Storytime

"Storytime" emphasizes the beauty of non-linearity through performance and pedagogy. What happens if we take familiar tropes in narrative plots, (i.e. the love scene, the break-up, the battle scene) and teach and perform them reordered? Influenced by Merce Cunningham, an American Modern Dance choreographer who utilized chance procedures in dance, we instantaneously "reorder" this piece facilitated through a bingo wheel and ping pong balls. As artists and humans, the performers adapt to the surprises thrown at them, and these structural "chances" change the trajectory of the audience experience. Yet together, we all arrive at the same place in the end.

“Die Oper: Daydreams and Daisies” (Storytime, First Edition)

Space Station Dance Residency 2022

Choreographed by Jacob Henss | Collaborated and Performed by Taiya Deria, Hanna Pierce, Chrissy Clair, Elodie Andrews, Marissa Beccard, Tess Losada Miner, Quetzal Velasco, and Paige Van Nest | Dramaturgy by Betsy Brandt | Music Edited by Elliot Emadian | Music Featured by Elliot Emadian, Groove Armada, Aurora, Miley Cyrus, Lana Del Rey and The Weekend, Sahara, Sia, Andrew Loyd Webber, Sir Chloe, Awfultune | Costume Design by Nathan Beilsmith and Jacob Henss

Storytime, Second Edition — Millikin University 2022

Choreographed by Jacob Henss | Performed by Gia Marino, Rachel Silvey, Tanner Essex, Elijah Jamison, Darcy Reimler, Reagan Minnette, Whitney Turner, Emily Moore, Allison Durham | Storyteller/Swing Joshua Pierce | Music Edited by Elliot Emadian and Jacob Henss | Music Featured by Elliot Emadian, Aurora, Sahara, Sir Chloe, Awfultune, M83, Richard Strauss, Tchaikovsky | Costume Design and Coordination by Cas Huebner and Jacob Henss | Prop design by Kenneth George and Jacob Henss

Storytime, Third Edition — Saint Louis Dance Theatre 2023

Choreographed by Jacob Henss | Costumes by Nathali Rottier Kessler | Performed by Alice Anders, Eibhlin Arvizu, Lyndi Buckholz, Zach Bussert, Sophie Ciokajlo, Jennifer Egley, Jacque Hartman, Sadie Reimer, Alyssa Watson | Rehearsal Assistant: Hanna Pierce | Original movement Collaborated by Taiya Deria, Hanna Pierce, Chrissy Clair, Elodie Andrews, Marissa Beccard, Tess Losada Miner, Quetzal Velasco, and Paige Van Nest | Music Featured by Sahara, Chopin, M83, Richard Strauss, Sergei Rachmaninoff, John Williams | Prop design by Jacob Henss and Kenneth George

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