Beth Corning has always been interested in exploring new territory with her dances, incorporating diverse theatrical forms seamlessly blended into her choreographic vocabulary. At Once There Was a House was created with the company in 2004 and demands of the dancers to develop characters through spoken text, in addition to very specific physicalities. The work references the era of “Dick and Jane”  (iconic characters from the teach-children-to-read books popular in the 1950s and 60s) a time when things seemed more simple — the perfect childhood, the perfect parent, perfect happiness. Corning’s At Once There Was a House asks “Whatever happened to Dick and Jane?” now no longer children – but the grown product of those “perfect childhoods,” it asks us to take a look under the surface of our stereotypes, into the deeper narratives we know are there in all our lives. We experience the dark and sometimes humorous interior world Corning reveals in wonderfully varied and unexpected ways.

Corning has created and produced over 60 works, including 16 full evening productions. In addition to years of studio dance classes with Master modern and ballet teachers, Corning holds a BFA with Distinction from the University of Michigan’s Department of Dance and an MA in Dance from The Ohio State University.