upcoming

Upcoming Shows / Intensives / Workshops / Company Class

THE MOVING ARCHITECTS @ APAP/NYC
featuring Erin Carlisle Norton of The Moving Architects
Saturday, January 7, 2012, 5:30pm

FREE EVENT! Please RSVP: https://apaptma.eventbrite.com

Dance New Amsterdam
280 Broadway (enter on Chambers), New York, New York 10007

Subway Directions to DNA:
R/W to City Hall - 4/5/6 to Brooklyn Bridge - J/M/Z to Chambers Street - A/C/E to Chambers Street - 1/2/3 to Chambers Street - 2/3 to Park Place

The Moving Architects performs excerpts from their evening-length work PLUCK. PLUCK is about Power - who has it, what it looks like, how it feels, and why we live in reaction or agreement with its subliminal and prominent presence. Choreographed long-distance using Skype video-conferencing as the primary tool for communication, technology also takes on a role of Power through its all-seeing-no-touching lens. These limitations inform PLUCK; individual and complex relationships are constructed and fall apart with emotional and physical extremes. Danced by tenaciously feminine women, PLUCK probes and disposes of these questions through the company's signature movement style and pairing opt the ongoing collaboration between Erin Carlisle Norton, dance maker, and Ian Hatcher, music man.

choreographer / Erin Carlisle Norton
dancers / Alexis Britford, Joyelle Fobbs, Crystal Michelle
music / Ian Hatcher
costumes / Lindsey Snyder

contact: erin@themovingarchitects.org

PLUCK
presented by Stefanie Karlin and The Moving Architects
April 5-7, 2012 / Seattle, WA

Velocity Dance Center, Seattle, WA
http://velocitydancecenter.org

Choreography: Erin Carlisle Norton
Dancers: Joyelle Fobbs, Alyssa Gregory, Angela Luem, Amanda Platt, Bettina Vaccarello, Laura Vinci De Vanegas
Music: Ian Hatcher

Intersect: The Moving Architects Evening Concert of Short Works
May 4-6, 2012 / Chicago, IL

Fasseas White Box Theater, Chicago, IL
http://www.menomoneeclub.org/

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Past events:

The Other Dance Festival
September 15-16, 2011 / Chicago IL

Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater, 3035 N. Hoyne, Chicago IL (map/directions)

The Moving Architects perform the Chicago premiere of a new piece, Burnshine. The work's dynamic shape, quaking yet forcefully exact, is propelled by live percussion by Chicago musician Frank Rosaly. Featured at the festival alongside The Moving Architects: BONEdanse, Jyl Fehrenkamp, Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak, Same Planet Different World Dance Theatre, and Janet Schmid. More info and festival schedule: The Other Dance Festival

$15 / $12 students & seniors

Buy Tickets

The Purple State
November 4-6, 2011 / Chicago, IL

Links Hall, 3435 N. Sheffield, Chicago IL (map/directions)
Friday and Saturday at 8pm / Sunday at 7pm

The Purple State: featuring 3 distinct female choreographers with deep connections to Ohio. From a state steeped in political drama and cities steadily rising out of cornfields, there maintains a drive into the theoretical, performative, and choreographic work of Kristina Isabelle, Meghan Durham-Wall, and Erin Carlisle Norton. Pulling in themes surrounding the complexity of interacting, the violet found in Kandinsky artwork, and magical realism, their work keeps dance charged and relevant in Middle America.

$15 ($12 online) / $10 students & seniors

Buy Tickets

The 5th Bluegrass State International Dance Festival
featuring Erin Carlisle Norton of The Moving Architects
November 11-12, 2011 / La Grange, Kentucky

The James T. Beaumont Community Center
307 West Jefferson Street, La Grange, Kentucky 40031
Friday and Saturday at 8pm / Sunday at 7pm

$10 / $8 students. Festival info

Tickets: 502-222-2273 or danceformspro@aol.com

The Moving Architects Summer Dance Retreat
August 8-14, 2011 / Wilson College, PA

The Moving Architects summer intensive is designed for dancers who seek to embody a complete artistic skillset as a professional modern dancer. This intensive study includes connecting to body-mind somatic practices, honing modern dance technique, and developing improvisation, intuition, and bodywork skills to expand physical possibilities, all while learning to contribute to the choreographer's creative process in new repertory. Erin Carlisle Norton and company members will lead classes, culminating with a public showing of new repertory on the workshop's final evening. The rigorous dance schedule of this intimate workshop on Wilson College's idyllic campus will challenge participants to expand their dance technique to fully embody the creative process.

Each day in the studio includes:
Yoga or Pilates, Modern Technique, New Repertory, Physical Possibilities Lab

Tuition: $375
Room: $180

Registration Deadline: June 10, 2011

Master Class Workshop: Kristina Isabelle
Embodying the Body: Defining and Refining Movement Choices

Thursday 11.3 / 10am-12pm
Links Hall, 3435 N. Sheffield Ave, Chicago
$15

Register

Master Class Workshop: Meghan Durham-Wall
Headlining: Exploring the Overlap of Language and Movement

Sunday 11.6 / 12pm-2pm
Links Hall, 3435 N. Sheffield Ave, Chicago
$15

Register

Coming soon. Please check back for updates or join our mailing list.

The Moving Architects / Collaborators / Board of Directors

tma

Erin Carlisle Norton founded The Moving Architects on New Year's Day, 2007. Growing up in the nooks and crannies of a Victorian house and the Neo-Gothic church outside of Pittsburgh, PA where her father was pastor, she developed a heightened awareness of her experience of physical spaces long-steeped in the passage of time. As an artist she seeks to channel research of places, structures, their histories, and associated cultural transformations into choreography, exploring the embodiment of past and distant spaces in the heightened present of live performance.

Drawing from her training in Laban Movement Analysis and academic dance studies, Carlisle Norton takes a highly visual approach to choreography, assessing movement phrases based on their filmic as well as thematic properties. Her long-term creative partnership with composer/accompanist Ian Hatcher has led to "an unbroken string of potent, mysterious choreographies" (TimeOut Chicago, June 2011). The Moving Architects have taught and performed throughout the United States and recently completed a tour of Central Asia sponsored by The U.S. Department of State and U.S. Embassies.

The company continues to research new projects in both community and international settings and explore the use of digital technologies as creative and conceptual tools. The 2011 work PLUCK was choreographed and set long-distance via Skype video-conferencing software, and research is ongoing in the use of technology in connection to cross-cultural distance teaching and performance projects.

Erin Carlisle Norton
Artistic Director
Erin holds a BFA in Dance with honors and distinction from The Ohio State University, a Graduate Laban Certificate in Movement Analysis (CMA) from Columbia College Chicago, Pilates Certification, and is currently pursuing her MFA in Dance at Ohio State. Her choreography has been presented throughout the Midwest and East Coast, notably at Links Hall (Chicago); Wilson College (PA); and Chez Bushwick (NYC); and in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan as part of a US Embassy/Department of State PAI Teaching and Performance Tour in March 2011. Erin has taught at dance studios throughout Chicago and Columbus, OH and as guest artist at University of Chicago, Western Michigan University, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Wilson College, and Beloit College. She has received multiple individual grants from the Chicago Cultural Center CAAP Grant and The Illinois Arts Council, Columbus Dances Fellowship 2011, and is curator for Links Hall's Artistic Associates program 2011-2012. Erin's choreographic and graduate research is focused on distance learning that includes international teaching and cross-cultural exchange through technologies. Erin is currently a Graduate Assistant for Bebe Miller at OSU, assisting with her performance project History and Dance Fort online company archive.

Ian Hatcher
Composer, Sound Designer, Accompanist
Ian Hatcher works and plays with text, sound, code, music, networks, his body, and other people. He has been creating music for the Moving Architects and performing live with the company since 2008. He holds a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and MFA from Brown University, and now lives in NYC. clearblock.net

Joyelle Fobbs
Dancer
Joyelle Fobbs began her training under Elzbieta A. Kutek in Michigan and continued her studies at American Ballet Theatre (ABT), Kirov Academy, Julliard and the Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) schools. She then toured throughout the U.S. and Europe as a member of the DTH Company and Ensemble. She later attended the University of Michigan receiving her BFA in dance performance with Honor's and studied with Ballet contemporaneous Dance Company and ballet Argentino in Buenos Aires, ARG in 2006. She has been featured as a soloist in works by Alonzo King and Martha Graham, and performed with the Michigan Opera Theatre and Dayton Ballet, and received numerous merit scholarship awards including the Dance Magazine Craft of Choreography Award. Joyelle also enjoys singing and is a STOTTPilates and ABT National Curriculum certified instructor. She is currently an MFA candidate in dance performance at the Ohio State University and is excited to be dancing with TMA for the 2011-12 season.

Alyssa Gregory
Dancer
Alyssa Gregory received her BFA in Dance & Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. During her time at VCU she had the privilege of working with Tania Issac, Melanie Richards, Scott Putman, Amaranth Contemporary Dance Company and was in the Urban Bush Women reconstruction of Shelter. She also choreographed and presented in numerous student concerts at VCU and received the 2010 VCU Arts Undergraduate Research Grant. Outside of VCU she worked closely in Richmond with We Are Artists choreographers Autumn Proctor and Shannon Bramham. Alyssa currently teaches dance classes in Chicago.

Angela Luem
Dancer
Angela Luem received her BFA from Southern Methodist University in Dance Performance and upon graduation immediately moved to New York City where she worked as a "pick up" dancer for eight years. In New York she worked with such notables as Mark Dendy, Linda Diamond, Steele Dance and Dance Anonymous. She then moved to Mexico City where she worked with Tania Perez-Salas Co. de Danza for three years performing at such notable venues as Jacob's Pillow (Becket, MA); Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco, CA); Touhill Performing Arts Center (St. Louis, MO); Galway Arts Festival (IR); Cairo Opera House (Egypt); Suzanne Delal Center, and Bellas Arts. While on tour with TPS, she taught master classes in contemporary ballet and company repertoire. She has taught ballet at Queens College and creative movement in Head Start and other community programs throughout the US. In 2009 Angela moved to Chicago to pursue a Masters Degree in Arts Management. Currently she works at Pentacle as an Artist Representative and Help Desk/Chicago coordinator.

Amanda Platt
Dancer
Amanda Platt (dance) is in her final year at The Ohio State University, pursuing a BFA in dance and a minor in Math. Amanda is from Chicago, and grew up taking classes and working with Chicago choreographers such as Jon Lehrer, Randy Duncan, and Eddie O'Campo. At Ohio State she has had the privilege to perform in works by Susan Hadley, Esther Baker-Tarpaga, Maria Glimcher, and Meghan Durham-Wall. In 2010, she attended the ACDFA Central region conference to perform her own solo in the adjudicated and final gala concerts. She has received awards and opportunities to enhance her studies at and away from the university, including attending Nancy Stark Smith's Contact Improvisation Workshop in January 2012. Amanda shares her passion for dance with young dancers in the community, teaching tap at BalletMet Dance Academy, and is excited to be dancing with TMA for the 2011-2012 season.

Bettina Vaccarello
Dancer
Bettina Vaccarello is currently a senior dance major pursuing her BFA at The Ohio State University. Born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA where she attended The Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Academy (PCLO) for dance and musical theater. She studied with the PCLO for the majority of her high school career under Buddy Thompson, Kiesha Lalama-White, Marissa Balzer, and Jason McDole, and performed with the PCLO at the Benedum Center in Annie, The Wizard of Oz, Grease, and Disney's High School Musical. She attended the National High School Dance Festival in Norfolk, VA as a junior in high school and received a scholarship for The Bates Dance Festival in 2006. She was also awarded a scholarship to attend the Point Park Conservatory Summer Dance Intensive in 2006 and 2007. During the 2009 summer Bettina attended Jones Summer Dance Intensive in Pittsburgh, and in 2010 she traveled to Burkina Faso, Africa to study African dance and drum. Bettina has performed in works by Erin Carlisle Norton since fall 2010 and after graduation she plans to move to Chicago as a professional dancer.

Laura Vinci de Vanegas
Dancer
Laura Vinci de Vanegas began her formal dance training in Boston, MA and graduated magna cum laude with a BFA in dance from The Ohio State University. Upon graduation, Laura moved to Guatemala and worked for Camino Seguro/Safe Passage, teaching dance workshops for children and studying Latin dance forms. As a choreographer, she has presented her work at International Dance Festivals in Guatemala City, Guatemala and Tegucigalpa, Honduras and worked as an adventure guide. Laura currently teaches ballet, modern, and jazz dance classes at various studios throughout Chicago.

Andrea Slavik
Filmmaker
Andrea Slavik is an interdisciplinary artist working primarily in film, video and installation. She has curated and exhibited at various galleries and venues in Canada and the US. Most recently, she has been making experimental documentary videos that take an anthropologic and artistic interest in built environments. She has studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Francesca Bourgault
Lighting Designer
Francesca Bourgault graduated high school from the Interlochen Arts Academy and attended Western Michigan University where she completed a BA in dance with an emphasis in dance lighting design and a minor in general business. Following graduation, Francesca held a production internship at the American Dance Festival. After moving to Chicago in January, 2009, she began lighting dance in the Chicagoland area. Some of her favorite companies and choreographers include Winifred Haun and Dancers, The Academy of Movement and Music, Art Intercepts, Esoteric Dance Project, The Chicago Tap Theatre, The Humans, Julia Rae Antonick, Erica Mott, and The Moving Architects. Francesca is the technical director at Links Hall and a dance instructor for Design Dance at Chase Park. Francesca has been working with TMA since June 2009's Stops on the Line. francescabourgault.webs.com

Viv Woodland
Stage Manager and Master Electrician
Viv has stage managed theater, dance, and mixed-media performances at venues both spacious and intimate. Highlights include traveling with Kathy Hardy Gray Dance Theatre to share dance with elementary students in the mountains of southwestern Virginia and stage managing Carmen for movement-based Synetic Theater at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. When not calling shows, Viv is an electrician, stage hand, and light board operator for Chicago area theaters. She holds degrees from Penn State and George Mason Universities, and was trained in stagecraft at Totem Pole Playhouse in Caledonia, PA. Viv has been working with TMA since June 2009's premiere of Stops On The Line.

Erin Carlisle Norton
Executive and Artistic Director

Linda Solotaire
President

Edward Karlin
Vice-President

Donna Goldman
Treasurer/Secretary

Jennifer Thornton
Board Member