Chadash Contemporary Dance Movement

About our Associate Artistic Director and Company dancer: Stephanie McGill
Stephanie is a native of Colorado and received her early training from the Academy of Colorado Ballet and Dance Arts Studio, where she studied ballet, tap, modern, and jazz. She attended Denver School of the Arts with a major in Dance and went on to earn a B.F.A. in Dance, graduating with honors from the University of Arizona. She also received training through summer intensives with Milwaukee Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Columbia City Ballet, and Long Beach Ballet. Stephanie has danced professionally and
toured with many Colorado dance companies, including Boulder Ballet, David Taylor Dance Theatre, and 7 Dancers, performing in soloist and ensemble roles.
Stephanie is currently a company member with Chadash Contemporary Dance Movement where she also serves as Associate Artistic Director for both the company as well as their supplemental training program Colorado Dance Initiative.

Photos by Katie Albert

A snip of our September newsletter…
I’ve been thinking a lot about the chaos we wake up to each day. If we’re paying attention to the world around us, it can feel overwhelming—and sometimes, powerless.

It brought me back to one of my favorite books about art, Walking on Water by Madeleine L’Engle. She writes:

“But when the world is, indeed, in chaos, then an affirmation of cosmos becomes essential.”

Cosmos: “an orderly, harmonious, systematic universe.”

L’Engle goes on to describe art as “cosmos found within chaos.” Storytelling, she says, helps us “give a name to the cosmos we see despite all the chaos.”

That gives me hope.

Because what can I do when I’m just one person in the midst of so much?

I can create.
I can tell stories.
I can Name.

And so can everyone.

I believe deeply that we are all creative. Creativity isn’t limited to artists. It can look like telling a story through dance, cooking a beautiful meal, planting flowers, making something with our hands, or simply creating a good day for the people we love.

Maybe these small and big acts of creation can be acts of defiance when the world seems to be throwing chaos at us from every direction.

When I create, I am ushering cosmos into chaos.

Perhaps that is part of our purpose—for such a time as this.

With love,
Kelly
Photo by: Katie Albert

About our Artistic Director: Kelly Archer-
Kelly began training at a young age and began her professional career while still in high school. She was chosen to be part of the Edge Performing Arts Center’s scholarship program, which gave her the opportunity to study and perform movement with some of the most innovative choreographers in Los Angeles. In addition, Ms. Archer attended the University of Northern Colorado, where she was awarded both arts and academic scholarships,earning a degree in theater and a minor in dance. It was during her university training where she fell in love with concert dance. Ms. Archer’s work has been presented at Jacob’s Pillow, the Tanzsommer Festival in Austria, and the Palm Desert Choreography Festival, to name a few. In 2016, she founded Chadash Contemporary Dance Movement, which is now in its 10th season. Also passionate as a dance educator, she founded Colorado Dance Initiative in 2019, a supplemental pre-professional program that helps guide students into university/conservatory programs and professional careers. Since its founding, CDI has had a high success rate at helping young dancers attend their program of choice. Kelly has a burning passion for the arts and believes they hold a power that can heal, transform, and bring beauty into our world. This passion extends to nurturing the artist’s heart as she believes this is ultimately where all great art begins.

SEASON 11 OFFICIAL SHOW DATES 💃

Our official season 11 performance dates for Chadash and Colorado Dance Initiative! Tickets for all of the following shows are available with the link in bio!

Rehearsal photos taken by our very own Veva Heilmann 📸
for our upcoming show H(you)mane debuting this weekend, August 7th-9th!

Tickets on sale now! We would love to see you there! 🎟️