The beginning of every year brings expectation and excitement with it. As a freelance artist, I am always excited about new projects, the adventure, and the growth that will come from them.
Last year, Cristina Bellia, a very dear friend, colleague, and artistic director of the Libellula Dance Company in Portugal, contacted me to create a short piece for the company. After a couple of phone calls and Emails it was set, I was to come to Portugal in March of 2023 and create a short piece in one week. It was very fast and easy to choose the theme, the music, and the length of the piece. As the date approached, I started creating the choreography in my imagination because it turned out that even though I was going to be in Portugal for one week, I was just going to have 6 hours for the creation process and two additional hours for 'cleaning'.
I am a very fast choreographer, however, this was the first time I was going to create a piece with such little time and with dancers I hadn't previously met. So I had a double task: to do the choreography and edit the music, and to get to know the dancers in order to highlight each and every one of their personalities in the piece.
Long story short, it was incredible! The dancers were so motivated, from the first until the last minute I had with them. Cristina, the artistic director of the company, supported me every step of the way. When I left I knew I was leaving my work in very capable hands (and bodies ;) ). The piece has been presented in various venues and settings in Portugal. And as always we have big plans for our future joint work so stay tuned!
For more impressions about Libellula Dance Company go here: https://www.instagram.com/libelluladancecompany/
The Game, with music from Daniel Willams, performed by Libellula Dance Company