Note from the Director

Dance is important, timely, and critical. Moving is the first thing we do when we enter this world, and by moving, we continue to express our human condition throughout our lives. Dance can be both literal and abstract, timeless and fleeting - it is a way of expressing an experience in ways that do not require words. For every culture, there are dance forms that have evolved to express important and unique cultural identities.

As a dance artist, I was shaped by many vibrant experiences as a dancer and independent choreographer in the 1980s and 1990s. At that time, typical performing opportunities for independent choreographers and smaller companies were unpredictable; many of the spaces we had access to were galleries converted into performance spaces with rough floors and a scattering of floor-level can lights. We thrived in these spaces, but as many of us continued to choreograph, some of our work demanded a larger stage and a greater range of technical support.

Born out of necessity and in response to the success of the Oak Theatre Project, conversations among choreographers Winifred Haun, Frank Fishella, Paula Frasz, and Christy Munch led to the launch of Chicago's NEXT Dance Festival, which was then produced by Winifred Haun & Dancers. The NEXT Festival provided an annual opportunity for independent choreographers and smaller companies to be presented and produced on full stages for seven consecutive years. It appeared on the stages of the Athenaeum Theater, the Dance Center of Columbia College, and the Harold Washington Library Theater. The NEXT Festival grew into the city's largest producer of new work by Chicago-area choreographers, and in 2000, the NEXT Festival received a Ruth Page Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Chicago Dance Community.

My motivation for establishing the Rockford DanceMakers Festival was to create a project for the Rockford dance community, as well as all members of the community who value dance as a vital art form, to come together and create something new that might invigorate the creation of new choreography and the elevation of concert dance in Rockford. With choreographers in mind, my goal was also to establish an annual event that could do for Rockford dancers and choreographers what the NEXT Dance Festival, which was integral to my development as a dance artist, had done for me. Creating a vibrant event for choreographers, dance artists, and supporting professionals to showcase their work and gather is central to every aspect of this project. I'm extremely humbled and grateful for the dedication, creativity, and passion that each participant continues to bring to this project and to our shared dance community.

Dancingly Yours,

Christy Munch