My second time visiting CLI Conservatory, Penny and Oliver’s first. I was reminded of the magic of this place, in the charming western Massachusetts towns, the eclectic community and the supportive environment of CLI. The connections they made, their love of dance with new space to breathe and grow, their tired bodies easily jumping right back in six days in a row and being surrounded by others that love dance as much as them, that see their talents without comparison, they are coming away feeling seen, supported and renewed.
Tagged: CLI Conservatory, dance, Easthampton, Northhampton, Oliver, Penny, summer intensive
Fresh Sesh is the freshman, Class of 2029’s, Spring semester showcase. All works are choreographed and performed by the freshman class. The chemistry and friendships that have so quickly formed are evident as not only the dancers moved together in the pieces but as they transitioned from piece to piece, flowing from one work of art to another, giving from their own to each other. As their professor d. Sabela Grimes remarked, this performance is about community first.
Another year, another ASH Competition. Our team did incredibly well with a number of Penny and Oliver’s routines earning awards, both Penny and Oliver were selected for the closing show performance, Oliver’s routine Deserted was selected to perform in the closing show and Oliver received a Nationals scholarship. The relationships they are building with the faculty and what they are learning makes these weekends well worth it. 
This year’s Creative Dance Center’s Nutcracker performance, Penny took one of the lead roles as Rat Queen and brought her style, humor and presence to the role making her a crowd and show favorite!
“He is the poster child of what we want for Collective, he is so good at it.” – Dejan Tubic
Creative Dance Center’s End of Season party theme was NYC. It’s always a great time to celebrate the successes and growth of the season, and this time we also celebrated Lucas’ last end of season party.
And that’s a wrap, eleven cities on the tour of his life. As a Season XI Collective member he traveled the country, trained with some of the best in the industry, met hundreds of dancers and inspired many, learned how to work behind the scenes and on the stage, made mistakes and navigated the corrections, dealt with disappointment, experienced what good workplace culture can be, and in the words of Erica Sobol “Created space for others to shine.”
Our Everyday 