Today we’d like to introduce you to Micaela Church.
Micaela, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
MAC & Company (a 501c3 non-profit organization) was founded from a shared passion for dance education and performance between Micaela Church and Li Pei Khoo in 2014.
While being full-time dance educators, Church and Khoo continue to be committed to the creative process and practice of dance as a performing art. Being both dancers and musicians, they have a particular interest in exploring the different processes that have been utilized in the integration between dance and music. With the common goal of presenting innovative work and nurturing professional growth in the field of dance and music, Church and Khoo hope to provide a platform for fellow dancers who share their passion.
MAC & Company started out as a small group of seven dancers (including Khoo and Church) and a resident composer, Dr. Jeffrey Ouper (Phoenix-based as well). The idea started with Church and Khoo both wanting to have another outlet for artistic creativity and be able to provide a platform free-of-charge for dancers and choreographers. Church and Khoo found that after graduating with a dance degree, there were not many outlets in Phoenix to be able to choreograph their own work and perform it outside of an educational setting.
There are great dance programs in the valley that produce talented dancers that choreograph and perform and yet there was not an outlet for which they could do this on a regular basis. By creating the non-profit company, Church and Khoo were able to front the cost of rehearsal and performance space, thereby creating a collaborative opportunity for their dancers to choreographer and perform their work. The company began by performing in local events and festivals.
First Friday events and had their first full-length production MAC 1.0 at Phoenix Center for the Arts, 3rd Street Theater in 2015. Since then, MAC & Company is still going strong five years later with a cast of 13 dancers (including Church) and our resident composer Dr. Jeffrey Ouper. The company has produced several full-length performances that have been staged at both Tempe Center for the Arts Studio Theater and Phoenix Center for the Arts.
Each production showcases all-new original works choreographed and performed by the company members (MAC 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 4.0) and in MAC 3.0 an original story and all originally composed music by Dr. Jeffrey Ouper titled “Andrew’s Dream Adventure” was featured as the second half of the program. Church still strongly believes in the mission to create an opportunity for dancers to create and perform work free of change, and between grants award from the City of Tempe (Artist Excellence Grant in 2017 & 2018), private donations.
And out of her personal funds, is able to continue to be able to provide rehearsal space weekly and at least two performances a year. The company has toured in Arizona and been invited to perform in several adjudicated festivals throughout the southwest. In total, the company has performed 32 times in just under five years. These are invaluable opportunities for the company members that pay nothing to be a part of the group and volunteer their time 3 hours once a week to rehearse and then perform.
Has it been a smooth road?
Initially, the struggle was finding studio space to rent. It is hard to find affordable space to dance in, as you really do need flooring (i/e sprung floor, Marley, etc.) in order to dance on. Luckily we were able to find space at a reasonable rate that is centrally located. The challenge has been and still is to find a reliable source of funding (outside of the co-founder personally paying for the expenses) to keep growing the group.
Ideally, the group would be able to rehearse more than once a week and be able to pay performers, but with the current budget, we are unable to do so. Our dancers to receive a small compensation after each show from the ticket proceeds, but that doesn’t compensate them for their time.
Fortunately, all the dancers and musicians in the group are on a volunteer basis and don’t expect to be compensated. They are doing it for the experience and love of their craft.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the MAC & Company story. Tell us more about the business.
MAC & Company is a Phoenix-based modern dance company. We provide class, rehearsal and performance opportunities for adult dancers/choreographers at no cost. The company ranges in age from 22-34, and most of the dancers have received a degree in dance and still want to be able to dance while pursuing another career.
We are proud to be able to provide a unique and needed opportunity for these passionate artists to be able to create and perform their work on a professional level. There are other companies in the valley that dancers can perform in, but few companies also allow the dancers to create and present work themselves, rather than having one choreographer.
MAC & Company promotes a collaborative atmosphere where the dancers do have to opportunity to choreograph is they choose to and perform in a variety of work in different dance styles. Micaela Church is the Artistic Director of the group and does do many works for the company, but dancers are encouraged to explore their creativity and choreograph or collaborate on works to diversify what the company is able to present.
We are able to offer performance with live accompaniment or original composition thanks to having a resident composer. The production we are currently working on MAC 4.5 is going to be held on February 2, 2019, at 7:30 pm at the Phoenix Center for the Arts 3rd Street Theater. This mid-season show offers a look at some MAC favorites as well as newly created works.
Then, we will have our end of the season show MAC 5.0 featuring the Planets at Tempe Center for the Arts Studio Theater August 30 & 31, 2019.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I see MAC & Company being able to grow and offer classes and rehearsals multiple times a week and present diverse dance works on a quarterly basis. We would be able to continue to build our roster of dancers that will teach diverse dance styles and create new works for productions. We aim to expand our audience outreach to include school performance and tour throughout the southwest.
Pricing:
- MAC 4.5 tickets $10 adults, $5 for children
Contact Info:
- Website: www.macdance.org
- Email: info@macdance.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mac_and_company/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/macdancecompanyphoenix
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/user/MChurchDance
Image Credit:
Schyler Anderson, Diana Reyes, Michelle Kelker
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