Professional Dance: The Balancing Act

Photo By Eric Olson

Since I moved back to Chicago in 2006, I have consistently danced with two or more companies at the same time. Over the course of a season or an overlapping project the juggling act ebbs and flows between being adequately balanced and completely exhausting.

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that rehearsing for two companies within a single day is very hard to manage. The level of energy and focus required for two separate 4-hour rehearsal periods is simply too much for me. I never want dancing to feel like a job, and when I am so tired I start to resent having to move through space, I know it’s time to reevaluate my commitments. Now I try to make sure that my rehearsals are each on separate days of the week, and that gives me the space I need to recharge and remain present throughout each company’s rehearsal process.

Though the performance schedules of the companies I’ve danced for are often spread throughout the year, November 16th may prove to be very interesting. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Chicago Dancemakers Forum (CDF), I will be performing with The Dance COLEctive, Ayako Kato/Art Union Human Scape, and Khecari at the Museum of Contemporary Art, all within a 1.5 hour window. Quick changes, here I come!

The company is very excited about participating in the Chicago Dancemakers Forum Break Out! Celebrating ten years of supporting new work by Chicago dancemakers on Nov 16, 2013!


Submitted by TDC dancer Maggie Koller, Thursday, September 26, 2013.

The Impact of 8 Seasons on the Choreographic Process

Photo by Eric Olson

By now, I have a pretty clear sense of Margi’s aesthetic. There are certain movements, points of initiation, or ways of making contact that I know will likely be edited out or eventually given “salt and pepper” to ensure they fit the Margi Style. Being aware of these nuances is useful because while I am given (almost) full creative license when generating material, I am able to impose boundaries on the movement I develop in this initial phase of the process. Also when working collaboratively with other dancers, the choices I make (and often lead the team effort toward) are informed by what I’ve learned from Margi over the years, both from her direct requests and feedback, as well as through my own observation of her vision for movement and interaction.

After all this time, I’m still pretty excited by Margi’s way of working. I think it’s because though similar in underlying structure, the actual process she engages us in changes with each new work, and it continues to present a challenge. I’m always excited to start a new piece. The idea itself is unfamiliar. The way I react to the source material (for example, a word list to build movement from) is fresh and hopefully untried. And Margi is consistently adding layers to her process. Whether it is the use of text, time constraints on the choreographic exercises, limitations in space, the inclusion of improvisation, or anything else, Margi’s decision to push the way she works has kept the experience of dance making enlivening, even after eight seasons. 

Submitted by TDC dancer Maggie Koller, Sunday, September 15, 2013

Words From the Dancers on Performing at The Pritzker

In 2010 I interned with The American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina. My
 job was to assist in documenting the different dance companies and speakers that
came to the festival. I had the opportunity to meet Artistic Directors Monica Bill Barnes
and Martha Clarke; assist in filming Pilobolus, RUBBERBANDance Group, and Paul
Taylor, among others. From my experience during the internship, I learned that every person has a role, both on stage and off. At the time, I did not know where I wanted my focus to be. However, after seeing a variety of companies perform on small stages to large theaters, by the end of the festival I knew that I wanted to perform. When I got back to Chicago, The Chicago Dance Festival was taking place on The Pritzker Stage in Millennium Park. I had just witnessed amazing dance in North Carolina and returned to amazing dance in Chicago. It was towards the end of the summer, I was sitting on the great lawn and the Joffrey Ballet was performing. Suddenly, questions started plaguing me: "Who picks what the viewer sees? What does it mean to dance here verses there? How does it feel to perform in this space over a different space?" I asked these questions to a few of my fellow TDC dancers as we took to the Pritzker Stage this past weekend for FlySpace. 

Photo by William Frederking

"I was in college at the time and had only performed on The Dance Center stage and a few small venues around the city. Having this opportunity this past weekend to perform on the same stage that critically acclaimed musicians, dance companies and other forms of art/entertainment have touched is inspiring and intimidating. The Pritzker Stage is a beautiful space and I am excited that the viewer not only gets to see the work up close but also gets to experience being a part of the space. During most shows, the viewer is on the outside, often far away. For the FlySpace programs, audience members have the opportunity to see the tiny details, view the city's southern skyline, take in the woodwork, hear the dancers breathe, and feel the energy of the works and the space."~Julie Boruff

"Performing on the Pritzker Stage is an experience like no other. There are so many
unique aspects of the space that make every gesture feel monumental. Seats on the
stage and in the loft force intimacy with the audience, yet at the same time the vast
backdrop of the pavilion creates a landscape and a tremendous sense of depth
behind the work. You are aware of the inside and outside at the same time, which
offers a very different experience, both as a performer and an audience member,
than that of a dark, enclosed black box theater. I am truly excited to have the
opportunity to dance on this stage, and I am proud to participate in this important,
initial undertaking of the FlySpace strategic partnership."~Maggie Koller


"FlySpace provides a broad platform for Chicago artists, further extending an
additional outlet to our community. Combining our voices and enhancing our
audience’s awareness will hopefully generate a wider interest in our individual
crafts. This is a great opportunity geared towards seeing the modern dance scene
boom. I’m glad that TDC is apart of this involvement. I’ve watched multiple acclaimed dance companies prance across the Pritzker Stage over the past 5 years and I always imagined how amazing it would be to do the same. I never thought I’d get the opportunity, ever. I can’t even fathom how alluring the theater is and how truly amazing the ability to step onto the stage, let alone dance my heart out. I’m honored to perform in such a beautiful space and to be sharing the structure with another dance company who idolizes it just the same. I keep taking everything in, making sure I see something new every time I perform –especially looking out the windows and beyond the buildings. Excited!"~Katie Petrunich


"Performing on the Pritzker Stage feels like such a privilege. The space is
unbelievably beautiful. The high ceilings, vast, open space with a large glass wall
overlooking the city is unlike any other space I have ever performed in. Although the
space seems large, using it as a dance venue turns it into a very intimate space. The
audience sits on the same level as the dancers as if they are part of the performance
themselves. After a certain time at night, you begin to see reflections of the dancers
in the glass, as well as shadows dancing around the entire space, adding layers to
the performance. It is a really exciting experience to have the honor to dance in this 
space!"~Molly Kirkpatrick

Submitted by TDC Apprentice Julie Boruff on Tuesday, April 16, 2013.   

In celebration of TDC’s 17th season!

This March, we celebrated TDC’s birthday – 17 seasons! That’s a nice run and TDC continues to grow. Margi’s set of skills go beyond choreography, she knows the ins and outs of running a business. She’s a grant writer, budget maker, deadline queen, collaborator, director, teacher, coordinator of all; the list never ends.

In celebration of TDC’s 17th season, I’ve gathered some quotes from past and present dancers regarding their experience with Margi and the dancers, and people who are involved in the dance community who are aware of Margi’s work and methods, and how she’s impacted Chicago’s dance community.

Working with Margi Cole is refreshing! She is the consummate professional and I think her general "equality vibe" infiltrates the organization. It is clear that she is the director but at no point did I feel inferior, quite the opposite, I felt that she was very empowering. If a dancer had a talent or inkling then she was a huge supporter. She is also one of the few artists I have ever seen really and earnestly partake in collaboration. She is really good at it. I understand why people work with her for a long time, because it is not the kind of work that breaks you down (physically or spirit). She is invested in her dancers and allows them to continue to grow. -Molly Schneider Perez, Former TDC company member

TDC offered a safe environment to grow as an artist. I was given the freedom to think about dance in new ways and be challenged. I also got to watch Margi grow as a choreographer over the years. She continually challenges herself. Her work today is more complex and layered than her earlier work. That's part of what makes TDC an exciting company to watch. -Alaina Murray, Former TDC company member

I first recognized Margi’s awesome talent in the mid-80s, in a Beginning Modern class at the old Dance Center. She wouldn’t remember me being there, but I sure remember her—I was totally intimidated by her strength and finesse. She’s still strong. It’s no mean feat to have kept a company going for 17 years, which she’s done partly by coming up with ingenious ways to fuel her creativity: by continuing to dance challenging solos herself, and by opening TDC to collaboration—a goal of hers from the get-go. Watching TDC in rehearsal and performance, I get the feeling of a true, loyal, very female family working together. Happy anniversary! -Laura Molzahn, Dance critic and writer for the Chicago Reader

Working with Margi is an all-encompassing dance experience. The work itself is physically demanding, and also calls for rapt attention to the nuances of human experience. The body cannot lie when performing Ms. Cole’s work…as dancers, we are challenged to draw from the experiences that make us unique, real, and connected to those around us. Margi’s methods for molding these ideas into relatable, engaging dance composition are both artful and ever changing. - Erin Jaffe, Former TDC company member

Margi is one of the most talented and skilled choreographers and teachers in Chicago. I have known Margi since she was a student at the Dance Center of Columbia College. Over the years I have found her to be generous and supportive in her relationships with fellow artists and to demonstrate outstanding managerial skills. Margi makes an important contribution to Chicago's dance community. - Shirley Mordine, Artistic Director of Mordine and Company, and founder of The Dance Center at Columbia College Chicago

TDC is more than a dance company it is a group of artists collaborating, exploring and pushing boundaries together. In my experience thus far I have enjoyed that every voice matters. Margi is a director and teacher that is clear, organized, open, explorative, and knows how to challenge her dancers. The piece that we are currently working on recently shifted for me, for the movement I perform now feels like my own. -Julie Boruff, current TDC apprentice

Margi Cole has proven to be an integral part of the Chicago dance community. To say it has been a pleasure to evolve and grow with her the past 7 years would be an understatement. Her roles as dancer, choreographer, artistic director, business administrator, mentor, and friend have had an incredible impact on my life, both personally and professionally. -Maggie Koller, current TDC member

My experience in my first season with TDC has been eye opening. Having the joy of working with such amazingly talented and inspiringly strong women has giving me a new confidence in myself that I am only beginning to understand. Margi is always surprising me with her choreographic challenges and ability to shake and alter an image, an idea, a movement phrase and make it fresh and thought provoking. I am being challenged constantly and feel myself growing as an artist, a dancer, and a young woman. -Molly Kirkpatrick, current TDC apprentice

I can't imagine where I'd be as a dancer and person if I didn't have my experience with Margi and the girls! I have made the most wonderful, caring and unique group of friends any person could ask for while dancing with TDC. Sweat, tears, confrontations, laughter and the usual joke during planks are just a few things I looked forward to in every rehearsal for ten years. Ten years my life was TDC, swooshes, contraction series and the dreaded developpe along to Margi's top ten playlist on her "I-thing". I learned respect, professionalism and how to find my head tail connection while also finding my two-way energy all at the same time! If you've ever had the pleasure of working with Margi and TDC you understand. If not, go and take a class with the company. You'll always be welcomed like a friend. -Molly Grimm-Leasure, Former TDC company member

TDC has been an experience that has helped me grow as an individual, but also as a collaborator. Margi has helped me become a better dancer/creator/witness to my own work and has shown me the importance of working hard and being involved in as many ways as possible. I have applied this method to many areas of my life and see myself and our work as a company progress because of it. -Madelyn Doyle, current TDC company member

I’d like to thank everyone for their quotes and thoughts.

So, surprise and congratulations, Margi! You’re an inspiration and you’ve done, and still do, so much for people inside our dance community. I’m lucky to be surrounded by such a great bunch. I know you’ve endured many struggles throughout the years, but with struggle comes success, and that success continues to grow with each season, enriching the movement and I like to think, making dance history. 


Submitted by TDC Dancer Katie Petrunich on Monday, April 1, 2013. 

Evolution of a fall leaf...

Looking at TDC before delving in, the dancers consisted of a strong bunch of women. Molly Grimm-Leasure, Maggie Koller, Alaina Murray, Summer Breal, Olivia May, Molly Perez, Kaitlin Bishop, and Jessica Post stood out to me. When I thought of TDC, I thought of these girls. They were my inspiration as they maneuvered bodies through space, leaped, shifted, and made the stage breathe. I never imagined I’d have a chance in the world to be a part of such a talented group who work so well together. And little did I know that I'd have the opportunity, and honor, to dance with them for years to come.

Photo by William Frederking

Shannon McGuire-Edwards and I came in as apprentices in 2009. Shannon and I took a few classes during our college years and became friends, so it was nice to have a familiar face to experience a dynamic change with. We stuck together, created phrases, wore similar outfits to rehearsal (and still do) and redeemed our dual nickname - the fall leaves.  I still can’t believe it’s our fourth season together.

Since then, TDC has been a perpetual constant in my life. There have been so many changes in my personal life, as others in the company, we’ve become a support system as well as an outlet. No matter how bad my day was and sometimes when motivation is lacking in my body, these girls always make me smile. And dancing… well, it’s always just a great reminder of what truly makes me happy, and there’s never a day that goes by that I’m not thankful that I’ve been given the opportunity to be able to do what I love.

Throughout the years, there have been several shifts in the company. Things change, people’s lives change, and we’ve had to say goodbye to several members along the way, a few of whom have danced the longevity of the company. Last season, we had to hold back tears as Molly Grimm-Leasure and Alaina Murray retired their bare feet off the dance floor. Current senior members consist of Maggie Koller and Olivia May. Shannon and I are next in line. Sometimes I can’t believe it because of my initial idea of the company consisting of the strong group of women I had mentioned earlier. To be honest, I still consider them as part of the group. They’ll always be TDC in my eyes, no matter how it shifts and changes. We have an amazing group of women right now and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Margi always says she’s so upset that we don’t get along. :-)   It’s pretty impressive that a group of 8 women can actually get along so well. She always says that she has to create a pallet for TDC, and I’m glad she sees me fitting into the mix.

Margi’s dancers typically dedicate several years at a time, which allows for the partnering and the movement vocabulary to be rich and full. It’s great to build and keep that trust, permitting us to rely on each other. We put in 6.5 to 10.5 hours in each week, I’d say 9 months out of the year (not including show weeks). We work hard, but we also enjoy ourselves. We’re all here solely for our love of dance, to be creative, to perform, and we’re grateful to have Margi Cole as our fearless leader.

TDC is like my second family and I don’t know how I could ever live without these girls in my life, continuously creating friendships and bonds that I couldn’t have found anywhere else. I truly think it keeps me sane during my work week. I embrace it every time I stand in front of the mirror during floor exercises or warm up. I’m not sure where my life will take me, so I’m embracing every dreadful développé, soaking up every swish, and embodying movement that becomes part of history, and turns into memories.

Submitted by TDC Dancer Katie Petrunich on Monday, March 18, 2013

The Creative Process – A Glimpse of How it Starts

There’s something so magical about starting a new work. It’s refreshing to begin a process not knowing where it will end up. The movement developed is interesting but also flat in the sense that it has yet to be shaped and pulled to suit a larger intention. Interactions are clear but not yet defined. The meaning of each touch will become embodied through time, with repetition, and after it has been examined through the lens of intention for the overall piece.

In TDC, most of Margi’s new works begin with some sort of reading, research, writing assignment, or discussion. It’s always very self-reflective and thought provoking, which increases the level of investment us dancers have in the work. The way Margi uses our input changes for each project. Sometimes her homework assignments drive every element of the piece, from the way we develop movement and relationships, through the arching story of the piece, and even to the text we speak. Other times, its influence is only peripheral, driving certain elements, such as time and relationships, rather than the actual ideas being brought to life on stage.

Though Margi usually keeps her ideas secret until she has them fully formulated in her head, in a casual conversation I got a glimpse of what’s to come. Without revealing the plan, I’ll just say that she hopes to use information gathered from a popular book many of the dancers have read and use it to set boundaries that define our relationships as we generate movement. I think it will be a fascinating translation from fiction to dance and I am really looking forward to seeing how it all turns out.

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Submitted by TDC Dancer Maggie Koller on Sunday, October 7, 2012.

There’s Always Room to Grow!

What never ceases to amaze me about dance is that there is always more to learn.

I have been dancing since I was 3 years old. Though I think we can all agree that a tiny child in a tutu with her butt hanging out isn’t really committed to dance, I’d say from age 7 or 8, my training has been pretty rigorous. To calculate the number of hours I have dedicated to practice in the studio would be too much to handle. The point is, after 25 years of daily practice in my body, I am still amazed by how much more there is to discover. Or more specifically, by how many muscles, bones, and flows of energy I have yet to master or fully connect.

Something I have always struggled with is the placement of my rib cage on my spine. I have a tendency to splay my ribs open in the front rather than connecting them down to my center. There have been many times over the years when I have made a major connection and (seemingly) course corrected this tendency toward imbalance. However, day one back in the studio this season and I am getting corrections from Margi about softening my sternum. Really? Yes. Still something that requires focus.

All the boo-hooing aside, I think I might have figured something out! Imagine my arms in fifth position above my head. By shifting my arms forward more toward my brow line rather than being directly above my head, the entire position of my chest shifts downward. Really, Maggie? Duh. But it has taken me all this time to realize that it is ok to move my arms out of this above-the-head zone where I perceived a need for my arms to be to achieve classical ballet accuracy and into a space where I can be connected through the vertical center of my skeleton.

And by shifting my arms forward, I’m actually experiencing a new sensation at the bottom of my rib cage. This may not be the most inspiring example, and I would never use this when teaching, but I am feeling as if a limbo bar is pressing across the bottom of my ribs. That’s the image I get when I feel connected. It’s an activation of the muscles and a connectedness in my bones.

Just a little something I’m working on these days in class. Now, to be able to achieve that alignment and maintain that awareness while moving through all the planes, balancing on one leg, upside down, through the air, leg above ninety degrees, while my spine snakes…oh, dance. Never a dull moment.

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Submitted by TDC Dancer Maggie Koller on Sunday, September 30, 2012

A Journey to The Dance COLEctive by Maggie Koller

This is my seventh season with The Dance COLEctive (TDC). W-o-w. That means for the last 6, going on 7 years, I have spent almost every single Tuesday and Thursday night, and every other Sunday morning, rehearsing at the Drucker Center. I have performed in multiple dance venues, parks, stairwells, and other site-specific locations in and around Chicago. I have toured, done residencies, taught, performed and improvised across the Midwest and Southern United States. I have devoted my time and energy to the activities both in and out of the studio that support the mission of TDC. And in return, I have learned, sweat, laughed, cried, and grown tremendously with an absolutely amazing group of women.

For me, this journey began at Beloit College, my alma mater. TDC came to do a residency sometime during my senior year. I took class and rehearsed with Margi for a week that culminated in a performance by her company and a work she set on the Beloit dancers. The TDC women were all strong, as were the works on the program. I was very intrigued by Margi’s exploration of relationships and use of partnering. I also remember seeing the dancers warming up in the dressing room and wondering how they were able to do so many push ups…now I know.

At the end of the performance, each dancer was given a personal thank you note from Margi. Mine ended with something along the lines of “When you’re back in Chicago, don’t hesitate to look us up.” A few weeks after graduation from Beloit, I ran into Liz Carlton (a now retired TDC dancer) at Lou Conte. She said, “We’ve been looking for you!” and asked me to come to an invite-only audition for the company. Feeling equally nervous and confident, I reached out to Margi and accepted her invitation to audition.

After completing a pretty grueling set of essay questions about my perception of women in dance and women in the media, technique class, and several chunks of difficult company repertory with an intense level of partnering, Kaitlin Bishop, Jessica Post, and I were asked to join the company as apprentices. The beautiful thing about Margi’s apprentice program is that performance opportunities are no different for apprentices than they are for full company members—the only difference is that you don’t get paid. So, I danced my pretty little head off that first season as an apprentice, and have been given an equally beneficial opportunity to perform with the company as a full member ever since.

Through the handfuls of other companies and independent choreographers I have danced for, TDC has remained the backbone of my professional dance career. I continue to learn so much from Margi. She is an excellent teacher, an amazing performer, an extremely intelligent businesswoman, and has grown to become a great friend. I am so appreciative of the level of detail and professionalism she brings to the organization. I always feel that my time is valued and well spent, and that is very important to me. The dancers she cultivates tend to grow not only as a palette of bodies that gel together on stage, but a group of women who have become incredibly close both in and outside the studio.

Season seventeen for the company. Season seven for me. I still can’t believe how much time has passed. And I have no doubt this will be another amazing year.

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Submitted by TDC Dancer Maggie Koller on Monday, September 24, 2012.