Branches Contemporary Dance is Out on a Limb’s contemporary company. A group of young adults (ages ranging from 18-30+), Branches dancers are college students, elementary teachers, nurses, musicians, parents, public health workers, and more, but most importantly they are humans who love contemporary dance and want to stay connected to their craft even as they move into other roles in the world.
Under the artistic direction of Mykala Micek, Branches emphasizes dancemaking that gives physical shape to the things we all feel: our company collaboratively explores what it means to be human through movement.
VIA LIVE PERFORMANCE, PHOTO, AND FILM, WE PRACTICE EMBODYING EMOTIONS IN NEW WAYS, TAKING UP SPACE, AND USING OUR CREATIVE VOICES TO SHARE OUR TRUTHS WITH OTHERS. BRANCHES ALSO AIMS TO INCORPORATE AUDIENCE EDUCATION INTO THE WORK WE PRODUCE TO HELP MAKE CONTEMPORARY DANCE MORE ACCESSIBLE, UNDERSTANDABLE, AND ENJOYABLE FOR ANY AND ALL VIEWERS—BECAUSE DANCE IS FOR EVERYBODY!—AND ART CHANGES US ALL FOR THE BETTER.
Rehearsing Wednesday evenings and some Sunday afternoons.
Email mykala@outonalimbdance.org for more information about joining us.
Photos by Emma Redinger
From head choreographer Mykala Micek:
“One of my favorite parts of working as a dance educator and contemporary choreographer is reaching dancers at a point in their lives and artistic journeys when they are beginning to find their own voices but might still be afraid to use them. Helping young people uncover, explore, and embody the stories that they find meaningful, and then build the confidence to authentically, vulnerably share them with others, is a perfect example of the absolutely life-changing, world-shaping power of dance. It is an honor to teach and guide artists as they tell stories, old and new, and bring alive universal truths in their own flesh and muscles and nerves and bones. I am beyond excited to watch and help shape this process as it unfolds in Out on a Limb's newest addition: Branches.
Now, why a contemporary dance company, specifically? Because contemporary is a movement medium which utilizes both finely honed technique and grounded, accessible, pedestrian movement. It can be gritty, raw, and unfiltered, and that makes it a uniquely well-suited choice for conveying certain types of stories—the kinds of stories I believe young people are especially hungry to tell and which audiences are more open than ever to receiving.
Branches grow from the trunk of the tree. They bend and stretch and reach to new places: sometimes twisted, gnarled, hidden places; sometimes bright, airy, bursting-with-new-life places. At its heart, Branches will provide a new platform, a new opportunity, for Out on a Limb dancers to grow as contemporary movement artists. It will be an exploration of the connection between storytellers and their medium, and will push dancers to refine their craft and create innovative ways to speak to their audiences.
I am so thrilled and honored to be a part of this new endeavor. I cannot wait to see what these young people will do.”