Join Us for This Weekend for a LIVE Performance

We’re excited to return to performing live and it all starts with the Splash! Family Event on Saturday, July 24th at Landmark Lot in Port Washington, Long Island.

There’s water, buckets, and bright colors to make you forget all about the heat so you can enjoy some fun in the sun. The refreshing afternoon programming is 50 minutes and includes performances and a chance for you to dance with us.

What dances you will get to experience? Read on to find out.

Chiquita Chiquita is a humorously absurd performance, manipulating and transforming a multiplicity of props used in unexpected ways.

Dandia is based on the Indian folk dance of the same name. This upbeat work utilizes percussion through wooden sticks throughout and concludes with audience participation at the end.

SPLASH! is a site-specific outdoors dance incorporating brightly colored buckets filled with water. This dance is a structured improvisation to an exciting collage of music about water.

All you need to join us is a smile, lawn chair, and energy for a day like no other. We look forward to seeing you there!

Treehouse Shakers!

Pillow Fort with Miranda Wilson in NY Times Feature

We recently asked Treehouse Shakers to speak about their return to Green Space after the Pandemic, here is what they said:

Treehouse Shakers recently returned to in-person rehearsals at Green Space. Our company calls this studio space our home away from home, as we have been creating here since its first days of opening. And as of June, we have finally returned home to finish a piece we started pre-pandemic, Flutter: An Ode to Babies. Flutter is a discover play, that explores the seasons for ages 6-18 months through dance, puppetry, music and theater.

Cast and crew of Pillow Fort in Green Space during filming

The pandemic has changed us. Especially in New York City. Haunted by sirens, make-shift hospitals, refrigerator trucks, death counts, fear, it is truly taking many of us a moment to readjust to “pre-pandemic normalcy.” For me this normalcy, started when I received my first shot of the vaccine in February, and felt the closest to normal once we stepped into rehearsal for the first time this month.

But this was not our first time at Green Space. Beginning in February we began using Green Space as a filming studio, for several new virtual projects including Dance Break and Pillow Fort. Pillow Fort is our 9-part mini web-series for ages 3-7. We filmed the final 6 episodes at Green Space. For these filmings we followed strict union protocols, and had the entire company tested before shooting. By the time we reached the last three episodes, the entire company was fully vaccinated and we continued to ensure that we all had negative COVID tests. What made us film in Green Space was the strict guidelines and cleanliness of the space. Valerie Green manages Green Space always professionally, but during COVID her adherence to safety codes was so appreciated. Green Space uses an air purifier, strict cleanliness, and ventilation that make the studio feel safe. 

Over the next few months, we look forward to building Flutter at Green Space, as the city is rapidly moving to bringing performances back in full capacity. Thank you to our home away from home, for getting artists to this next step, and giving us normalcy once again.

Creation of Pillow Fort in Green Space with Emily Bunning & Ashley Chavonne

Mara McEwin is the Artistic Director, Writer, Director and Co-Founder of Treehouse Shakers. Responsible for implementing the artistic vision of Treehouse Shakers, Mara has also produced, written, directed and sometimes performed in all of Treehouse Shakers’ 17 original dance-plays including Hatched, which is recognized as being the first dance-play for babies to tour the U.S. by an American artist/company. She has created ongoing arts in education programming for preschools to colleges, and leads teaching artist and classroom trainings throughout the country. During the pandemic, she helped to quickly transitioned the company to virtual programming. During this time Treehouse Shakers’ created Pillow Fort, for ages 3-7, a 9-part mini-series to engage young people through the arts at home. As a professional storyteller, Mara was named “Best Storyteller of New York” by NY Press. She has been an artist in residence for 20+ years in both public and private schools, and has performed throughout the nation’s schools, festivals, theaters, colleges, and community events. She is currently the featured teller for F.I.T’s Toy Design Department, as well as Sugar Hill Children's Museum of Art & Storytelling, Gap, Miramax, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hans Christian Andersen Storytelling Center, Turtle Pond Publications, Chocolate Sauce Publishing, Tribeca Film Festival, to name a few. She is the writer, voice-over artist and story consultant for Activity Works, an interactive educational video-web series for classrooms across the U.S. She was the subject for a qualitative dissertation on the inclusion of storytelling in the classroom by Dr. Barb O’Neill and a featured 2019 speaker for O’Neill’s Transform Challenging Behavior Conference. To read her full bio visit treehouseshakers.com.

Dance Entropy on Patreon!

Dance Entropy has joined Patreon and is asking you to become a patron of Dance Entropy. There are numerous levels of support that you can join for many wonderful benefits as a patron of DE. As a nonprofit professional dance company, Valerie Green/Dance Entropy is able to offer its performances, touring, educational and community outreach programs with the help of your generous support. You also support the creation of online content for DE. We invite you to check out all the benefits HERE!

PREMIERE SCREENING of Time Capsule: A Physical Documentary

Valerie Green/Dance Entropy is pleased to present the premiere in-person and virtual screenings of Time Capsule: A Physical Documentary on: 

Thursday, May 20th

8:00-9:30PM

Green Space, 37-24 24th Street Suite #211, Long Island City

*The in-person screening will NOT be livestreamed

Advance ticket purchase required

*The in-person screening will be limited, socially distant and ventilated, with masks required by all attendees. 

Viewers who are not able to attend the in-person screening may purchase a ticket to view the film online, on-demand.  

Ticket Information:

·         Regular Ticket, $25.00

Attend the in-person screening or receive a private viewing link to watch on-demand

For More Information and to Purchase Tickets, please click here

“Time Capsule – A Physical Documentary” is a dance film, directed and choreographed by Valerie Green, in collaboration with cinematographer Alex Lopez, composer Mark Katsaounis, and the dancers of Valerie Green/Dance Entropy. Eight solos physically trace emotional experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, filmed against the backdrop of iconic New York City landscapes. A dynamic interplay of beauty, strength, and resilience, "Time Capsule” is a testament to the faith we have in our City, its vast infrastructure, the delicate spirits that inhabit it, and the tender terrains we all hold within.

Time Capsule Virtual Gala

PURCHASE YOUR GALA TICKETS HERE!

Green Space Performance Programs Return!

Green Space is pleased to kick off our performance programs Take Root and Fertile Ground! All performances will be held virtually on a donation-made basis. Please click here for more information and donation links.

Take Root’s January 2021 performances feature exciting works by Nia & Ness and Misaki Hayama that will be available to view beginning January 22nd through June 2020.

Photo credits: Blake & Robinson Photography and Marius Shanzer

home. (an excerpt) is a portion of Nia & Ness’s second evening-length dance-poetry piece home. that deeply explores our daily realities as a Black, out-lesbian couple living and loving in New York. With this work, we posit that our bodies are our homes, collecting stories like dust and decor as we move through the world. This work also recognizes that as Black out-lesbians, our bodies themselves put our literal shared home on display every time we walk out of its doors. From sharing our everyday experiences with “micro” aggressions to making visible the impacts of violence, we go there with this work.

Misaki Hayama presents Warabe Uta for January’s Take Root performances. “Warabe Uta” are traditional Japanese songs, similar to nursery rhymes often sung as part of children's games. The dance pieces created and presented here explore this hidden history and show how the past has influenced new generations to find their future paths.

Fertile Ground features the works-in-progress of six NYC-based emerging choreographers. This performance will be available to view beginning January 26th through June 2020.

Featured Artists:

Maija Rutkovska, Olivia Passarelli, Kristina Hay & Jamie Robinson, Aya Jane Saotome / Who Knows The Show, Alison Cook Beatty Dance, Catherine Gallant/DANCE

Photo courtesy of Alison Cook Beatty Dance

Dance Gram: A Unique Gift Opportunity

Have you been looking for different way to give someone a gift? Dance Entropy has made a special way to show someone you care by creating Dance Gram. A short, interpretive dance created by Valerie Green or a Dance Entropy Company Member that you can gift to another (or can purchase for yourself if you’d like), is the idea behind the Dance Gram. The dance is personalized to fit personality, mood, and interests- and it's sure to put a smile on the face of anyone who receives it.

Valerie will create a dance based on the information you provide about the giftee who will receive a personalized Dance Gram within a week via a private YouTube link. For more information please visit HERE. This is a wonderful gift to consider for any occasion!

Friends, Help Us Move Into The New Year!

Dear Friends,

2020 has been quite an unexpected year, with many twists and turns! As it comes to a close, we are reflecting on all the wonderful opportunities and experiences we are thankful for.

Photo by Stephen Delas Heras

The year started with wonderful performance opportunities alongside local NYC festivals, many exciting plans to expand our NYC educational programs, and a full scheduled tour of our growing project entitled Home - a collaboration with choreographers from around the globe examining issues of identity, human migration, dislocation, and the search for a sense of home.

Of course state-wide closures and lockdown shaped this project in a different way and gave it new-founding, evolving into a dancers pandemic documentary that will be premiered this winter, alongside an all-male trio man/Mother.

Moving programs online allowed for a more direct and different kind of participation, providing an outlet for movement, community, and engagement during the quarantine.

Green Space has also continue promoting dance as a core part of our community, moving to virtual platforms and our newest program (Un)Common Ground, featuring Green Space BIPOC artists in dialogue.

While many of us find ourselves at this new year in our homes - in the stillness, in the quiet, or in the chaos and the unrest, we continue to foster movement, community, creativity, and empowerment.

We are committed to learning together to build a better world.

None of this would be possible if it weren't for you. We ask for your continued, generous, and kind support in bringing this mission to life.

Wishing you a healthy and safe holiday season.

With deepest gratitude,

Valerie Green

Executive Director, Dance Entropy, Inc.

Reflecting on "HOME" with Souleymane Badolo

In December 2020, Valerie Green/Dance Entropy's “HOME” project continued with a new residency with visiting choreographer Souleymane Badolo from Burkina Faso. Company members and guest artists presented Souleymane’s version of “HOME” in an informal showing and discussion at Green Space on December 16, which was also live streamed on the company’s Facebook and Instagram accounts.

The experience was welcomed and rewarding for the dancers, who were exposed to new dance styles, musicality, cultural aesthetics and traditions, and vocalization techniques:

“The whole experience was overwhelming and beautiful. I got the opportunity to learn, experience and share with the dancers and the choreographers.” — Karma, Guest Artist/Performer

“It was nice to come back dancing in the studio with people, and I could not ask for better. Great group, direction, new movement vocabulary and culture shared with amazing people!” — Sara Pizzi, Guest Artist/Performer

"HOME" is an international collaboration with choreographers from Sweden, India, Burkina Faso, Colombia and Lebanon. Each artist examines the concept of home from their own unique perspective, drawing upon the significance of this idea from their home country, as well as factors including culture, upbringing, economics, politics, and personal identity. Five Choreographers are invited to NYC in 5 phases to work with the dancers in 10-day intensives at Green Space. Currently in Phase 4, Dance Entropy is working with Souleyman Badolo on this idea of Home: “I am like a snail, I carry my house with me wherever I am wherever I go. I still have my culture, tradition, and my language that I speak, and also my land and my ancestors living in me. My house is my movement, my dance.”

View the Facebook Live Stream here!

Dance Entropy is back in rehearsal at Green Space

man/Mother is an all-male trio, which composes three separately made solos to original music by Philip Butta. The solos translate emotions, specifically connected to each dancer’s experience of the global COVID-19 pandemic, into movement initiated from emotionally resonant bodily regions. The dancers maintain a separateness of focus with a simultaneously intense awareness of each other in space, as well as a deep reliance on one another for timing - quite literally together while apart. A thick branch, suspended down stage center, makes its way into each of the three physical trails. Both an obstacle and a comfort, it confronts us with hard truths that demand reflection and action. Why would mother nature create such an affliction? What have we done as humans to contribute to bringing it into being? How can we mend our fragmented relationship with that which made us?

This all-male trio was each asked individually what it has been like for them to return to the studio for live rehearsals. To close the creation process an intimate showing/discussion will take place at Green Space on November 30, 11:30am.

(c) Walter Wlodarczyk

Richard Scandola: “When everything closed in March, we didn’t know it would be for that long, and how difficult it would be to go back to what we used to call normal. I took this as a chance to have a break and do the things I usually don’t have the time for— reset myself and reboot. Until I realized that the situation was becoming pretty serious and uncertainty our routine. The lack of space and motivation did not allow me to dance from home. A dance class, for me, is to be shared with a teacher and other dancers in the same room. I need to feel the energy around me. Dancing in front of a screen was a different experience I had a hard time adapting, so I decided that I would do yoga and exercise to maintain my body. I couldn’t stay still for too long anyway, but dance had to be put on hold. When the opportunity to go back to rehearsal in person at the studio rose from the ashes, I jumped on it. I was going to take the subway to go to work, something I haven’t done in 7 months, something I didn’t think I would ever miss, 1h and 15 minutes of commute from Brooklyn to LIC, wondering if I’d remember how to get there. For real…I was missing moving my body, moving through space, creating, exchanging ideas, collaborating with others, and being with others. Being back in the studio, dance is not the same as it used to be. We can’t be close to each other, touch each other ’s body or partner. We can still use our bodies, the space, the music and create together. We can livestream our performances. Yes, I know, watching a dance show on a screen does not procure the same pleasure as the live one, I hear you, I’m a preacher for realness, but the screen is the only contact remaining between dance, live art in general, and the audience, while waiting for the good days to come back and use the outside. Maybe 2021 will be the year with the most outdoor performances, and festivals.”

(c) Stehan Delas Heras

Jonathan Matthews: “When the pandemic hit, I un/fortunately managed to keep rehearsing, albeit remotely. In September, I resumed rehearsing in person with my creative partner, Holly Sass, as well as with some other groups, to varying degrees. Working within everyone’s safety guidelines took a variety of forms, including outdoor rehearsals in Central Park, or strict studio reservation parameters that understandably required a post-rehearsal deep clean of the space per renter. Rehearsing now with Valerie at Green Space has come the closest to feeling like how things were. Yes, there is an air filter. Yes, we wear masks. Yes, we keep our distance. The difference now is that we’re no longer scrambling to figure it all out as we go, allowing a sense of homecoming, one that is generating a whole new way of working for this particular group of artists.”

(c) Alex Lopez

Fumi Kikuchi: “It has been a while since I last danced in a studio. I am simply happy to dance again without the limitations that I have at home. As a dancer, in Valerie Green/Dance Entropy, I restarted rehearsing with Valerie, an artistic director, and other company dancers in the studio for an upcoming performance and an opportunity in the future. Of course, all of us have to wear masks and follow the guidelines to protect us. So, it does not feel exactly the same as it used to be, but it feels rewarding, to me, that I can rehearse again with a specific goal in mind.”

One-On-One Sessions in Core Energetics With Valerie Green

Dear Friends: As you may know, through the years I have personally worked with many diverse populations using movement for healing. At the same time, I have used the artform of dance to create work that connects oneself to their emotions, and have myself taken journeys to the places I did not even know existed inside me. This pursuit of the use of movement and healing organically lead me embark on a 4-year, somatic-based psychotherapy program. Here I humbly offer my services to you or anyone you know who maybe in need.

Find grounding in inhabiting the power of your own presence!

Complex trauma (childhood wounding) and/or single incident trauma can persist throughout life, embodied in every muscle and organ of our bodies. Whether or not we consciously acknowledge our emotions or push them aside, our bodies feel them on some level. This work can help you get in touch with difficult feelings you may be experiencing —perhaps fear, grief, anger, shame, or even joy, that maybe held underneath the surface, struggling to break free.

We will work with movement, touch, breath, and vocal expression through physical and emotional exercises. The goal is to advance towards finding a physical expression of buried emotional wounds/pain to offer processing, release, and healing. This modality is directed towards bringing awareness and interconnection between ones emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. Ms. Green will help guide you in a safe space to authentically express yourself and create a path to move forward to live in your full vitality and life force.

“Working With Valerie Is A Transformational Experience.
I Feel Truly Safe And Can Let Myself Go Completely.”

Ms. Green has led one-on-one sessions and group workshops with a variety of partners including the Department of Corrections at Riker’s Island, Phoenix House, Safe Horizon, Goodwill Citiview, Crime Victims Treatment Center, Elmhurst Hospital, and more.

We invite you to inquire about a session today!

Please feel free to share to a friend or family member in need of support.

Session Length - 60 Minutes

Location - Virtually On Zoom and/or Green Space In LIC, Queens

Sliding Scale Rates Available

“The Work Just Gets Deeper And Deeper Helping Me Counteract A World And Situations That Seem Hopeless.”

Dream Big: The Most Sensible Thing to Do

Chris Bell is a regular studio renter from Green Space where his company chrisbelldances is scheduled to perform at Take Root in 2021. We recently asked him to share some thoughts on coming to Green Space:

“The beautiful thing about dreams is that they’re yours, and you can do with them as you wish. Take me for example, I wanted to be an astronaut for as long as I can remember, and actively pursued the occupation longer than a person with no interest in mathematics should. I have a degree in geology and it’s mostly the fault of my dreams. Thankfully, I had a back up degree in dance, and with the help of teachers, friends, and of course my partner, family and parents, I am currently and gratefully putting it to use. Dreams are constantly shifting. Wannabe Astronauts become Dancers, and performers begin to dream about creating their own performances. Any dream also requires the support of not only people, but places, and for the last three years that place of support has been Green Space.

Green Space came on my radar in 2017 while rehearsing Elvis Everywhere for dendy/donovan projects.  As a dancer and who lived in LIC for almost four years at that point, how did I not know that Green Space was within walking distance of my house. Thankfully I have since corrected that and constantly try to schedule, and encourage those that I dance for, to book at Green Space. Sure, it’s a selfish thing. As I said before, the studio is in my hood, but it’s also a place where I feel comfortable, where I feel at home. Maybe it’s the wood floor. I grew up training on a wood floor. The creeks and moans of the floor boards remind me of the ‘ghosts of artists past’ that guide your bare feet. A feeling of resistance mixed with full tilt slide as we build upon the scaffolding of their work. Or maybe, that’s just me remembering my first dance teacher’s impromptu speeches and it’s all just nostalgia. Either way, I love the floor. Not to mention the view; which has a way of making you feel like being a successful professional NYC artist is not only possible but manageable, and in moments--just after sunset when the city sparkles more than the stars--the most sensible thing to do.

Green Space is an incubator of dance in Queens. I always thought that was such a weird title: A dance incubator. Eggs are incubated, people that makes apps in Silicon Valley are incubated. Is dance incubated? Yes, yes, it is. Has chrisbelldances been incubated by Green Space? Yes, yes it has. Honestly, we sort of fell into it. It started off being just about the studio being close and me being lazy, but then something shifted. The studio started to feel like home, the space inspired me to create, the rate became subsidized (thanks Valerie, NYSCA and Dance NYC) and in 2018 when chrisbelldances expanded from a solo company to a company of 5 we were there all the time. It was the perfect size shell for our little dance organism. A safe environment to make and grow and be. When you are at home you feel relaxed and things seem to flow a little better. The incubator idea was beginning to become clearer. Season one came and went and soon after season two presented itself. We made art, grew into the space more, and I was asked to teach a class in the studio.

We applied for the 2019-2020 Take Root Series and were selected for a showcase in April 2020. At that moment, a shift happened. Take Root is a sponsored series. Green Space takes care of the expense of the theater and lighting and most tech issues and there is a small stipend. So, at the moment when chrisbelldances was accepted into the series we became a company that was being paid to perform… in a space… in NYC… Wow, maybe this dance company thing is a Thing! Maybe there are people and spaces out there who understand and support and want to help us make our dream of being a world-famous dance company a reality. Dream big, right?

So back to the studio we went, we made more art, and we grew into the walls a bit more, and then, the world stopped. LiveFast slated to be performed in April 2020 never happened. Season 3, for the moment was to be postponed, a few weeks, tops. Weeks grew to months and here we are 6 months later with most larger performance venues (like Broadway) hoping to resume performances in June 2021. What does a dreamy performer do when there is nowhere to perform? They go back home. When Green Space first opened for solo renters, I was there, making art, growing into the windows a bit more. The ghost in the floor reeducated my body, their voices expressed through the creeks and moans of the wood encouraged me as I worked to get back what was lost and worked through what was taken. When more than one person was allowed, chrisbelldances went back home as well. We dusted off the cobwebs and nestled back into the warm supportive embrace of our little shell. Our dance organism felt thoroughly incubated. Incubator of dance--oh yeah--that makes sense now.

Dreams shift, and chrisbelldances is now a national organization, we have dancers in Colorado, Georgia and California. That’s not really true. Well… it is true, they are in those places, but right now we are only working with our local dancers (Nicole Baker and Me) on TheBuisnessOfLove for a Take Root performance sometime in 2021 but we have… plans. Dream big right? The way the world works now, anything is possible. So as we prepare to leave the studio, before we close the door, after wiping everything down it still seems like-- as the sun sets and the city continues to sparkle more than the sky--  making art, in your neighborhood, in your home is manageable and the most sensible thing to do.”

(Un)Common Ground Guest: Ashley Suttlar Martin

In the Sole by Ashley Suttlar Martin, Photo Credit: Yi Chun Wu

Serotonin by Ashley Suttlar Martin, Photo Credit: Yi Chun Wu

Recently Ashley Suttlar Martin was featured in the fourth (Un)Common Ground dialogue that brings together BIPOC choreographers who have shown work in Green Space’s artistic programming series. We asked Ashley to speak on her experiences with the program:

“It's hard to imagine my first experience at Green Space was 12 years ago... I can still see from my memory's eye the beauty of this space illuminated by a beautiful skyline of NYC. I was new to Brooklyn and still finding ways to connect with other artists. My dance friends suggested the venue for programming, rehearsal and classes. I performed for the Fertile Ground  Series a solo entitled Soulsurfacing. This piece is an examination of the 4 archetypes of survival based on Carolyn Myss' book, Sacred Contracts. What was most meaningful about the experience was the ability to connect with the audience on a deeper level. This is one of the reasons why I make art, yet, sometimes I've testified (performing) in spaces where I couldn't see a face or hear the breath of my witnesses. The energy that is shared in programming and spaces like Green Space is something so very valuable. 

I was honored to be invited to participate in the (Un)Common Ground Series and humbled that my work had such a memorable impact! What was really exciting was seeing the other participants - The line up incited wonderful memories of my life in dance: Nicole Y. McClam, who I had the pleasure of working with under the direction of Emily Berry/B3W and admiring her skills in textile arts as a fellow Crocheter, Vincent E. Thomas, an amazing educator and artist originally from the Carolinas like me and Leah Tubbs, who I knew as Leah Smiley. We were classmates at the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham! I was already looking forward to connecting in a time of isolation. The nostalgia and comfort I felt seeing friendly, familiar faces gave me additive joy I didn't expect.   

There's a saying: "Coincidence is God's/Higher Power's way of remaining anonymous." Our dialogs were paired randomly and I had the experience of meeting someone new (to me) under this platform. As a person who is often labeled as having  an  "introspective demeanor" and that my "power is revealed" only when moving, I pondered if NYC based artist Ari Mayzick and I would have a valuable exchange. I do not consider myself as a public speaker by any means and I am not an extrovert. I have always believed that you do not have to be loud to be heard but in our field, it sometimes feels that volume can superimpose itself over genuine passion. In spite of my anticipation, I discovered early in the conversation Ari and I share commonalities within our craft in terms of honesty, artistic integrity and the healing power of dance. What Green Space facilitated virtually, echoed the fond memories I have of performing there physically.  

12 years later, I am still doing the thing I love. By virtue, I am a Choreographer and teaching is in my Bloodline. I've taught dance in higher education throughout the Carolinas, I serve on faculty at a prominent Arts School in Charlotte, and I've been a Teaching Artist for Charlotte Ballet Academy, Education & Community Engagement Programs since 2014. I am Artistic Director of 4thrightdance, a company that has presented work along the East Coast. There's never been a moment when I'm not creating but my greatest work (in collaboration with my Husband) has been our 2 daughters, Genevieve and Fiona. I "danced until delivery" with both of my girls. Now they are toddlers,  I'm excited to resume company work and teach our children the abundant rewards of arts and education.  

In a time where so many things are unstable and uncertain, I find solace in practicing gratitude. Thank you Green Space for being a refuge for Dance Artists near and far.”

Meet Work Study Extraordinaire: Mally Reber

We asked Mally Reber, our work study and jack-of-all trades about her experience at Green Space. Check out what she had to say:

“From the time I was born through high school graduation, my small town dance studio in Ohio was my second home. I spent all of my time there after school for classes, helping in the office, and eventually teaching on my own. I loved being there. I loved seeing all of the other dancers coming in for class, having studio space to myself, and loved learning the inner workings of running a business. It felt like a family, but of course, it actually was my family. My godmother was my dance teacher and my mom played piano for ballet lessons. I quite literally grew up there. My dance studio always felt like a constant comfort to me.

When I moved to NYC, I was fresh out of college with little money to my name and a lot of confusion on how to navigate life as an adult. I missed my friends and family back home in Ohio, and was feeling very much alone in the big city. The first couple of years were tough as I’m sure any artist struggling to live in NYC will say. I auditioned as much as possible, but I needed to make a living. I was on my own supporting myself, and needed to make sure I was going to be okay, financially. Because of that, it seemed I was dancing less and less. I was constantly exhausted and stressed, and it was starting to really take a toll on my mental health. It felt like I wasn’t doing what I was meant to do, and it led me into a deep depression.

But it wasn’t all bad; things started to pick up a bit as the years progressed. I was finally feeling like I had both feet on the ground, and while there were plenty of lows there were many highs too. I was making friends and dancing from time to time, but missed choreographing and working on my own in the studio. I needed a space to dance and choreograph, and release some of the creative energy that had been stifled for so long. I had done work study at other major studios in the city, but wanted to have the ability to use the space on my own, and hadn’t connected in a way with those studios where I felt safe, creatively. There were so many people coming in and out, and it was hard to connect. I was also moving a lot from sublet to sublet and desperately needed something that was constant and like a place I could go that felt like a haven from the daily stresses of living in NYC.

Mally at Green Space

I remember the first time I was ever at Green Space. I was actually rehearsing for another project, and couldn’t believe how beautiful the space was when I entered the room. The wood floors, the open space, and the windows with a killer view of the city. My city. Shortly after that rehearsal I saw an ad from Green Space looking for someone to do work study, and I applied right away and got the job. In my two and a half years working for Valerie Green, I have done paperwork filing, cleaning, videotaping, box office, mailings, gala prep, and more, I was able to take a couple classes as well as use the space to choreograph and hold my own rehearsals. It was what I needed.

Green Space was exactly what I had been missing. It helped me pull myself out of some really dark places and continues to do so to this day. I know that I can go there and forget about whatever is bothering me, and have a place to release that energy. That studio has been the place for many tears and triumphs, and it felt It feels so nice to be a part of a studio family again. I missed the comfort of being in the kind of space that I knew best and am so grateful to have found Green Space. It’s provided me with a lot of peace in trying times and couldn’t have asked for a better, safer, space.”

Far From Uncommon: An (Un)Common Perspective: Leah Tubbs

Green Space and Dance Entropy recently started (Un)Common Ground, a program that brings together BIPOC choreographers who have shown work in Green Space’s artistic programming series. We recently asked Leah Tubbs to expound on her discussion through this series:

Photo by Shaun Tubbs.

“I had the great opportunity to be a part of (Un)Common Ground, a series of conversations led by black artists who presented work in Green Space’s Dance Series. It was a joy to chat with Nia & Ness, a beautiful, loving couple that encompass a dance and spoken word collective who hold space for LGBTQIA+ artists, especially black lesbian women. As I prepared for this conversation, I began to reflect on my journey navigating the dance field as a black woman. I am grateful to have had a black woman as my first dance teacher, a woman who owned and led her own dance studio. Within this space she managed to seamlessly mix and share her enthusiasm for dance with her deep appreciation for our history and culture. Planting the seeds of self-love and self-worth inside of every black & brown student whose lives she welcomed in. Thankfully, this nurturing, this safe environment would begin my journey and would be my foundation. Regrettable, and not surprisingly, these values, my very artistic base would face a continual stream of tests and challenges.  

I knew at the age of four, from the moment my parents drove past this particular performing arts school, that I would someday be counted amongst its students. This school was affiliated with our regional ballet company, and even held community auditions for their upcoming production of The Nutcracker. I begged my parents to take me to the audition so I could experience what it was like to be in the school where I knew I would one day attend as a dance major, leading me closer to my dream of being a professional dancer. The day of the audition arrived and I was there. I felt somewhat uneasy, as there were very few other Black & Brown girls in attendance. I found a corner where I could stretch and focus before my number was called to audition. Then I heard it, my number was called, it would soon be my turn. I, along with a few others went into the next studio where we learned a combination from the soldier's section in the fight scene of Act One. We then were called to perform this phrase. And shortly following this I received a package of papers to give to my parents acknowledging that I was selected and would be performing as a soldier in The Nutcracker. The choreography was age appropriate and full of different formations to utilize a large theater stage. My costume was a cherry red army-inspired jacket with gold buttons and tassels on the shoulders over a black leotard, black tights, and black ballet flat shoes. I wore a tall black hat with a red rim and gold trim and a red felt circle on each cheek to look like a ‘real’ toy soldier. This moment, this achievement, that was supposed to fill me with joy and excitement, felt quite the opposite. In all of the rehearsals and in the dressing room of the theater I sat alone because, well, I was in fact alone. I looked different from the rest of the students in my soldier’s group, and my white peers were loudly vocal about our differences. These elementary students coming from predominantly white dance schools couldn’t wrap their heads around dancing with someone who was black like me. I never forgot that moment of feeling distanced though surrounded by others.   

(c) BreakThrough Media

This story, my story, is far from uncommon. In fact, if you are a black or non-white person in the dance field, it’s likely that you’ve had a similar experience. And I’ve had many experiences like this first one as I studied and trained as a young dancer. I was the only black dance major in my seventh-grade class. I was even the only black dance major my freshman year of college. And although I came from a strong infrastructure of training spearheaded by a black woman, years of challenges and micro-aggressions tested my patience, fortitude, and tenacity as an artist and as an individual. Even outside of the dance studio, as a teenager, I found myself being all too frequently followed by white clerks while I shopped in stores, and racially profiled by the police while I drove. 

Despite what felt like society’s desire to hold me back, I stand tall. It’s because of these experiences, these challenges, along with my deep south upbringing, I am the person that I am: strong willed, tenacious, and unapologetically black. I normally would only share these memories with other black & brown colleagues, associates, and individuals within this community. However, true and lasting change can only happen if more BIPOC are fully honest and transparent about their experiences. And if white people would not merely listen, but be audaciously proactive and unflinchingly receptive to the necessity of racial equality and the shifting of the socio-economic deficit that has plagued our world for centuries. I know that this change won’t happen overnight, maybe not even for a very long time, however these (Un)Common Ground conversations are a good starting point of a greater shift towards a better world. Let us, together, begin.“

Rediscovering the Joy and Meaning of Being Creative

Kei Tsuruharatani at Green Space

Green Space recently was very pleased to announce they had reopened their doors for solo and duo rentals! After being shutdown for over 4 months due to the pandemic, the studio opened on a limited basis with safety protocols. We recently asked one new renter what their experience was like after being home for so long. During a time when people are battling Covid blues, being cramped and confined in small spaces, and artistic projects are being put on hold, we asked Kei Tsuruharatani to share some of his thoughts:

“My name is Kei (they/them). I’m from Japan and living in New York for over ten years now. I’m probably leading an unstable, a little anxious-driven everyday life similar to whoever’s reading this. I have taken Zoom dance classes and done many self-tapings in our 600 sq. foot apartment, mostly in the bedroom (my husband is working remotely in the living room). Walking for almost an hour has become the main transportation to get to anywhere. I lost my regular Broadway performing job due to the shutdown in March, and it is hard to tell when the job is coming back. 

In the pandemic, I’m rediscovering the joy and meaning of being creative. I started dancing when I was eighteen. Soon after that, performing has been my career for almost two decades. Also, I am an immigrant here. I have had a sense of urgency to “make it in America.” Fortunately, I was able to make my living one way or the other through performing as long as I have lived in New York. 

I love performing, but I cannot remember when I created something just for the sake of creating. Any dance, singing, and acting classes were for the job or auditioning for so long, I had forgotten what it is to just create. 

I felt a sense of awe when I first came to the Green Space studio, which was bigger than my husband’s and I’s humble apartment, and the excitement that I can be here by myself for a few hours for the whole week. It was my first time back in the studio since March. I had never NOT been in a situation that would separate me from this kind of studio space for this long since I started dancing.   

It was mostly pure joy to participate in Gaga HomeLab with the studio space. The familiar sense of how I should move would creep back in my mind from time to time. But it was easier to be okay with that because I was simply happy to be in the large space. Without the foreseeable future of work, I found it easier to relate to my body and creativity at where they are. Maybe it would have been more intense doing ballet. The nature of exploration and research of Gaga definitely helped me find a glimpse of a new perspective of what it is to be in the studio as a dancer. To have a career as a performer, there’s a negotiation to produce whatever is being asked to produce. And have experienced the sense of freedom and artistry while working on shows. However, it is rare. It may be the negotiation artists make when they make something to sell. I don’t think that’s bad and I also find that it’s difficult to find the space and time not to make that negotiation at all.

I was definitely surprised to feel the awe and joy I felt during the time in the studio. It became a healthy drop of appreciation in what the anxiety-driven quarantine life could bring. Otherwise, I would have not slowed down enough to see it. “

One Virtual Participant's Journey with Skimming the Surface

"Skimming The Surface", Expressive Movement workshops led by Dance Entropy’s Artistic Director Valerie Green, have continued to thrive during Covid lock down and ongoing as this interactive program was instantly made virtual in March. The program has been offered for free to participants, and made possible by generous support of NYC Dept. of Cultural Affairs and The New York Community Trust- NYC COVID-19 Response and Impact Fund. This virtual workshop created a safe container to tune into one’s emotions while releasing and processing feelings through movement, in a supported space of community.

We recently asked one of our ongoing virtual participants, Misa Kelly, to expound upon her experience with this workshop:

Misa’s Hawaiian ancestral in flow name is Dylan Iolani Wahinialoha Pu'u, which inspired her art created from the workshop.

‘ In my journey of tending a trauma-related medical condition, I’ve worked with a lot of different healers and tried a lot of different modalities, and I have observed things come to us when we are ready. Given that I’ve known Valerie on a professional level, as a dance maker, and organizer, somehow, I never would I have guessed that Valerie would enter my life as a healing facilitator at such a pivotal time in my life.  My professional work as a multi-modal maker, and my healing work was entirely separate in terms of human relationship, and although Valerie and I had discussed respective healing journeys, it was a delightful surprise to discover our relationship was shifting, with me discovering myself in the care of her healer process.

Valerie’s framework, of tending a “global trauma”, through this work is some of the most important type of work occurring at this time, and of course, a creative visionary such as Valerie would have the heart and intention to tend this wound with the depth and breadth of integrity that she does.

The times we are living in, in my view, challenge stability on a personal, communal, and global level.  Entering into Valerie’s process through her Therapeutic Expressive Movement workshops have been a golden elixir in the continuum of not only growing in these challenging times but also, the nuts and bolts of maintaining stability when one continues to cope with a health condition (PTSD.) Valerie’s zoom workshops have been for me an anchor firmly attached to the collective unconscious ocean floor that has served to stabilize my body as a boat within these turbulent waters.

In these Zoom sessions, one is met with clear objectives, boundaries, and the creation of the critical ingredient for healing—safety.  What I have observed, is that each workshop has helped me to shift something within and to process on both a personal level and a community level: COVID19, #blacklivesmatter, political insanity, economic turbulence, and my own PTSD triggers, such as depression that comes each year with my birthday.

What I especially appreciate about these workshops is the depth and breadth of knowledge by Valerie offered to the community. Not only her decades of experience as a teacher, but her personal lived experience, and her own healing journey with an awareness of the impact of trauma on one’s life, and the tools and resources that can promote balance and well-being. Her investment in educating herself beyond dance alone into training in a tandem healing modality, bring this to the space, with her generosity of heart, her curiosity, her zeal for excellence, her genuine care, it is a no brainer that something miraculous and wonderful is there for the participant willing to enter into the workshop flow.

Each workshop is different, with a few tools that might be revisited, but it is as if somehow, as the healer that she is, she senses within the community’s collective sub-text, what it is that we need to process and be a part of this exciting opportunity to manifest something beautiful from the throes of chaos and change.

I love the multi-modal aspect of the offering, how we not only move and use our bodies in a way accessible to dancers and non-dancers alike, but the opportunity to share in form of our personal stories and reflections about our experiences, journaling, and in our last session, incorporating expression through drawing in a workshop where we danced our self-portrait.

Following is a poem that emerged from one of our writing reflections:

“I swim in the swift rivers of my blood, the viscera swirl in turquoise light with tinges of rose madder and burnt umber bringing to the surface the froth that seeks to be scooped up and tended.

Come hold my hand little one and nestle in my heart for but a moment and let the body feel the wonderful expanse of play from horizon to horizon. Together our eyes ride in the tail of the comet as the golden honu comes to us. We ride on its back to paradise and back, in the swirl of the goodness of moving.

I invite you to ride in this story and to rest, and dream, and sleep.
Find safety and deeper release in your dreams.
You’ve worked so hard.
Now it is time for joy.
Be in your radiance.
Be in your core.
You are of value.”

— Misa Miele Mandigo Kelly (Instagram@freerangemaker)

“The Golden Honu (turtle)” -Misa Kelly

Dance Entropy Wrapped up its '1st' Virtual Summer Intensive!

On July 13-17, Dance Entropy held its 12th annual Summer Intensive, and for the first time, it was held virtually. This new container for space was a great success for the 13 students, and 6 teachers that were in attendance. 

Valerie Green led the morning class, “Enter the Body: Choreography Class to Create Outside the Box”. This workshop was designed to share valuable creative movement exercises and tools that stimulate the mind and body to improvise and generate new ideas. This opportunity was made to dive deeply into one’s physical and emotional body to explore and create in a nurturing environment. As the students worked in a virtual container from home, they also investigated their bodies in response to their physical environment, and were guided to break old habits, find new pathways and discover their own movement conceptions. The students who participated were asked about their goals made upon signing up for this class, here are some:

Drawing Exercise for “Enter the Body: Choreography Class to Create Outside the Box”

“Throughout this process I found that I did grow to become more confident in creating. I sometimes fear when entering the creative process, and I think this is because I overthink and get stuck in my head. Practicing the exercises given during this intensive allowed me to get out of my head and flow in the moment.”

“My goal was to explore more creativity through different choreographers. I achieved my goal. The study I liked the most is the one where we choreographed through paintings.” 

“My original goals were to become more confident and freeing in my movement...I was prompted to take risks and move outside of constantly thinking before I do movement. This was both liberating and very uncomfortable, which is a great thing. Without sticking to the box of 5-6-7-8 dance/movement, I was allowed to let my body lead my mind as opposed to overthinking and limiting myself to always letting my mind lead. My favorite prompt was the one lead by sensations, which is something that we often leave up to the choreographer, and not the other way around. I also loved the drawing dancing, it was a big release. It was a freeing experience.” 

“In this time, I am reevaluating who I share space with, and how I feel seen, heard, and represented, especially recently spending so much time in a predominantly white, contemporary and ballet based space. I really appreciate being with a diverse group.”

“Thanks for warming me to dance as a serious study--my deep and fluent analytic self has overdefined me in the past, especially as others have seen me.” 

HIP-HOP/STREET STYLES

This summer dance intensive also had an afternoon portion for Hip Hop/Street Styles, the first time offered in the summer intensive, taught by Dance Entropy Teaching artists. These upbeat classes specialized in various styles such as commercial hip-hop, house, afro beat, funk and house. Originating in New York in the 1970s, hip-hop’s energetic and expressive movements have had a global impact on dance and popular culture. We’d like to share with you some of the student reactions:

“The Hip Hop/Jazz classes have been the highlight of my week, and a nice balance to keeping me motivated. Thank you so much for this experience. I felt super prepared after my first intensive, and realized I had so much more knowledge than many of my peers. This time enhanced my growth.”

“My goal was to experience more quality movement, and to have confidence in black cultural dances. Being black, I don’t really have confidence...now through my experience, it made a difference, and I feel more confident.” 

Wrapping up a wonderful Hip Hop session

“I enjoyed all of the classes and experiences, I absolutely loved each of the facilitators, their energy, the challenge of having to work fast, and I especially appreciated their in-depth knowledge of the dances they are doing, which is most important to me.”

“I felt like we were able to make mistakes and not feel ridiculed, but instead, encouraged. It’s a part of the learning process.” 

“Loved all the different styles--I think this should be a staple in the intensive.”

And that’s a wrap for Dance Entropy/Green Space’s first virtual intensive! We could not be more pleased to continue offering this valuable annual programming during this challenging time.

Board of Directors Profile: Lamel Adkins

Adkins with his family.

In the Fall of 2019, Dance Entropy was excited to welcome Lamel Adkins to the board. Adkins is a licensed attorney in the state of New York. He currently serves as a Law Clerk at NBCUniversal where he supports NBC News Group and CNBC Prime. Adkins was recently asked to speak on his experiences thus far in working with Dance Entropy:

“I am new to Dance Entropy, but already, I can tell that Valerie is truly living her passion. I had the pleasure of going to the studio in Long Island City, where I met some of the dancers, toured the beautiful space and most importantly, saw a show. All of this took place, pre-Covid. Since then, I have seen Valerie make decisions with her dancers, and all of the demographics she serves, in mind. I have had the privilege of being part of some of those discussions and the strategizing involved. So far, it is clear that Dance Entropy is Valerie's baby. She loves it and will do everything in her power to keep her programming efforts strong and bolster the brand of Dance Entropy. 

I have been particularly impressed with Valerie's response to recent injustices, namely the death of George Floyd. She was quick to send correspondence showing her support to Black Lives Matter. One of the reasons I decided to join the board was Valerie's commitment to helping under-served and under-resourced communities. I have a background in doing the same. Not only has Valerie posted messages showing Dance Entropy's solidarity in this time, but she now has given space and a voice to male and female artists of color. They are actively involved in the programming at Dance Entropy. Being so new, this action from Valerie, has made me trust her, and feel good about serving in the capacity that I do. I feel like my voice matters here. I am excited about my future with the company. I am also excited to see how Valerie will continue to use dance as a way to bring people together, and start meaningful and necessary conversations.”