The Duke Dance Collective was conceived on a dry, hot, dusty day. This collaborative effort of Kirsten Allard, Margaret West, Allie Hankins, Marissa Manion, Meghan O'brien, Lara Theragood and Jennifer Weaver resulted in "Proprioception," an evening-length show that debuted in Albuquerque and was well received in the Boulder International Fringe Festival in Summer 2008.
The arid and vast desert inspired these up-and-coming choreographers to cultivate works that are contemporary and post modern.
Kirsten Allards’ work has included multi-media and explores a multi-cultural movement vocabulary that prefers live music. Her current work involves shape and texture. Margaret West, whose work has been shown at ACDFA, is known for her strong group pieces which feature theatricality and complex movement. West’s, current work explores the depths of psychopathology. Lara Theragood is known for her Tribal Fusion Belly Dance choreography, and for her bold, aggressive contemporary movement. Theragood currently uses themes of duality in her work. Other members’ influences include experimental movement, performance art, a wide range of styles and techniques and their own unique abilities. All members of the Duke Dance Collective are either graduates from UNM’s Dance Department, or prospective graduates.Hankins’ work has been presented at regional and national American College Dance Festival Association Conferences. Her work, Rudiments/Sediments, a biographical piece about her mother, utilizes both text and movement to convey loss of voice: corrosion of native tongues by salty seas, atrophy of body by multiple sclerosis. Allie thank you so much for all your hard work and dedication, we are bummed your not dancing beside us, but happy your are dancing away on your own path!!..
