A Farewell to Season 7
What a beautiful season we had, and we are sad to see it go! We are just feeling lucky for what's ahead and looking forward to a wonderful Season 8!!
Personally, one of the biggest things I'll miss is dancing with our amazing Kim Davis (pictured front & center). Kim is moving back to Virginia for awhile and pursuing commercial dance endeavors and I could not be more proud of her. Like I've said before, we are a giant dance family here at SCDT and over the past four seasons of dancing with Kim, we've all become so close to her. We predict each other's jokes, laugh our faces off in rehearsal and on tour, enjoy being around one another, and can practically read Kia's mind at this point. To my partner-in-crime, we love you and you will be so missed. I'll forever remember all of our amazing times together!!
Aside from that, Season 7 was surely one to save in the books! From traveling to Colombia, another home season show at the Auditorium Theatre, SIX world premieres, and even a Chicago Opera Theatre collaboration - we are tired but THANKFUL!
In just a few short months, I'll be back giving you the low down on all things Season 8 and I promise you, it's something to get REALLY excited about. Big news ahead...but for now THANK YOU for following us along our Season 7 journey. We love dancing and sharing our journey with you!!
Signing off for the season,
Kelly Anderson
Our first Spring to Dance STL!
Our amazing 30-hours in St. Louis! Yes, I said it...30 hours!
Why go there and head straight back on a quick tour? Because it was our first ever Spring to Dance in St. Louis! Each year, St. Louis hosts this festival and features a weekend of amazing performances that the dance community SHOWS UP for. We were lucky and honored to be a part of this years' show! We were able to bring our recent world premiere, "Under the Skin" choreographed by Tsai Hsi Hung. This is quick to become one of our favorite pieces to perform and such a crowd pleaser. The quick-paced movement along with the intensity and dramatic score makes it a piece unlike any other on a program.
Aside from the dancing itself, which went so well, we love traveling as a group. It bonds us together, makes us closer, and helps us to enjoy each other's company outside of rehearsal! A lot of people have asked me "do you all get along?" answer - YES! Kia might even say too well! We are all friends, we love and care for one another, and we make tour a whole lot of fun. The best part of this tour was that both Jack and Trey (company members) are from the St. Louis area! Their families came to the show and Jack's family even hosted an 'after party' for all of us dancers at his family's home. It was so wonderful and such a fun way for us to continue to hang out.
So would we do it again? In a heartbeat. I love nothing more than dancing with and being around the people of SCDT. Bring on next years' tours! We can't wait!
Guest Class with Kelsey Paschich
Back in rehearsal and back to the grind! After a week off after the April 27th show at the Auditorium Theatre, we got right back to it! For the next three weeks, we are in residency at the Dance Center at Colombia College. It's inspiring and a nice change of pace to be in a new space!
In addition to being in a new space, we had the privilege of working with a new guest teacher, Kelsey Paschich, this past Tuesday. Kelsey is a professor of Dance at Western Michigan University - my personal alma mater! Kelsey is a certified teacher of counter technique which is such a beneficial way of movement for us at SCDT!
A lot of our repertoire is hard-hitting, athletic, and powerful. Countertechnique allows us to tap into our bodies in a deeper way, investigating how we can make more space in our bones, reach further, and use our energy in a more efficient way. It was a beautiful morning of class with Kelsey as she really focused with us and what we needed as a company. She's seen both of our shows and how much energy we give to dance and she challenged us to calm down, be soft, and explore our breath and lightness.
Personally, I'm looking forward to more classes with Kelsey in the future. It was so helpful and refreshing to take her class. We love having guest teachers at SCDT and Kelsey was no exception!
The Show has Come & Gone!
This week is a case for celebration and for rest and recovery! We are so pleased to say that our season 7 home season show "New Horizons" was performed on Saturday, April 27 with so much joy and love!
We felt the support from the audience during and after the show. So many people showed up - loved ones, friends, the Chicago dance community, and supporters near & far - and let me tell you, WE APPRECIATE YOU! In all seriousness, we couldn't do it without the support of all of you.
Post-show, all of us gathered for a beautiful after party thrown by Kia. The room was filled with smiles, laughs, and our favorite people. What a night for dance! Our home season repertoire this year was nothing short of athletic, powerful, and intense. We pushed each other on the sides of the stage and yelled out encouraging cheers to one another in passing. We needed that extra push from one another to make it through and give all the energy we did on stage.
What's next you may ask? A week of rest, away from rehearsal. We celebrated the success and now we take some time to recover before returning to rehearsal a week from now.
Thank you for everything, SCDT supporters. We love you and we are so thankful for your attendance at our show!
Until next year - May 3 at the Auditorium Theatre once again :)
My Show Week Essentials
It's SHOW WEEK and I love nothing more than the thrill of being on stage! This Saturday, April 27, 2024 you can catch us at the Auditorium Theatre in downtown Chicago at 7:30pm with SIX brand new commissions!! With all of the hustle and bustle that is leading up to show week, I thought I'd take you through some of my essential things I do or take every single day while leading up to the show to keep me healthy and ready to go. Everyone is different and has their own routine or favorites, but here are my top 10...
1.Packing food ahead of time and making sure my meals are nutritious and packed with tons of protein! For me and my body, protein keeps me feeling strong and alert!
2. Vitamins - at the start of each day! I take a vitamin blend each morning that keeps my immune system alive and keeps me well!
3. Meditation! Just this year, I started using an app on my phone that takes me through short, breath-centered meditations. It keeps me calm during the chaos of show week!
4. TONS of water and electrolytes! I make sure to keep hydrated and replace all that I sweat out during rehearsal.
5. Ice packs at the end of the rehearsal day to reduce inflammation or swelling from a long rehearsal day.
6. Massage tools, lacrosse balls, foam rollers, etc. Almost all of us dancers have some slew of recovery tools to roll-out or massage our tight muscles. We work hard in rehearsal and need to recover well!
7. Okay, no shame, spray deodorant. We work hard and sweat hard as well. I never leave without my spray deodorant in my bag to replenish and stay fresh throughout the day!
8. Biofreeze. Ever heard of it? It's like icy hot's bigger and better best friend. It's professional strength and helps my body aches and pains ease themselves away.
9. My personal favorite - chapstick (specifically Carmex!). I can never leave the house without it and dancing with chapped lips is the worst feeling for some reason!
10. Layers upon layers of clothes to stay warm. Yes, dancers sweat a lot, but we also cool off INSANELY fast. We like to keep our bodies warm and ready to go especially when we have long days. Many of us bring 2 layers of pants and tops as to keep the heat inside of our bodies so we can remain active and warm!
And there it is, my list of necessities. If you ever find yourself on a show week, now you know what to bring along! We more than hope we will see you this Saturday, it's going to be a show to remember!
Behind the Scenes: Photoshoot
You may have seen dancers post photos on various social media sites and wondered what that's all about! Well, today I'm here to break it down for you, let you know why we have a photoshoot, how it all happens, and all the in between. To give you the information in the simplest way I know possible, we are breaking it down grade-school style...
WHO?
All of the company members going into the next season are involved in a photoshoot. Trey Alexander, our resident costume designer, decides what outfits we wear based on what Kia Smith, our Executive Artistic Director, wants the vision of the photoshoot to be. Kia is present the entire time helping us dancers pose while Michelle Reid, our amazing photographer, captures the magic on camera!
WHAT?
A photoshoot, of course! Kia's vision (usually a color scheme or mood for the upcoming season) is brought to life through photographs of us dancers!
WHERE?
Michelle brings her backgrounds wherever we need to go. We've done photoshoot shoots at her studio before, but this one in particular we needed more space for so we did it at Links Hall!
WHEN?
Typically, we have a photoshoot prior to the announcement of the next season so as to have photos ready to go! We've also done them leading up to a performance or a big show that requires lots of advertisement!
WHY?
To advertise and showcase our company's talent! Photographs capture who is on the company, their strengths and abilities, and are one of the more exciting ways to get the word out there. When posting on social media or announcing where we will be on tour, Kia generally uses our photoshoot captures to make the post or announcement more eye-catching! In addition, when we perform somewhere, they need our photographs for program covers, ads, announcements, posters, etc.
HOW?
All of us dancers get together for a 4-5 hour day in which we warm-up, stretch, and take dance photos with Michelle! Some people may have to repeat a certain jump or leg extension over and over again until Michelle gets the perfect shot at the perfect angle with our most perfect dance technique! In other scenarios, we might improvise or dance however we would like in front of the camera so that Michelle can receive some "in motion" shots!
So, if you didn't know yet...now you know! That's the break down of a day at a photoshoot and how it all happens! We can't wait for you to see our new photographs!!
April 27: Auditorium Theatre
Hopping on today to highly suggest for you to mark your calendars for April 27 at 7:30pm! Do you know where you should be? At the historic Auditorium Theatre of course! It's our Season 7 home season show and we want to see as many of you there as we possibly can!
If you want a glimpse of exactly what you'll be seeing, scroll back through the blogs and feel free to read up on any of the 6 choreographic processes we've been through this season to get us to this point. We are so excited to be back for a second year at the Aud.
Unlike last year (the debut of our evening-length work, "Memoirs of Jazz in Alley"), we will be debuting six separate pieces by six separate choreographers. We have works by Donald Byrd, Joshua Blake Carter, Monique Haley, Tsai Hsi Hung, Terry Marling, and our own Executive Artistic Director, Kia S. Smith.
If you're looking forward to a night packed with high-energy dancing, you know where to be. Tickets are now available online at AuditoriumTheatre.org! All of us cannot wait to share with you the pieces we've been working so deeply on since October.
Exciting updates, more rehearsal deep dives, and of course all things behind the scenes to come on the blog as we continue to prepare for this spectacular show. Please don't miss it!!
Why Rest is Important
As our full group moves into a restful Spring Break for the next week, you may be wondering: as professionals, why do we take a Spring Break?
There are many reasons as dancers that we need and our bodies crave rest. We have a big show coming up at the end of April, and taking adequate rest now will help us to be at our peak performance for the Auditorium Theatre. To answer your questions, though, I provide you with the following information on the benefits of rest!
- Rest time = Recovery time. For all professional athletes, rest is sacred. Professional athletes in sports such as soccer, football, basketball, baseball, etc. have a whole season of rest. Even when they aren't in their "off-season", teams in the United States have BYE weeks in which they don't have games. Being at your peak performance in practice, rehearsal, and then games/performances all of the time is physically exhausting. Without enough rest, athletes are driven to burnout and would not be capable of doing what they do best!
- Cross-train and build muscle. Just like a professional athlete, us professional dancers cross-train. Each of us prefers something different, but when we are outside the studio we might run, lift weights, cardio or HIIT-train, or even do pilates or yoga to keep up our strength and endurance. A week off allows us to do more of these activities to support our movement as dancers, but it also allows us to rest our muscles to allow them to build up. Muscle builds during rest time, ironically!
- To see family, friends, and maintain mental health. As dancers, we spend so much of our time in studio and also working other jobs. Kia prioritizes our mental well-being alongside our physical well-being and a week off allows many of us to see family and friends. Having good mental health allows us to be our best within the studio! Tons of us have family from out-of-state that we do not get to see often. This spring break season allows us to travel to them and enjoy time together!
- Coming back better than ever! I find that each time after a break, I return to the space excited to see my co-workers, excited to work on the pieces we have in our repertoire, and ready to work harder than ever. It's always my hope that a week break allows us to rest and recover and then push towards our communal goal of putting together the best show we possibly can!
We will see you after our well-deserved break! Until then, enjoy the sunshine wherever you are :)
Monique Haley Residency
This past week was a special one - we had long-time Chicago dancer Monique Haley in to re-stage and add more choreography to a piece that has been in our repertoire since season 3!
Personally, this week was extra special for a few reasons. One being that "Soul Power" was the first piece of repertoire I ever learned on the company. After auditioning, joining the company, and showing up to my first day of rehearsal in 2020, we learned Monique's piece to perform at a fall concert. It was my first performance with South Chicago Dance Theatre and who could've guessed this is where we would be 4 years later!
Secondly, Monique Haley was my professor at my alma mater, Western Michigan University. Monique was my first technique teacher for jazz while at WMU, I was involved in her thesis project for her Masters in Dance, and I had the privilege of working closely with her throughout my time at WMU. To be back in the studio working with her again was an extra special treat. It felt like home and was a reminder of how small and special the dance community is.
Monique's piece, "Soul Power", is all about spiritual and communal connection. Eye contact is extra important in the work as is the connection we have to the space and ourselves spiritually. Whatever that means for each of us was encouraged to come out in this work. It's such a beautiful experience to perform as the movement itself is high energy, athletic, and tiring, but the feeling of the piece gives an overwhelming sense of calm. Monique's process was the same - she brought amazing energy to our space, but spoke beautiful and encouraging words to us that brought us peace and community.
We are so thankful to have closed out our year of residencies with Monique. She made all of us feel special and valued in the space and made a gorgeous piece that we cannot wait to show audiences on April 27, 2024 at the Auditorium Theatre! We will see you there!!
JBC Residency: Week 1
We are done with our first week of residency with Joshua Blake Carter! Former Chicagoan, JBC was a part of the Chicago Dance Community for years before recently assuming his new role with Dance Kaleidoscope in Indianapolis. We are SO excited to welcome him back to the Windy City and have thoroughly all enjoyed being a part of his process.
This one is really special because it is, in fact, all 16 of us dancers involved with South Chicago Dance Theatre on stage. JBC was commissioned to make our grand finale for the Season 7 show. He's done a brilliant job in doing so as, though the piece is not finished yet, it is one of the most high-energy, fast, stimulating, and (I'll say it...) exhausting pieces we've done!
Josh came in with music, a plan, and got right to work on Monday. The piece has three section and by today (Friday), we have moved on to start section 3. Truly, JBC has been the best to work with. He's so incredibly kind and patient and fits in with our company's spunk and energy. He has a zest for spatial reasoning in dance, utilizing spacing and transitions to weave together beautiful passings and a gorgeous accumulation of energy! The piece builds and I'm sure will keep viewers locked in. What I have most admired about Josh in his process is how patient he is with his thoughts. He works quickly while still taking his time and not judging the movement as he sets it. I've never worked with a choreography who is more calm and lacks any sense of pressure while creating a piece. Of course, it's a stressful thing to have to do, but Josh has approached it with such collected energy that it makes the environment feel so welcoming and peaceful.
So far, I'm incredibly proud to be a part of this process and I can't wait to see what this piece grows to be. It's got me on my toes, moving quickly, and feeling all sorts of happiness to be dancing on stage with 15 of my favorite people!