Happy March!! Spring is upon us and the beautiful weather is out (hopefully to stay)! As a company, we’ve completed our Black History Month show, shared it with schools in the area, and taught master classes to school-aged children. It was a whirlwind of a month. So now, you may be wondering, what are we up to moving forward?

As dancers, we never stop working. The idea of a true “break” is almost unheard of. Even in our weeks off, us dancers take open dance classes at local professional dance studios or participate in cross-training to keep our bodies active. You know what they say – a body in motion stays in motion! Yes, rest days are crucial to our recovery, but we can’t seem to stay away from the dance studio for too long. Not only does our body miss it, but it truly is our therapy! Emotionally, mentally, and physically we need to keep dancing.

Starting our first week in March, we amped up our training. We took our normal company classes as well as some extra Pilates training to condition our bodies. Kia returned from her choreographic residency in Madison, Wisconsin and we got to celebrate both her and Shannon’s birthday! (See the picture below for their fun gift!!!) In addition, we began the choreographic process for Kia’s new evening length project that will premiere in June. 

The creative process – if you remember from a previous blog post – requires investigation, experimentation, setting choreography, setting formations, playing with different music attached to different movement, etc. At the very beginning of the process, Kia has had us working with props, working with text, incorporating our own thoughts into her choreographic ideas, and of course – testing out some new phrases of movement. I don’t want to reveal too much, but know that you as an audience are in store for one of the most creative and innovative shows I have been in in awhile. Kia is going all out and it is such an exciting process to be a part of. Stay tuned and check out our social media (@southchicagodancetheatre) for more sneak peeks along the way!

We never stop moving and grooving and we can’t wait to finish Season 4 with a bang. Yes, the show isn’t until June, but it’s the work you don’t see that makes a show what it is. We are working hard now to produce a show that will WOW you later!