Alumni Interview Laurel Moore Zahrobsky

Laurel with Julie Tice Photo by William Frederking

When did you dance with The Dance COLEctive? 

1995-2000

What was your transition from studying at Ohio University to dancing in Chicago, IL?

I took some classes at Hubbard Street Dance Company but it just didn't feel right so I found Columbia College and joined their classes because they would let community dancers take classes with students back then.

 


How did you first get involved with Margi/Dance COLEctive? 

I, obviously, met Margi at the Dance Center of Columbia College (it was her second home) and we hit it off right away.  I auditioned for a piece she was creating during her summer workshop.  From that point on I auditioned for anything she was producing.  When she wanted to start the company she began it as a contract per performance company only.  She would ask me if I was interested and when I said "yes" she would present me and other dancers with a contract containing rehearsal times, specific performance dates and monetary payment.  We did many performances both formal and site specific works before she formed the company as it exists now.  Margi was great about other auditions I went to and would tell anyone who would listen that they needed to work with me and give me a chance. 

Margi & Laurel 2016

What were some similarities and difference between Margi's work and the work you did at Ohio University?  

Working with Margi was so much like everyone I had worked with at Ohio University.  It was a natural fit.  She loves partnering, going in and out of the floor, moving from the center.  Working with her is as natural as breathing.  I really began to explore my love of Barteneiff Movement even more when I worked with her.  Even though her warm-up wasn't the one I was used to all of the sea elements were there.  She helped me to develop the technique and the way I teach it today.

The one thing that differed was Margi's intention of seeing the uniqueness in everyone's individual movement and capitalizing on that to make her choreography even better.  She also used the dancer's creative choices to create her choreography.  While I had done some of that in school, it wasn't as established in my various college choreographer's technique of creating.  So, it took some getting used to but in the end it helped me be a better dancer, choreographer and person.

What did you enjoy most about your time with the Dance COLEctive? 

I love that I was there in the beginning.  I loved being a part of the process of her figuring out what she wanted to do professionally and how she would stay true to her vision.  I loved seeing the company go from contract per performance style into a full company that held auditions.  I loved the friendship base that we built way back then because it has carried us through really hard times and she remains one of the people I could call on for anything, anywhere and she would be there for me.  For me, it was the relationships I loved.

Is there a specific work that stands out to you from the TDC days? There are two pieces but I don't recall their titles.  (Margi will know...  This dance was called From the Neck Up)  I think it was in the first piece I ever did for her.  We performed in girdles and it was so powerful to feel that exposed on stage and celebrating being a full figured woman.  I loved that even though I had clothes on her work made me feel vulnerable and naive.  I had so much to learn and I felt that the piece evoked that from all of us.

I also loved the duet she set on Edna Radnik and me.  It was about judging someone and how it feels when someone only likes you because of your material possessions.  We were in nude colored sports bras and bikers and we did the first part of the dance facing the back while we "finished getting dressed".  As the dance continued, with us reciting some of the poem the dance was based on, we then wiggled our way into clear dresses made from shower curtains that were hanging.  I loved the idea of the costume and the dance that happened because of it. (This dance was called Naked Truth)

What Margi-isms do you carry with you to this day?

Spray-on warm up
Let's make a pizza (when teaching young kids to stretch)
Pop up the toast (when teaching kids how to flex)
spackle (that is make up)
no decorations! (when girls do funky things with their arms when leaping)
wing ding dangle (the wing)
rock star (parking, dancing, and other areas of my life)
floppy fish (but this one might be mine and Margi inspired...I can't remember)

I know I say other things that were created in our time together but I can't differentiate them.  Ha.

Can you share something you value or learned from your experience working with the company or a reflection that you share as a teaching tool.  

I would say the thing I use absolutely the most is Margi's level of energy and sense of humor when she teaches.  I definitely remember to have fun when I teach and bring the level of education a fun place so they learn while having fun as well.  

Margi was just in Chattanooga working with your students.  Did that conjure up any thoughts for you? 

I loved that my students could be a part of the experience in working with Margi and that they were able to see the partnership we had live and in person.  It was nice for them to experience who I had worked with in my professional career and that I was part of something bigger that has lasted 20 years!  They really enjoyed the similarities in our movement style and I think the ones who have danced with me since 6th grade were really prepared for the partnering and connections they needed to make when asked to do so in this work. 

Alumni interview with Laurel Moore Zahrobsky conducted by TDC company member Liz Conway, December 2015

Shannon Interviews former TDC Dancer Nikki DiGioia Stachon

Nikki DiGioia Stachon Photo by William Frederking

What time frame were you dancing with The Dance COLEctive? 

2004-2007

What interested you in dancing with the company? 

Margi was one of my teachers at Columbia and I loved learning from her at Columbia. I went to her Summer Intensive and really get like I understood and meshed with what she had going on. I wanted to continue learning anything she had to offer.

 


What is your favorite memory of dancing with The Dance COLEctive?

Oh so many! We were all like sisters and talked about anything and everything together. I'll never forget the dressing room and doing our make up together, Rachel teaching me how to do make up, the all nighters we would have at Donnette's house, playing "kiss it goodbye" with all of Margi's old costumes....there were so many heart warming memories during those years.

What was your favorite piece you got to dance in? 

Sinking In. I loved that dance.

After leaving the company, did you continue your dance practice? How so? (I.e. Taking classes, dancing with other choreographers, teaching, choreographing) 

I danced a few years with BreakBone Dance Co. And student taught in PE/Health/Dance. With teaching, I couldn't balance week night rehearsals with TDC so I had to stop. But in 2008 I began my career as a High School PE/Dance Teacher and have been working in the field ever since. I direct the Orchesis Dance Co. And am working with the next generation on dancers/artists. I even started my 2 year old twin girls in dance recently and am on a whole new side of dance as a "dance mom". ;)

How has dancing with The Dance COLEctive influenced your teaching career? 

I constantly use Margi-isms when I teach. Margi is such a great teacher and has influenced me more than she knows. Having experience with TDC had given me real like experiments of what it takes to produce a show, behind the scenes, dance etiquette and leadership.
 
If you could have the company bring back an old work, what would it be?
 
HUES

What is your birthday wish for The Dance COLEctive?
 
For Margi to really soak in what amazing things she has done for TDC and every single dancer that has been involved. Really soak it in and be proud.

Interview Conducted and Submitted by TDC Dancer Shannon Edwards on December 2015.

Molly remembers being asked to join the company

Photo by William Frederking 2008

I will never forget when you, Margi, approached me after a placement class that I was helping with for those coming into the dance program at Columbia. You asked if I would be interested in coming in to The Dance COLEctive rehearsals to work with you. I was so stoked that I didn't even think to ask any follow up questions. After I was done assisting I ran to meet my mother and a friend and told them that you asked me to dance with you. My mother was so excited and started asking all sorts of questions, including, "Does this mean you are a part of The Dance COLEctive?". A question I should've asked, but I didn't  care. I was going to work with a professional dance company!

I never get nervous when it comes to dance, but walking into that room with older, more mature dancers, freaked me out! I was a sophomore in college and knew very little when it came to modern dance. I also walked into that room thinking, that I was working as a student with Margi Cole on a project, not as part of the company. I worked my butt off in warm ups, and then came "driving the bus". At 5' 2" I was paired with Ebony, almost 6'! She might have been shorter, but to me she was TALL and I had to partner with her!

Obviously I survived, and learned so much about myself and how to partner. A few more rehearsals went by, shows were booked and parts were given, then I realized that I was part of the company. I was a company member of The Dance COLEctive, not just a student filling in a part! It was the most magical moment for me. These women were beautiful dancers and I got to share a stage with them, learn from them and laugh with them. I danced with The Dance COLEctive for 10 years and loved every moment. The dancers I worked with are friends for life. I couldn't imagine learning as much as I did with any other company. 

Submitted by former TDC dancer Molly Grimm-Leasure, November 29, 2015. 

Reflections about the early years by a Founding Member

Dancer:  Ebony Lashay Bitner

 

I fell in love with and became serious about dance at the comparatively late age of 14.  When I had a dream of becoming a professional dancer, I stepped out on faith knowing that the odds were well-stacked against me.

Margi was the first and in many ways the only teacher I ever had who saw beneath the surface of me.  She took the time to nurture and mentor me as a dancer. She saw my potential.  She supported my strengths rather than remain honed in on my weaknesses. She made me believe that my dream could become real because she believed in me...

The early years of the TDC were a lot of things.  Creating our own vocabulary..."corn-fusing" to others but making perfect sense to us! Hours filled with laughter and sometimes frustration sprinkled with drama and tears.  State fairs and sweaty July afternoon rehearsals at the Broadway Armory preparing for another performance. Group therapy, over cocktails and P-funks.  Celebrations of birthdays and break-ups, weddings and first-borns.

Stated simply, those early years were all about growth.  Through the shedding of our individual layers and with a healthy dose of guidance and patience we all evolved.  Through the expression of dance we became one entity. We crossed the threshold of being young women to being women and with that crossing over came the unavoidable shift of dreams and priorities.

Above all for me, those days were about forging friendships and forming incredibly meaningful bonds with women I may have never gotten a chance to know at all in the "real world"  We became sisters in a very true sense.  Our kinship was born out of the most unlikely of people and circumstances.  The early days of TDC were about everyone doing their part and  coming together with a spirit of support and love, expressing it all onstage in the most beautiful,  unique and honest way imaginable.

What fun we had!   I think of those days often and they always make me smile. They were and will always be some of the happiest days of my life.

Congrats Margs!  Here's to another 20 and beyond...

Submitted by TDC Founding Member Ebony Lashay Bitner, October 17, 2015

Dance COLEctive Summer Technique Week with a Twist!

Shannon Edwards Archives

For more than 12 years The Dance COLEctive has conducted an annual Summer Dance Workshop.  The beginning of this year, our 20th Anniversary Season is no different really....

The Dance COLEctive Summer Technique Week with a Twist is a great way to be exposed to the company.  While we are not having an official audition this season we are scouting for dancers to participate in our 20th Anniversary Performances.  Read long time company member Shannon McGuire Edwards' story about her first workshop and how it impacted her journey to join the company.  

Shannon says:
 
It was the summer after graduation in 2009. I never had the privilege of taking Margi's class in college, but I did have her as a sub once. I remember loving her class and found myself particularly eager to master "the run around".  So I signed up for the summer intensive. I was planning on attending the audition at the end of the week. I especially remember Margi talking about weight in the pelvis, the importance of authentic touch, and allowing the body to sink into the floor. These are concepts that still resonate with me show in the work I do with The Dance COLEctive. I still take Margi's class today and think about the special corrections and notes she gave me during those five, intense days at the TDC Summer Workshop.

This is the calendar still hanging in my bedroom at my mom's house. It's still on this page and I look at it often remembering how important that week was to me. (On the 8th it says "audition" and "family" because I went to my family reunion a day late so I could make it to the audition).

Margi says:

I remember Shannon working so diligently as a student in my Repertory Performance Workshop class at Columbia College.  I was drawn to her work ethic and to her powerful presence as a performer.  It has been such a pleasure to watch Shannon grow as a person and an artist in her years with the company and I am still magically drawn to her beauty and vulnerability as a performer.  

This year, in honor of our 20th Anniversary, we will not only do technique but we will teach repertory from our long history.  Should be fun! 

You can find more information here!

Submitted by TDC dancer Shannon Edwards, August 2, 2015.   

Then I began to remember...

I've never really felt as old as I am, even when I was younger. 18 years old felt more like 15 and at 21 I DEFINITELY didn't feel legal. So when I was asked to write about what it feels like to be "the most senior member" of TDC, My first thought was "Well it feels just like the first year..."

Photo by William Frederking

Then I began to remember.

How scared I was. How nervous I had been about my technique EVERY rehearsal. How many jobs I worked just to be able to eek out a living so that I could spend another month in Chicago able to dance with TDC. How I could stroll into rehearsal after a full day and dance my butt of without thinking about it, then wake up the next morning feeling like a million bucks. How my feet didn't hurt, and my knees didn't crack with every plie or lunge I performed. How long I spent on the CTA, EVERYDAY. How the girls that I was dancing with were some of the funniest, smartest, most loving people I had met and how they made my transition to living in the city and joining the company smoother. What I remember and forget all at the same time is how quickly I have twirled my way through 7 seasons, all because time flies when you're with people you enjoy being around. Being the most senior member now I hope that my presence does for our newer members what the oldie goldie girls I danced with back in 2008, did for me. They created an inviting and accepting environment, full of creative energy and support, laughter and advice and they are still a HUGE part of my life today. When I look back on my time dancing with TDC and in the Chicago dance community I know I will remember the performances and projects I have been a part of but more than that, I will know the people I shared those experiences with helped shape who I am today both as a dancer and an "adult". No matter if I feel like one or not. 

Submitted by TDC Dancer Olivia May on Wednesday, March 25, 2015.  

Swirling my Karma

Jamie flying with Shannon!  Photo by William Frederking

So, as one of the Social Media Divas this month I have been tasked with the writing of this blog post that reflects on my experiences thus far as an apprentice for TDC. The previous zillion attempts I’ve made at this first sentence, I have rapidly deleted out of horror at how cheesy, or cliché, or sentimental they were. But alas, after that many attempts I will just have to settle for being self-reflexively cheesy, cliché, and sentimental in hopes that I can convey my ruminations without grossing anyone out. Here we go: Oh yes, it starts with a flashback…

A year ago at this time, my brain was predominantly occupied with panic: panic about finishing that piece I was choreographing, panic about presenting my thesis in front of a crowd, and mostly, panic about what-the-heck-am-I-going-to-do-with-the-rest-of-my-life. Now, I can’t reassure you by saying that I don’t panic about what-the-heck-am-I-going-to-do-with-the-rest-of-my-life because I do, on a daily basis, but I can reassure you that I am absolutely loving the way that I’m spending the Tuesday and Thursday nights that are part of this rest-of-my-life. 

Warning: We’re entering mush territory. Firstly, the ladies of TDC are brilliant and I have a great admiration for the commitment they bring to the project that is TDC. I call TDC a project because it is so ongoing, so collaborative, so ever evolving. I’m honored that even as a newbie I feel welcome to share my thoughts and my movement. The collaborative atmosphere makes everything more fun, but it also brings an extra challenge. There is no, just showing up and learning the moves, the work actually requires me to, gasp, think and create! I’m so grateful to Margi and all the TDC women for providing an environment that challenges, but also validates my ideas even so early in my career. This sort of cooperative environment was one of the things I valued most about my dance studies in college and I’m so happy to have found a place where I can continue collaborating and learning: Learning about working with new bodies and new minds, about giving it my all even if it’s just a rehearsal, about making decisions and committing to them, about climbing walls, speaking onstage, and (to end as cheesy as possible with a quote) about “being sea kelp and swirling my karma.” Thanks TDC for an awesome first six months! 

Submitted by TDC Apprentice Jamie Corliss, Saturday, February 28, 2015.