By Steve Sucato
Since arriving at GroundWorks DanceTheater in 2018, Nicole Hennington has left an indelible mark on the company and its audiences. The versatile dancer has originated memorable roles in such works as GroundWorks Executive Artistic Director David Shimotakahara’s Sud Buster’s Dream and Jigsaw, James Gregg’s éveillé, Brian Brooks’ Unwritten and Hannah Garner’s “quirk-licious” dance film PONY. Recently in her fourth, and sadly her last season as GroundWorks dancer, she shone in Antonio Brown’s Mixtape 2.2 and Peter Chu’s will(O) and (un/re)cover.
Now the 25-year-old has turned her attention to choreographing, creating her very first mainstage dance work for GroundWorks’ upcoming Summer Performance Series 2022 at Cleveland Heights’ Cain Park Evans Amphitheater, July 15-17 and August 5 & 6 at Akron’s Firestone Park as part of the Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival.
Hennington, who grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, graduated from the University of Arizona with a BFA in Dance. She also studied with Nederlands Dans Theatre, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, chuthis., New Dialect, and Ate9. She has taught dance at Cleveland State University, The University of Akron, and at dance studios around Northeast, Ohio and beyond. As a budding choreographer she has created works for various dance studios and as participant in GroundWorks’ ChoreLab. She is also a 2022 RAD FEST (Midwest Regional Alternative Dance) Screendance Selectee for her solo work “Between Presence,” in collaboration with videographer Cory Sheldon.
I talked with Hennington about her dance career, her new 17-minute work for GroundWorks, As I Am, and what’s next for her.
What drew you to dance in the first place?
Dance chose me. I was constantly dancing from a young age. At 5, I was playing Broadway choreographer with my dolls and directing invisible people on what to do. I always had it in my head that I would be a dancer but also knew I would need to strive for it.
Were you a serious student from the get-go?
(laughs) I took dance so seriously at a young age. My mother had put my sister and I in a combo dance class together and I remember going up to the teacher and saying “I don’t want to be with my sister, she is not trying hard enough.” I love my sister but we both agree that she got all the singing genes and I got all the dancing genes.
You trained at a competition studio, what was that like?
I am very fortunate that the competition studio I was at focused on more concert-style dances and we competed those. That type and level of training helped prepare me for the concert dance world I am in now.
Why the choice to go to a college dance program instead of right into a dance company?
I was terribly shy when I was 18. I felt college could help me be more confident. I was also still very interested in learning and expanding my knowledge that way. I was the first person at my dance studio to go to college for dance. Dancers that came after me there also began choosing the college route.
What has it been like being at GroundWorks for the past 4 seasons?
It has afforded me the opportunity as a dancer to work with a plethora of choreographers and in a multitude of choreographic processes. Now for the first time being able to choreograph on the company, I have been able to use parts of those processes that I enjoy and cultivate a creative environment I like with friends I love.
How did this opportunity to create your first mainstage work for the company come about?
David [Shimotakahara] has seen my choreographic process on a smaller stage through GroundWorks’ ChoreoLab over the years. I feel lucky and privileged that he approached me to create a mainstage work for the company. I love being able to see how dancers interpret my movement style and how things then click onstage. The fact that this opportunity is with dancers I trust is very rewarding for me.
So how has the process been choreographing on your colleagues?
I have only been dancing with the three dancers in my work for the past 5 months, but in that time we have become a family. We are able to bounce ideas off one another and they can ask me deeper questions about the process so that things are intentional and make sense. I am really appreciative of the overall relationship I have with these dancers.
What’s your inspiration for the work?
As I Am was inspired by the third episode of a mini-series on Amazon Prime Video called Modern Love. It’s about a woman with bi-polar disorder and the changes in her as she begins collapsing in on herself mentally. My trio uses that as a jumping off point and is more about the ebb and flow of what we do in life and how occurrences can trigger stark changes in us.
This past season was your last as a GroundWorks company dancer, what’s next for you?
I have a lot of interest and curiosity about what’s out there in the world right now. I want to spend the next few years learning, traveling and experiencing new things. I will continue dancing, choreographing and teaching.
What are you going to miss about being in the company?
I am going to miss dancing with my friends everyday and the familiarity of being able to grow with the same people around me.
As I Am will premiere as part of GroundWorks DanceTheater’s Summer Performance Series 2022 along with Sheep’s Gothic, a world premiere work by rising star choreographer Rena Butler, and a reprise of GroundWorks Executive Artistic Director David Shimotakahara’s Aperture (2019). 8:00 p.m., Friday, July 15 & Saturday, July 16, and 2 p.m., Sunday, July 17 at Cain Park’s Evans Amphitheater, 14591 Superior Rd, Cleveland Heights, OH. Advance tickets $25, Day of show: $30. Click here for more info and tickets.
The Summer Performance Series 2022 will then continue at 8:45 p.m., August 5 & 6 at Akron’ Firestone Park, 1480 Girard St., Akron, OH as part of the Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival. Admission is FREE and open to the public. Click here for more info.
Click here to watch an Instagram video with Nicole hosted by GroundWorks company dancer and Social Media Assistant Teagan Reed.
Photo: Nicole Hennington by Dale Dong. Video Credits: Artist Talk with Nicole Hennington hosted by Steve Sucato, GroundWorks Marketing & Communications Manager.