Thank goodness I don't have to wear a skirt!

As the artistic director of The Dance COLEctive I think it is so important for me to be active as a performer having to engage with others in their creative process and to work in this way with my peers.  As Margi Cole the dancer, I crave the opportunity to be inside of a work with others, discovering new creative juices, to be questioned, to be challenged and to experience the fear and joy of performing in someone else's work. Work that I am not producing but that I have the simple pleasure of participating in. Normally, I bring someone to us or me, to work with under the umbrella of TDC.  As the company has gotten older these opportunities have been fewer. But you never know what can happen from a random casual conversation about someone's upcoming project, sharing admiration for their work and the simple inquiry of when auditions are being held.  (Yes, that really happened!)

I have been so lucky to have been working with choreographer Peter Carpenter for the last several months.  He has put together a pretty cool quartet comprised if himself (Welcome to the gunshow!), Lisa Gonzales (whose beauty and generosity as a person spills into the studio and her artistry) and Matthew McMunn (poor Matthew...Having once been one of my students he has had to endure all my teasing but, he has more then earned my respect as a dance partner, collaborator and artist) and little ole me.  Pete's process has been rich with fun, discovery, SPARKS of curiosity, sheer physicality, and lots of heavy breathing.  I am happy to report that I have lines to remember, gained some new skills with a fancy tape dispenser, have bodies to move through space, a sassy costume to wear designed by Jeff Hancock and an enormous amount of gratitude for this opportunity.

You can see a teaser here.  Go ahead... Click on it!

Pete is sharing the bill with Same Planet Different World October 10-12 at the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago.  Pete is a sophisticated and thoughtful dancemaker and I am so proud to be part of this work!  I hope you will be able to come to the show. 

Submitted by TDC Artistic Director Margi Cole on October 2, 2013.

Dancing backwards...

Musings from the Artistic Director

It is September.  Summer is coming to a close and The Dance COLEctive is about to embark on the beginnings of it's 18th season...  What????? 

Where does the time go?  I mean that about 18 years worth of TDC as well as summer.  Generally I spend the bulk of my summer teaching here and there and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to do so in various different places this summer!  Cincinnati, OH; Birmingham and Gadsden, AL; Springfield, IL; our own workshop here in Chicago and, a major highlight, at the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC.  I have also been a "dancer" much of the summer in the studio with choreographer Peter Carpenter and fellow dancers Lisa Gonzales and Matthew McMunn.  This has been joyous for me mentally, spiritually and artistically.  I can't wait to perform in October at the Dance Center.  Admittedly I had a giant to do list and I did not get to all of it!  Costumes to organize, things to file, grants to write, Linked In pages to update and the list goes on.  Cleaning my office will just have to wait another day...

One of my big challenges generally is creating personal time for myself without feeling guilty about it while the things on my to do list go unchecked.  I did manage to spend a little time with family and friends. Went to the beach in Florida. Completed my Advanced Open Water Dive Certification and ended up seeing sharks in the process.  (No joke!)  I appreciated the beauty and water of Lake Michigan by boat.  Read all the Hunger Games books.  Celebrated an important birthday with a dear friend, welcomed new babies into the world and have been mourning the loss of a friend and mentor Dr. Woodie T. White who served on the TDC board for many years.  I have been in a whirlwind. 

I guess I am sharing all this with you because summer is generally, dare I say it, a time for ME.  It allows me to reflect, replenish, nourish, challenge, be a student, be a teacher and remind myself that I am simply human.  NOT super human, which is what I would like to be!  And everything I do for ME enables ME to gather my forces and jump headlong into yet another season, the 18th season of The Dance COLEctive!  I am excited about the artists I am working with, eager to get back into the studio, open to change, to experimentation and looking forward while I am dancing backwards.

Submitted by TDC Artistic Director Margi Cole, Monday, September 3, 2013.