Movers Unlimited NE Touring Dance Company is perfecting its pirouettes before its performance at the Fort Worth Dance Festival on Oct. 4.
The choreography is a contemporary fusion of Korean and Western moves. When first introduced to the song, they collaborated on the dance’s significance and how that would translate into their work.
“Everything that comes together to make the piece what it is, we sat, and we made it ourselves. We built the piece from the ground up with the concept that we were given,” long-time dancer Malik Arevai said.
Kihyoung Choi, a NE dance professor and director of Movers Unlimited, said her inspiration for the performance was the moon, a source of comfort when she moved from South Korea to the U.S.
“I didn’t have anybody, no family or friends, and the moon was actually the only friend that I talked to,” she said. “I have that memory of what I felt when I look at the moon. I felt loneliness, but I felt like ‘OK, I have to just stick to it, I have to hang on, there’s a reason I’m here.”
Rehearsals, which began last year, run nearly ten hours a day, twice a week. They cover multiple forms of dance, theory and mirror the performance’s theme of dedication and persistence, Movers Unlimited member Nairopi Canchola said.
“It’s pretty hard on your body, but with time, you build resilience both physically and mentally,”
She also said the passion for improvement doesn’t stop with the dancers.
“It’s tough love,” she said. “You’re always learning. The way that our director specifically was raised and taught when she was a student was a lot tougher. It forces us and pushes us to be the best we could possibly be, and possibly go beyond that.”
For many dancers, with less than one week to prepare, emotions are running high.
“In that environment, it’s what I’m used to. Yes, I get anxiety, I get nervous before the stage, but everything just comes out during the performance,” Emily Reyes said. “I give it everything – 100%, and everyone else gives it 100%. It feels really nice that we accomplished the performance and that we did it together.”
The theme of family was reiterated throughout. Second-year member Hope Gromatzay-Peck explained how the relationships and support systems built between the dancers influence the final result.
“We, as a whole, especially this year, have been so connected. We really focus on bonding because the connection helps with the piece itself,” she said. “It makes it so much more powerful than if you were dancing with people you don’t like. It looks different.”
Choi said the age differences and varying levels of experience across the dancers was a characteristic she took pride in. She said how the team shares their emotions and love for the art can’t be found in a professional dance team.
“You can feel the connection as the audience. They’re support for each other, they’re love for each other, even when they’re not dancing, the energy that they’re giving,” she said. “It’s heartwarming, it’s really beautiful, especially when you see them dancing.”
