August 12th was a night to remember at the Manhattan Movement & Arts Center! After 35 Years of motion with Adams Company Dance, I had to pull some strings to bring together what was truly worth celebrating. It was only this past June that I decided to commit to making it happen, however. Cray, cray! It was in my inimitable “Jiffy-Mix” style that I went to work, adding water, stirring all the ingredients, and just like that… a full, curated evening of movement, film, and storytelling magically happened.
With 12 highly talented cast members and a vault of new ideas, I navigated a tad through June, all the month of July, and the first week of August, creating 5 premieres. In addition, I had films to gather, and a duet from my rep to polish, not to mention all the administrative/promo work, that quite honestly warranted 5 staff members to handle. I had a great new helper on board with me, though — Pat Achilles, who diligently worked on my program. A graphic artist extraordinaire, she went to work with my bits and pieces of info as it came in, and cranked out drafts at every turn, allowing me to see what I had in the process. Who does that? She was indispensable!
I powered through my rehearsals, and little by little things started to take shape. I loved working with these artists! They were such an ambitious group with a deep devotion to the work. Though I had many obstacles to work through, and very little time to overcome, somehow the stars aligned, and an elegant, distinguished, poetic unfolding of storytelling took place on one hot stage, on one hot night in August. This unforgettable night filled my heart with so much joy! Thanks to Joel Stephen, my videographer, and Cathryn Lundgren, my former photographer who stepped in last minute to shoot my tech rehearsal, I have the night copied. After 35 Years of mixing up motion, this concert was the perfect recipe to add to ACD’s history books! I applaud all of the artists, and bow to their exquisite performances!
Cast of Adams Company Dance: 35 Years in Motion