Our Values
| Collective |
Collaboration. Truth. Passion. Reflective. Honest. Expressive. Welcoming.
We value the strength of the individual within the support of the group. We believe in creating opportunities to share leadership. We value the strength of a multi-generational company. We value the collective as both a process and pathway for decisions. We value the creation of original work that stems from the collective’s lived experience.
| Community |
Trust. Family. Inclusion. Diversity. Representation. Accessible. Partnership.
We believe our work should honor the complexity of our community. We believe our role in community is to be storytellers of human experience. We value the opportunity to elevate community voices through dance. We believe we can serve our community using art as a vehicle for social justice and a way to create pathways to understanding. We value the ability to create community in every rehearsal, every class, and every performance.
| Experimentation |
Authentic. Innovative. Reflective. Inspiring.
We value our freedom to take risks. We value innovation through trusting our gut. We believe our artistic practice should reflect the authenticity of our dancers. We value originality absent of judgement. We seek to find inspiration in unusual places and people. We value boldness in the face of uncertainty.
Our Story
Photos by Will Koeppen
Momentum Dance Collective (MDC) is an Alaskan based contemporary dance company founded 2008 by seven women; Becky Kendall, Jessie Embley, Beth Daly, Irenerose Anotnio, Stephanie Griffin, Katherine Cunningham, and Alana Whelan. MDC was created out of a need to provide opportunities for dancers to produce original work rooted in the collaborative approach. From the beginning, the desire to collaborate with different artists and outside traditional spaces and venues drove the company’s artistic work. The company has worked in conjunction with the Light Brigade since its formation in site specific urban art interventions such as the 'Trans' series from 2009 - 2013, culminating in it's acclaimed finale of, 'Over Beyond Across Through' in 2013 on the Anchorage Museum.
Today, the company continues to be a collection of unique dance artists performing a diverse repertoire on stages and sites in and around Anchorage and beyond. We engage a diversity of artists and organizations and continue to expand the list of art makers pushing the envelope in our local performing arts community every year. We produce annual concerts, provide opportunities for local choreographers to create work, promote art in the schools by leading residencies throughout the Anchorage School District, and strive to connect with other artists, dancers, designers, companies, educators, and audiences in new ways each year.