“It Has Been a Home for Me:” An interview with Nancy and Corina
As part of our Dance On program (generously supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and the City of Takoma Park), Dance Exchange has invested in celebrating the stories of older adults in and around our Takoma Park home. To do so, we commissioned Dance Exchange Resident Artist Corina Iona Dalzell and Arts for the Aging’s Nancy Havlik to create a new performance work in partnership with Takoma Park residents. Part dance film screening, visual art installation, and live performance, the new work, titled“It Has Been a Home for Me,” will premiere later in 2021. Recently, Dance Exchange Executive Artistic Director Cassie Meador sat down with Nancy and Corina to hear about their collaboration with Takoma Park neighbors.
Cassie: Let’s start with you telling us about yourselves and how you came to work together on this performance.
Nancy: I have been choreographing for my company, Dance Performance Group, and also teaching interactive expressive dance workshops to frail seniors through Arts for the Aging for over 22 years. I’ve directed intergenerational collaborations and worked with dancers of all ages throughout the DMV, New York and Eastern Europe. As part of their recent Dance On Festival, I was invited by Dance Exchange to collaborate with Corina on a dance project highlighting and celebrating Takoma Park.
Corina: I am a resident artist at Dance Exchange and this is my first time producing new work for the company. Before moving to Takoma Park, I danced and choreographed in Seattle, and served as a recreation staff for city programming for adults and youth with disabilities. It was especially fortunate that Nancy and I were paired on this project as we are both improvisors, meaning we sometimes make our dances in the moment. I’m thrilled to be working together!
Cassie: What is “It Has Been a Home for Me” about?
Corina: The work is about folks who live in Takoma Park and the changes they have seen and experienced. We interviewed five long-time residents, and we are collecting postcards from anyone interested in sharing stories with us. The questions we’re asking are...
What have you seen change in Takoma Park?
How have you changed while living here?
Tell us a story about you and dance.
We recorded our interviews over Zoom and they became part of our musical score designed by musician Manny Arciniega. Denaise Seals is our wonderful videographer capturing a cast of locals (and folks from very near by) on location in Takoma Park.
Nancy: This really is a celebration of Takoma Park—especially the stories of long term residents. We’re teasing out memories that reveal the uniqueness and beauty of Takoma Park through the eyes of our older neighbors.
Cassie: Is there a story you’ve heard that was especially surprising or delightful?
Nancy: There were so many delightful stories our interviewees shared that it’s hard to pick one. Esther talked about a group of young children who were at the park with their teacher. Their teacher asked them to arrange the stones they had collected in some kind of order. One little boy was totally engaged and excited as he worked on the task, but when the teacher looked at his stones, she said, “These are not in any order. What are you doing?” He pointed to the first group and said, “These are the ones I don’t like.” He pointed to the second group and said, “These are the ones I like.” And he pointed to the third group, “These are the ones I really like.”
Cassie: How can Takoma Park residents contribute their own stories to the project?
Corina: We would love to hear stories from anyone living in Takoma Park! We have paper postcards available throughout the city and at Dance Exchange (7117 Maple Ave) in Amharic, Spanish, and English. You can also submit a digital postcard by visiting www.danceexchange.org/danceontakomapark.
Photos on this page by Denaise Seals and Corina Iona Dalzell.