Check out Mary Anne Fernandez Herding’s Artwork

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Anne Fernandez Herding.

Mary Anne, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I am a native Arizonan who has always loved dance. I attended Xavier College Prep growing up and then attended ASU for my BFA in dance and U of A for my Masters in dance where I also studied American Sign Language and discovered its beauty in relation to the gesture of dance. I have connected dance to the deaf community where I live over the years as part of my mission with my dance company, Movement Source. I established the company in 1988 with dance educators that still craved performing. The company has a multimedia mission – integrating the arts, education and performance. I established the dance department at Xavier College Prep in 2002 and continue to chair the dept and teach at XCP. Recently I founded “guiDANCE” a mentorship program for serious young dancers to connect with National touring dance artists. This is one of my recent passions. I feel lucky to live in Arizona and work as a dance artist and educator.

I am passionate about the arts and love connecting the dots. Networking with the rich resources we have in Arizona with so many creative and innovative people is exciting. I am always looking forward to the next collaboration and project and vision that each season brings! I am a member of Arizona Local First, Arizona Dance Educators Organization and National Dance Educators Organization. I am pleased to see all the growth in Arizona in the arts and in business as our city thrives. www.movementsourcedancecompany.org has more information in detail about my company. Currently I direct the company, teach at Xavier, present at conferences, direct the guiDANCE program and enjoy life in Phoenix, AZ!

We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
I create dances! Modern dance (Contemporary) is my forte. I love having a company of dancers who are mature, from various walks of life and bring a richness of life experience to the studio! We are lucky to have a home space at Dance Theatre West in Phoenix where we can work to create new dances each season. We have a theme every year, last year was “alone together” addressing the independence and interdependence we feel during these technologies driven times. Next season we are talking about “silver lining” as a theme – the good that comes from the bad in life. I enjoy collaboration as an artist! Each season I invite someone new to work with us – be it a violinist, a poet, a video artist, a storyteller and we work ground up to create innovative new dance works accessible to the public.

The performances are always exciting but the process – the time creating in the studio is my favorite time! I do believe dance is for everyone – to move and express ourselves with the body- human gesture and language is so exciting and I wish everyone had the opportunity to dance! I find a great spiritual connection dancing with others and I see so much growth and joy transpire in my students and my company when they move together. Our culture in America doesn’t necessarily incorporate dance into daily life for everyone – so the more we can share movement through education, open company classes, or performances the better!.

I hope people are moved, touched by the power of our work- the dances we create exude emotion and design. We want audiences to walk away feeling something – an emotion, a thought, something they didn’t walk in with. We want students to walk away feeling invigorated, alive, inspired and more confident. Dance can build self-esteem, offer expression, it is endless. Dance can be daunting to some, I have heard people say “I don’t understand modern dance” we really try to make our work accessible – to make it entertaining and artistic at the same time! I am passionate about dance and always excited to make the next piece, to collaborate with a new artist, to get input from the dancers, to create something exciting and beautiful.

The sterotype of a starving artist scares away many potentially talented artists from pursuing art – any advice or thoughts about how to deal with the financial concerns an aspiring artist might be concerned about?
Each artists situation is so different on this – but general information – look into grants if you have set yourself up as a 501c3 as we have or look at businesses who might want to sponsor an arts organization, donations and personal relationship building is important. Be passionate and continue to craft your work. Stay focused and positive.

Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
www.movementsourcedancecompany.org has lots of information on us – my work is there, and we post on our Facebook and Instagram current happenings. There are some work examples on YouTube. We dance at various venues each season – most recently (last weekend) we performed to full houses at Tempe Center for the Arts – we have been at the Herzberger and Scottsdale Center and we also love dancing in community settings outside of traditional theater settings, like Changing Hands Bookstore, Monorchid Art Gallery, Phoenix Art Museum and various festivals, and schools, bring dance directly into the community. People can support our work by attending events and performances.

They can also take classes – we offer open company classes on Monday nights at Dance e Theater West on the corner of 40th street and Indian School from 6:30 to 7:30 August – April checking our Facebook for updates is best for current class schedules. We are open to artists contacting us if interested in collaboration. Website can direct communication for this. We do collaborate with various renowned choreographers each season as well as creating our own in-house pieces. 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.movementsourcedancecompany.org
• Phone: 602-799-2390
• Email: movementsource@gmail.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/movementsource/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/movementsource/

Image Credit:
Robin Silver, Paul Markow, Michael Simon photographers

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.