July was a big month for me. 3 different performances, 5 shows, 2 dances created, and lots of new dance friends made.

There were also 5 different reviews, 4 of which were published online. In the grand scheme of things, I’m still a fairly young, emerging, and maybe it’s even fair to say “inexperienced”* choreographer, so to be reviewed is simultaneously humbling, honoring, and surprising. Each review was very fair and well-written, and again, it’s an honor, though it’s definitely tinged with anxiety.

First, imPULSE dance project’s performance of My Beating Heart. Having danced in 3 works on this program, I was thrilled with the reviews that showed the strengths in the company’s performance and my choreography (“Flatango”) was well-received overall.

Theater Jones Review by Margaret Putnam

There was another review by Manny Mendoza for the Dallas Morning News, but it was only produced in their print version and is available online to subscribers, so unfortunately I’m unable to link to it.

Wanderlust Dance Project was the following weekend, also reviewed by both Mendoza and Putnam. Wanderlust featured a dozen dances and almost as many choreographers.

The DMN review combined thoughts on Wanderlust as well as a performance that same weekend of Made in a Day by Muscle Memory Dance Theater. I was  disappointed that our dates overlapped since I would have liked to either participate in or at least enjoy the performance myself. The concept was to make a dance in just 12 hours which sounds like a long time but is not.  Anyway, due to the density of all that needed to be reviewed (Easily each show could have been its own long-form story) my work does not make it into the mentions in this review, but it’s still a nice slice of what happened that weekend.

Theater Jones Review of Wanderlust by Margaret Putnam

And last, I was fortunate to be able to present my work, “Flatango” at a performance produced by Big Rig Dance Collective. I love the work that Big Rig does, their spirit of collaboration and community. It was awesome to be able to present my work for a second time. And this time I had to dance in it, yikes!

Also very fun, having someone review the dance after seeing it a second time. So thank you again to Theater Jones and Margaret Putnam for providing a way for others to experience my work without seeing it themselves.

*(It feels wrong to call myself inexperienced that since I actively choreograph in a variety of ways throughout the year and have been experimenting with dance creation since I was 16 years old, almost half my life. Still I have never created something for a company that I myself did not dance in, been commissioned to create work outside of an application process, etc., et. al. And the alternative is to call myself experienced. I don’t know, am I?  When did this become a journal entry?)