4 • The Southwest Portland Post
FEATURES
December 2014
New dance company looks forward to performing outdoors or in office buildings
“The dancers are supposed to be
moving in as many ways as you can
think of, and if you’re given a stage to
move on and it’s a rectangle, you only
Does Portland need another dance
have that amount of space to move on.”
company? Kimberley Allen and Kemba
Instead, Allen wants Bremóne Dance
Shannon think so. They held open
to perform outdoors, or in office
auditions in November for spots in
buildings, using dance to tell stories
Bremóne Dance, which they hope
about a business – what it does and
to build into a professional dance
its history.
company.
“The dynamics of a building or a
If they succeed, it will be very
landscape is very dynamic and offers
different from what most audiences
so much more for the inventive mind,”
experience at a dance performance.
Allen said. “So, we’re not restricting
For one thing, Allen said, there might
ourselves in any way.”
not be a stage.
Allen was a competitive gymnast,
“I think the stage is a restriction and
but dance was always a part of her life.
you can’t get out of it what you want,”
She was taking classes from Kemba
explained Allen.
Shannon at the Fulton Center when
Shannon shared her
dream of forming a
company.
Shannon needed
a partner and
asked Allen to
join her dream.
The two women
have spent the last
year working out
a business plan
and goals for the
company.
S h a n n o n
currently teaches
four dance classes a
week at the Fulton
Center and the hope
is that as the classes
grow, money from
that
will pay the
Kemba Shannon and Kimberley Allen spent a year planning
before they held auditions for their new dance company.
dancers.
(Post photo by KC Cowan)
“Our goal is to
By KC Cowan
The Southwest Portland Post
Kemba Shannon teaches prospective company members a dance routine.
(Post photo by KC Cowan)
really pay dancers well, because
dancers usually don’t get paid well,”
said Allen.
At the auditions, no one was asked
how much dance experience they had.
Nor were they scrutinized for having
(or not having) a “dancer ’s body,”
per se. Shannon is more interested in
finding people who move well and
truly want to be part of a dance family.
“We’re looking for different talents.
People who want to come in as a
community and be creative. What
we’re really looking for is personality.”
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Allen agreed. “I hope to move
people up through the classes into the
company as they can. You can tell when
people have that passion.”
At the November audition, where
14 women and two men showed up, it
was easy to tell who had dance training
by the extension of a foot or hand, or
their posture.
After an extensive warm-up, Shannon
began to teach a difficult, short routine.
While percussionist Rob Smith kept the
beat, Shannon went over and over the
steps. Some caught on more quickly
than others.
Then Shannon had the prospects
dance across the room in small groups
to see how they move, before turning
them over to Susan Strauss, who taught
them movements to a short poem she
recited.
The more simple moves gave those
who haven’t had much dance training
an opportunity to shine. Allen and
Shannon say they are looking for that
special spark of energy and personality
– performers who are as much actors
as dancers.
“I am looking for people that can
move. I can coach everything else,”
said Shannon.
“We’re open. We’re really trying to
form a core company. We’re focused
on the community, and finding people
who are long-term committed,” added
Allen.
“We don’t want it to be only dancers.
We want it to also be people who don’t
necessarily think of themselves as a
dancer.”
After learning all the routines, each
dancer was called forward individually
to perform Shannon’s dance, the word/
movement piece and then was given a
prop, such as a telephone, and asked
to improvise a movement piece around
that.
Allen, Shannon and three other guest
judges will decide who ultimately
makes the cut. Judging doesn’t come
easily to Shannon. “This part is hard
because I feel like I could work with
anybody.”
Bremóne Dance hopes to land 10
solid dancer/performers for a start.
They’ll hold another audition in the
spring.
In the meantime, the company will
hold an open house on Dec. 12 at the
Fulton Park Community Center (68 SW
Miles Street) so people can get a taste
of the unique style of Portland’s latest
dance company.