Canyon Movement Company’s 2024 Spring Dance Festival – Cycles<\/p>\n\n\n\n
See the Arizona Daily Sun article <\/a>about the show!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arizona Dance Festival September 2022\u00a0 Viewed\/Reviewed<\/a><\/p>\n Company:<\/strong>\u00a0Human Nature Dance Theatre<\/p>\n Choreographers:<\/strong>\u00a0Cynthia Ahlers, Gina Darlington, Jayne Lee<\/p>\n Performers:<\/strong>\u00a0Cynthia Ahlers, Gina Darlington, Jayne Lee<\/p>\n In Petricor, we are presented with a gathering of archetypes \u2013 three women of a certain age, elegant in long black jumpers, standing back-to-back center stage. The trio seemingly possess the collective wisdom of the crones and have assembled to perform what I can only interpret as a ritual. They are serious and what they are performing is of some consequence. Be they witches? Who knows. What seems certain is that these women are familiars of long standing, bound together by some long association and now by their common purpose. They seem to be acting in concert out of a mutual knowledge, deeply held, requiring no language.<\/p>\n The three stand back-to-back, in a tight circle with only the small stool between them. There is a gesture here that feels like a motif, or at least a central element in the performance. The performers thrust one arm outward, palm vertical, hand strait and pointing. This is done repeatedly and forcefully, giving the impression that something is being warded off or held at bay \u2013 a wordless admonition. One of them stares momentarily into the distance, alert to something in the great out-there. A power is being exercised here. It feels ancient \u2013 but to what purpose, we don\u2019t know. Mutual protection? Interceding for a community? Saving the planet?<\/p>\n Whatever it was, we were allowed to witness something very personal and authentic. The mutual connection was unmistakable in their twining gestures and momentary tableaus. They were fierce with whatever lay beyond, but equally tender with each other. When one performer would mount the stool to make an exultant gesture, she did so with the careful assistance of the other two. In a small, unchoreographed moment, not meant for the audience, one of the women lightly placed her hand over that of another, certainly an act of wordless acknowledgement and reassurance.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t want to speculate on the implications of the title, Petricor, which is the scent created when rain falls on dry, dusty earth. It is conceptually potent but in this context enigmatic and, I think, highly personal for this collaboration. The connection between these women was apparent and felt very real. As mature artists, what they celebrated together and whatever they defended against, they were able to abstract into movement and they brought their authentic selves to its performance. As co-collaborators, they shared that movement with us, creating this moment of quiet power and enduring beauty.<\/p>\n Did you see the pics in the paper? <\/a><\/p>\n Read the Arizona Daily Sun article here!\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n The Voyage Phoenix magazine highlighted our director in June 2021 Read the article here.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n See the Arizona Daily Sun Article here!<\/a> Thanks to James Hasapis, Chris Verrill and Theatrikos’ “Live from the Theatre Basement” for the great interview about our upcoming Virtual Nutcracker! See the video here: FB and YouTube Links https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KrqIWnEG–8<\/a>https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/watch\/?v=375912687039171<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Did you see the article in the Arizona Daily Sun?<\/a> about our Virtual Halloween Show encore from 2019?<\/p>\n Did you see the article in about our Virtual Spring Dance Festival? Sunday’s Arizona Daily Sun? <\/a><\/em><\/p>\n Thanks to MacKenzie Chase and the Arizona Daily Sun for this great article<\/a> about our 2019 Christmas Carol in Dance! <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The Flagstaff Performance Art and Film Festival was awesome! See article in the Daily Sun.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n See the fabulous article in the Daily Sun about the Nutcracker!<\/a> Canyon Movement Company received the Viola Award<\/a> for Performing Arts! We are so honored!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Read about it in the Arizona Daily Sun<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n Did you see our Review<\/a> of the show at Summerlin Library Performing Arts Center in Las Vegas, July 26, 2019?<\/p>\n Review in Las Vegas Performing Arts!!\u00a0 See it here.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n “Canyon Movement Company surprised and delighted the audience with a comedic piece about the frustrations of waiting\u2026and waiting\u2026.and waiting\u2026 in a doctor\u2019s office garbed only in a dignity-depleting hospital gown. What fun can a dancer have with a rolling exam stool that spins and rises and falls and a flowing gown that flaps in the wind?\u00a0 A lot! Exam Room humanized the long, cold wait for health care. It was charming, and the dancers showed their joy to great effect. \u00a0This writer can\u2019t wait to do a spinning fan kick on a rolling stool at the next doctor\u2019s visit!”<\/em><\/p>\n Thanks Melissa Sivigny and KNAU! Listen here:\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Read about our NEW holiday show in the Arizona Daily Sun here<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n For the past 14 years, Canyon Movement Company has performed \u201cThe Nutcracker in Modern Bare Feet,\u201d carving its rightful place in the seasonal must-sees of local entertainment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n This year, the dance company will veer from tradition to debut \u201cA Christmas Carol Suite in Modern Bare Feet.\u201d With change comes an opportunity for growth, and the performance will feature original choreography to tell the story of the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been really fun, I think, not only for the adults who some have been in [\u2018The Nutcracker\u2019] maybe 12 out of the 14 years but also for a lot of the kids,\u201d director Gina Darlington said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Paul Moore of Human Nature Dance Theatre will perform as the infamous Scrooge and has been working on how to approach the role as a central character that\u2019s not necessarily the focus of the show.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cHe\u2019s very in tune to how to interpret the moods and the feeling of Scrooge,\u201d Darlington said. \u201cHe has done a lot of butoh, and I think that has really benefited us because he really internalizes the character. I don\u2019t think I could have made a better choice for Scrooge.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n In Charles Dickens\u2019 1843 novella, he describes Scrooge as \u201ca squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint, from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster\u2026 He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn\u2019t thaw it one degree at Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Moore said he has been rereading the book to prepare for the show and drew from it in his interpretation of the character.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe way that I\u2019m connecting directly from my experience is just the place that we all get to when we\u2019re stressed and trying to make a living, and things get crazy at work,\u201d he said. \u201cYou just have to put all your attention to that, and sometimes that can make you unavailable to friends and family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThis is a dance performance, and there are a lot of different forms of dance, but it\u2019s also theater and trying to tell a story, so I bring some of that with me. I\u2019m starting to work on the idea of how simple and minimal my movement can be and still tell a story.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n With brand new choreography comes the freedom to choose new music as well, and Pink Floyd\u2019s \u201cMoney\u201d will serve as the soundtrack to a dance highlighting Scrooge\u2019s goal of making money instead of building meaningful relationships. Moore\u2019s daughter Ella will dance as one of the gold coins in that piece.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As with past\u00a0Canyon Movement Company productions, other community troupes \u2013 Flagstaff Aerial Arts, Momentum Aerial and Velocity Dance Company \u2013 are contributing talent to the show.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThat\u2019s part of our mission and I think that\u2019s one of the great things about Canyon Movement is that we do reach out to work with other people,\u201d Darlington said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Laurel Combs of Momentum Aerial will interpret the Ghost of Christmas Past on a suspended hoop and Kristi Long of Flagstaff Aerial Arts will perform on stilts as the Ghost of Christmas Present. The Ghost of Christmas Future is made up Canyon Movement dancers who torment Scrooge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The company also performs the production free for several area schools, allowing more people to see it while spreading a message of good-doing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThe whole holiday thing, it\u2019s kind of meant to be festive and a family affair, but sometimes it just seems like it adds more stress and we get caught up in all the work it takes to make it happen,\u201d Moore said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cA Christmas Carol Suite in Modern Bare Feet\u201d invites attendees to reassess what\u2019s important to them this holiday season and learn to appreciate the simple things in life as they take part in a brand new show.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Check out the article in the Arizona Daily Sun about the 2018 Spring Dance Festival\u00a0\u00a0HERE.\u00a0<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Nice Article on Sunday about our 2017 Nutcracker performance\u00a0 here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Desirae Barquin, left, and Samantha Quintanilla have danced their way through the cast of Canyon Movement Company\u2019s The Nutcracker Suite in Modern Bare Feet over the past 14 years. Barquin started as a flower girl and party girl and this year will dance the role of the Snow Queen. Quintanilla started as a mouse and this year will dance the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy.<\/em><\/p>\n Jake Bacon, Arizona Daily sun<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n A lucky few discover their passion early on in life, whether it be for studying the stars, performing music or helping others in various capacities. For Desirae Barquin and Samantha Quintanilla, they set out on their path to becoming the Snow Queen and Sugar Plum Fairy respectively in Canyon Movement Company\u2019s production of the Nutcracker when they were still unsteady on their feet.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWhen I was younger the Sugar Plum Fairy was a role model,\u201d Quintanilla said. \u201cLooking up to the Sugar Plum Fairy and then transitioning into that role and knowing that people are looking up to (me)\u201d was one of the main things she said she kept in mind throughout rehearsals.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The two dancers in Canyon Movement Company have played almost every role imaginable in the classic holiday show. Now in its 14th consecutive year, \u201cThe Nutcracker in Modern Bare Feet\u201d gives a fun twist with updated choreography and a reworked story.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The dance company will be returning to their home stage this year at the Clifford E. White Theater on the Northern Arizona University campus. The show will run Friday and Saturday, Dec. 8 and 9, at 7:30 p.m. with a matinee performance at 11 a.m. Saturday. Tickets are $17 for the general public, $11 for students and children, plus applicable fees from the NAU Central Ticket Office. For more details, visit\u00a0CanyonMovementCompany.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Dancers in the company start getting into the headspace for the performance as early as September by listening to the theme music written by Russian composer Tchaikovsky and practicing until the choreography is second nature.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe both put a lot of work into our pieces so it\u2019s a lot of rehearsal times but it\u2019s definitely very rewarding when the show is here,\u201d Barquin said.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n As the familiar story goes, Clara, performed by Ella Moore this year, receives a nutcracker doll from her Godfather during a holiday party only to have it broken by her little sister Frankie. Heartbroken, she goes to bed but is then transported to a fantasy land in her dreams where the doll becomes a life-size prince, no longer in pieces, who fights off an army of mice.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very familiar to watch it as an adult at the party,\u201d Barquin said.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s Flagstaff tradition,\u201d Quintanilla added. \u201cIt\u2019s typically classical ballet but we do a more modern dance in bare feet and I think that adds a more grounded feeling to the show. It\u2019s very authentic\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWhen we started this, (the important thing) for me was finding that authenticity because I wanted it to have more meaning than what it does traditionally,\u201d executive director Gina Darlington explained.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\nCanyon Movement Company, Inc.<\/big><\/big><\/big><\/span><\/h5>\n
Mailing address:\u00a0 C\/o 5680 E Sunset Drive, F<\/span>lagstaff, AZ 86004<\/span><\/h5>\n
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RAVE REVIEWS!!<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/h1>\n
Boundless! Spring Dance Festival.\u00a0<\/h1>\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nDirector Gina Darlington receives awards! <\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a>See the Arizona Daily Sun Article here! <\/a><\/h1>\n\n\n\n
2020 Nutcracker previews!<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Read about “Launch”<\/a> in the Arizona Daily Sun. <\/h5>\n\n\n
See the article in Sunday’s Arizona Daily Sun <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\nRead the article in the Arizona Daily Sun<\/a>!<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Dusk to Dawn ~ Vampire Legends Preview<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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<\/p>\n\u00a0Photo by Sean Openshaw of Gina Darlington in Exam Room by Canyon Movement Company.<\/em><\/pre>\n
![\"This](\"https:\/\/canyonmovementcompany.org\/cmc\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/untitled-9267-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Haunting](\"https:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/azdailysun.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/8\/1d\/81d2e4b6-fa46-5647-8e9a-477bf178b7aa\/5c01fb9c22fca.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C800\")
<\/span><\/p>\nRead this article about our 2017 Spring Dance Festival here.\u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n
\u00a0Check out this video from 4Flagtv.com. \u00a0Thanks Nick!\u00a0http:\/\/4flagtv.com\/episode\/nutcracker-suite-in-modern-bare-feet<\/a><\/h3>\n
Read about our Dance Movement and Music for Seniors and Parkinson’s classes <\/strong><\/em>in the Daily Sun <\/strong><\/em><\/span>
See the article in the Daily Sun about our program <\/a>here.<\/a><\/span><\/h3>\n![\"Nutcracker](\"https:\/\/bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com\/azdailysun.com\/content\/tncms\/assets\/v3\/editorial\/7\/e2\/7e2af634-b788-5356-a700-3b70158d44cc\/5a21ec8f0af1e.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C800\")
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