Studio for the Dance Arts
The Dance Annex
Friday, May 30 & Saturday May 31, 2025 7:30pm, Studio B
noW, NeW, NEXT Guest Choreographers
**SAVE THE DATE!**
Annex Contemporary Dance Company
presents Now, New, Next on May 30 & 31.
This exciting in-studio presentation will include favorite repertory pieces by director Julie Hebb and new works by Guest Choreographers Kelsie Steil and Trish Harms & Christine Jacques. Special Q&A to follow. Reservations required.
Ticket info coming soon!
If you can’t make it to the show and/or would like to make a tax-deductible donation to the Company and our Summer Season, please visit our Support page.
NOW, NEW, NEXT
KELSIE STEIL is a freelance choreographer living in Biddeford, Maine. She earned a Bachelors Degree in Adventure Education with a Minor in Dance from Plymouth State University, and graduated with the 2018 Contemporary Dance Ensemble award for her achievements in Choreography. Her portfolio comprises both live performance and dance film and has been described as cerebral, visceral, and heavily theatrical. Her projects are strong in collaboration, working with artists across all mediums. Her collaborations include MR. MIND, a dance film created alongside filmmaker and photographer Maxwell Auger, and CRAVING THE MYSTIC, a stage work adapted into an award-winning film by filmmaker Jennifer Hoffer. Kelsie has worked with music composers Michael Wall and Masha Reznik in the creation of original scores to accompany her choreographies. Kelsie operates as a concept-driven dance maker, with deep research as a large part of the early development of a new work. Much of her work is rooted in mental health and trauma and typically starts from building a character profile based on those experiences. Rummage Lane, a full-length dance-theatre duet choreographed with Hannah Haines, is an example of a piece centered around mental health through relationships with familial objects. Kelsie is driven by the moments where movement and message clash and is very interested in demonstrating dissonance and a sense of unreality in the choreography she creates. When working with dancers, her first aim is creating a safe, accepting and communicative environment. Channeling her background as an experiential educator, she often begins a process through deep discussion, joyful group initiatives and character work linked to the concept of the work. Kelsie most recently produced Split My Soul, which premiered at Biddeford's historical City Theater. Split My Soul is an evening-length dance-theater work centered around mental health through the lens of seven distinct characters, and can now be watched online by visiting kelsiesteilmovement.com/splitmysoul
PATRICIA (TRISH) HARMS, Co-Director of Range of Motion Arts, has a BFA in dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She is a member of the National Dance Education Organization, a Registered Dance Educator, and has two New Hampshire teaching endorsements, Dance and Theatre. In 1990 Patricia conceived Triad Dance Ensemble and co-directed, choreographed, and performed with the company through 1996. She has been an artist-in-residence in the public schools, and for two decades, directed the Dance Program at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, New Hampshire. During those 20 years she developed five courses, including Unified Dance and Unified Theatre using a peer mentorship model for students with special needs, as well as Dance 2/Company, a course that immersed students in all aspects of concert production: creating choreography, learning peer and professional choreography, costume and lighting design, publicity, and more. For 12 years she participated in Bates Dance Festival’s intensive professional training program. There she worked with internationally recognized leaders in the field of dance, expanding her knowledge in a range of dance forms, as well as exploring innovative approaches to choreography and pedagogy. Patricia enjoys collaborating with like-minded visual artists, musicians, and fellow choreographers. She has created work with Carol Dilley, former Director of Dance at Bates College and continues to create work with Range of Motion Arts Co-Director Christine Jacques. She remains active in the New England dance community, sharing her love of dance in a variety of settings.
CHRISTINE JACQUES, Co-Director of Range of Motion Arts, has an extensive background as a performing artist, dance educator, choreographer, and arts facilitator. She was a full scholarship recipient at the University of Utah, training in their prestigious ballet program and later furthering her studies in modern dance. She has participated in the Utah Choreographer’s Project, the American Dance Festival West and the Bates Dance Festival. She toured both regionally and nationally with Indianapolis Ballet Theatre, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Ballet West and modern dance company Dance Kaleidoscope, dancing major roles in classical ballets as well as performing in a wide range of modern and contemporary works. Christine has taught ballet, contemporary modern dance, jazz dance, and creative dance throughout northern New England. She was Assistant Artistic Director of Portsmouth, New Hampshire’s Ballet Theatre Workshop and has been a guest choreographer at Berwick Academy, Philip’s Exeter Academy and Pinkerton Academy. Christine founded and directed Elysium Dance Project, where she developed dance and yoga programming in a non-competitive, inclusive environment. Having an interest in the therapeutic value of the arts, she earned a degree in Movement Therapy that culminated in a workshop series for teens integrating dance and collage-making. She went on to work as a dance and integrated arts specialist for adults with disabilities. Christine continues to enjoy collaborating with artists in a range of disciplines and making work with Patricia Harms, Co-Director of Range Of Motion Arts.