This week’s blog highlights Corey Bliss, an amazing dancer who has brought so much to our company since 2009. We love Corey! Read about her life as a dancer and her favorite experiences bonding with our company.
I started dancing at age 4. My mom worked full time, so my grandmother was in charge of keeping me occupied during the afternoons. There was a dance studio across the street from the hospital where my grandmother worked as an ER nurse, so she thought that would be the perfect activity to keep me busy – convenient, too! I took my first class and was instantly hooked. It turns out I was quite the ham, and loved performing and being on stage (especially when it involved lots of sequins).
Dance has defined my life from the first day I set foot in the studio. It was the only activity that I never wanted to give up or cut back on when I was growing up – I just kept wanting more, and more….and, yes, more. I was (ok, still am) a bit of a nerd, and had a hard time in school socially. So, dance became my escape…a place where I could truly be myself, in all my awkward glory. In fact, I met my two closest, lifelong friends in dance class in second grade. Dance fuels my soul, and I feel very, very lucky and blessed to have an inspiring and consistent performing career, in addition to two rewarding part-time jobs in the dance field.
I appreciate and love to watch all types of dance, from ballet to bharata natyam. But, I definitely prefer to perform and explore modern and contemporary styles. I am a verbal person, so word prompts usually get my creative juices flowing in the studio. Once the movements have been created and are being refined, however, I try to find the precision in the physicality to enhance my performance quality. I often create some pretty messy movements in rehearsal, so I like to go back later and pick apart a sequence to discover exactly what it is physically that is initiating or informing the movement. In doing so, I do draw on the larger theme or influencing idea, so that there is some motivation behind the precision. There is nothing I love more than the performing, so I suppose that being on stage is my ultimate connection to the movement – when the lights go up, I am ON. The movement develops a life of its own – new dimensions…
Teresa has a collaborative rehearsal process that I really enjoy. It’s great to be valued and appreciated as a true dance artist, as opposed to “just a body learning and doing steps.” I did not grow up or train in a collaborative environment, so the process can sometimes be a challenge for me (especially when I am not feeling so creative on a given day). But, those challenges have also helped me to constantly evolve and grow as a dancer, even after being with the company for over five years. I am inspired daily by the strength and artistry of the other dancers in the company…they always push me beyond my limits. As an artist, I can’t ask for anything more!
I would have to say that the highlights of my tenure with BodyStories: Teresa Fellion were touring and performing in Edinburgh, Scotland in 2010 and 2013. There’s nothing quite like reading that first glowing review from an international publication…it’s quite surreal. Also, the company’s creative residency at Dragon’s Egg this past January was a wonderful bonding experience for the whole company – okay, so we may have stayed up a bit too late playing card games and sharing stories and laughing until we fell over, but we made some serious magic happen in that space in just 2 and a half short days!
Thanks Corey, for describing the love and connection of the company with your beautiful words! Be sure to come see it for yourself on June 21 at the MMAC!