative Director Nick Neagle will tap into their choreographic skills, to explore the eponymous period in our nation’s history, The Lavender Scare, when a moral hysteria broke out and Gay people were outed and fired, & paved the way for the beginnings of the gay rights movement. Dance is a vehicle to explore difficult subjects and tell truths that reveal as much about our current condition as the past storyline. Save the date and don’t miss this important work of art.

theatre KAPOW: On The Exhale

When a senseless act of violence changes her life forever, a liberal college professor finds herself inexplicably drawn to the very weapon used to perpetrate the crime–and to the irresistible feeling of power that comes from holding life and death in her hands. Peering down the barrel of a uniquely American crisis, she begins to suspect that when it comes to gun violence, we’re all part of the problem. This is the New Hampshire premiere of Martín Zimmerman’s gripping play, which draws you into the white-hot center of our country’s most urgent debate.

NSquared Dance: A Continuation of Love

A Continuation of Love extends the Valentine’s Day theme into the weekend. Join NSquared Dance as they dive into the many levels and spirals of love through dance. Featuring catered food, drinks, silent auction, and incredible dancing within numerous vignettes, this fundraiser performance will provide the audience with a meaningful glimpse into the capabilities of NSquared Dance.

Pop Up Art Show + Dance Performance: Chapel of the Black Trumpets

Location: Deerfield, New Hampshire
Date: 10/14/2023

During the 30-minute performance by NH Dance Collaborative in conjunction with Joan Brodsky, dancers donned Hannah’s wearable art, rendering the wearer both adorned and inhibited. Dancers negotiated their movement with awareness of the fragility of the jewelry and of the connections that hold it in place. The conundrum of being a woman in a historical context and in our times was brought to bear in this movement study.

Embodiment & Emotions

Through the lens of contemporary concert dance, NSquared Dance creators Nick and Zackery Betty-Neagle produce two new works for their fall season. The show begins by interconnecting the embodiment of the elements; Earth, Air, Fire, & Water through a human rights lens. This synergetic pairing embraces a new portrayal of the fundamental elements. An 80’s music love rock will debut embracing emotions with classic 80’s tunes as the script! Embrace the world and stories NSquared Dance creates

The Shire

In this performance, NSquared Dance performed excerpts of The Shire, a bioregional exploration of New Hampshire’s distinct regions through the lens of contemporary dance. With the iconic Maxfield Parish backdrop, this bucolic New Hampshire theater provided a fitting backdrop for the ‘snapshots’ of the ever evolving, yet deeply rooted aspects, of our state. A conversation with Artistic Directors Zack Betty followed the performance.

Are You Okay

A dance/ theater piece in Hip Hop/street style dance created by Anthony Bounphakhom

Location: The Rex Theater, Manchester, New Hampshire
Date: 12/7/2022

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.

Excerpts and Investigation: Are You Okay

Location: The Factory on Willow in Manchester, NH
Date: 11/17/2022

This event was created in order to preview the performance of Are You Okay 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 Najee Brown, Artistic Director of Theater for the People, who asked creator Anthony Bounphakhom compelling questions which provided context and an explanation to the audience.

The Shire

While many contemporary dances often delve into somewhat esoteric and philosophical themes, The Shire is a sharp departure from that model. Choreographer Zackery Betty 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.

Excerpts and Investigation: The Shire

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.

Birdie

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.

The Dysfunction of Social Practice

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 embodied the humor, awkwardness and tenderness of those experiences.

The Spark

Dance and music play point and counter point in this collaborative ‘in the moment’ performance

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.

Watch our After Concert Discussion Video.