Modern Dance Moves

Myer's well-received piece "All At Once," which was reviewed in The New York Times in October 2004, featured nine dancers, as well as a conductor and 12 musicians (six violins, five cellos and one bass), all of whom were on stage together.

The work highlighted music by Russian-born composer Jakov Jakoulov, and was conducted by Susan Davenny Wyner and performed by the New England String Ensemble. The piece will be performed at the ICA in May as well.

Myer's background is in classical dance, but she has also done modern and postmodern work, which can also be defined as more pedestrian dance, in that it uses everyday gesture movements and brings a sense of "real life" onto the stage.

"My choreography is a fusion of my background in modern, postmodern and classical dance that makes it unique. My dancers have been both trained in classical and modern dance," says Myer, who founded the company in 1992.

Myer enjoys working with original music scores and is a big fan of collaboration.

However, running a dance company is not easy.

"It takes 90% of your time," says Myer. "The problem with dance is that it's an expensive art form, because you're dealing with human beings. You have to costume them, rent a theater, etc.," she explains.

It takes a lot of time and energy to make it all happen. But it's worth it for Myer -- she works for herself, calls all the shots and gets to "do what I want to do," Myer explains.

A Celebrated Tradition

To experience several different takes on modern dance, check out the American Dance Festival.

This festival began in Bennington, Vt., in 1934. Four of its leaders -- Martha Graham, Hanya Holm, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman -- were relatively unknown at the time but later proved to become stars of the stage.

The festival moved to North Carolina in 1978, as its rapid growth demanded a bigger space.

The mission of the American Dance Festival is to encourage and support the creation of new modern-dance work by established and new chorographers, and it certainly succeeds in this regard.

The annual celebration has produced more than 570 notable works by several modern-dance chorographers, including Jose Limon and Merce Cunningham, and recently produced works by Twyla Tharp, Tatiana Baganova and Doug Varone.

The 2007 season, which takes place from June 7 to July 21, will mark the 74th anniversary of the festival.

The festival also offers many programs, such as a four- and six-week school, an advanced professional workshop, a nine-day intensive workshop in New York City and a dance professional workshop.

If you want to be inspired by people who express themselves through movement, check out some modern dance. You might just be inspired take a class yourself.

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