Greetings from the OC, California!

Greetings from the OC! We are at the half way point of National Choreographers Initiative (NCI) and I am happy to say that this summer in SoCal is looking to be just as amazing as my last.NCI is a summer program for choreographers to set new work as well as experiment, develop and practice the art of choreography. It is a workshop setting, which gives the choreographers the the opportunity to experiment and make changes as much as they would like...an opportunity they may not necessarily have when creating work for companies during a company season due to time restraints.

I am working with choreographers Viktor Kabaniaev and Peter Quanz who both are producing very interesting material. It is always a little nerve-racking to work with a new choreographer in the beginning, but even though both Viktor and Peter offer movement that is different from most of what I have experience in, the base is in ballet so it is easy to pick up and not too intimidating.

The NCI project provides a great outlet for dancers and choreographers to grow and develop by pursuing different directions than they might not normally in their regular seasons. I am looking forward to the performance, and thoroughly enjoying our days off at the beach. I've posted a video here, and if you are interested in seeing some more of what we have already worked on, go to the NCI Dance channel on youtube.com.

-Maggie