Dance the Tears Away

Over the last three months, the Mixmaster’s resident dancer, Katie Toohil, has allowed us through her Director’s Notes series to peer into the intimate details of producing a show based on the confrontation of sorrow, a unique introspection expressed through emotional, original choreography and contemporary music. Loosely based on the Kubler-Ross model of the five stages of grief, Toohil’s Grieve bravely examines the stages set to a powerful soundtrack that includes favorites like Arcade Fire, the Decemberists and Modest Mouse. Grieve is an experiment in human connection, utilizing the emotional bonds formed between artist and audience through art in movement. In her Director’s Notes, Toohil, who unexpectedly lost her father last year, says the concept has grown into something that has helped her place her own grief into perspective. The show asks audience and performers alike to leave their comfort zones and face the scars we hide stoically. Grieve opens on October 14 at the Oak Cliff Cultural Center and includes a solid collection of DFW dancers who unabashedly celebrate life in all its manifestations. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through October 22. For more information, call 214-670-3777 or email grievedance@gmail.com.
Fridays, Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. Starts: Oct. 14. Continues through Oct. 22, 2011