In the months leading up to Danspace, we sent over 15,000 emails! This number is not an exaggeration. Between sending save the dates, invitations, acquiring presenters, press, and email blasts, our communication is constant. There is so much that goes into getting ready for a performance than just the creation of the piece that I never thought about while watching a show. It is the creativity and hardworking dancers that makes the marketing and administrative tasks more important. It is the dancers hard work that makes me want to work hard. I want the dancers to have a great season and that comes with getting butts in seats! And that’s not all, getting sponsorships, ads in the program, and donations for an after party. If this wasn’t a lot already for a 3-person office staff, we launched our Kickstarter a month before the premiere. Kickstarter has an app for your smartphone and every time I get an update that we got a backer, I say ‘Yes!’ no matter where I am. New Yorkers are used to weirder things!
It has been quite the journey with BodyStories to Danspace this season. I was one of the lucky few to have a front seat or rather ‘backstage’ view to the whole process. I have seen the piece be worked and reworked since rehearsals and showings in early September, our Holiday Fundraiser, and the ITE showing at DANY studios in January. It has even grown a ton since the recent preview a month ago in Boston. I am excited to see the final product and see how the audience reacts to it. I know that some of the audience is already excited about it from the amount of support we are receiving through the Kickstarter campaign. It is nice to see how much BodyStories is loved and that has a lot to do with the amazing dancers Teresa Fellion has put in her company. And Teresa Fellion herself who gave this piece life when she first introduced it as part of her thesis at Sarah Lawrence.
I am still having trouble believing that the Premiere at Danspace is happening in just 9 days! I remember asking Teresa back in September if I could stay with the company through May because I would like to see them through their season. It is finally here and I have lost count of how many things I have done to prepare for it. There is still more to do as we head into tech week or as we called it in high school drama, ‘hell week’. In that final week we will be bringing everything togehter, lighting, music, last marketing push, and ending the Kickstarter.
I think people who come will be impressed by the piece’s artistry and the space, and how the dancers perform within that space in order to take them into their world. Teresa has worked with lighting designer, Tim Cryan to really take advantage of how to bring the audience on this journey. Thank you BodyStories: Teresa Fellion Dance for letting me be a part of the family since September and allowing me to help bring you to your destination at Danspace Project, May 21-23!