Molly Maquires at the Mauch Chunk Opera House

Picture of Mauch Chunk Opera House where the Day of the Rope dance premiered

“It would be great if you made a dance about the coal miners from this town,” Dan said. The miners he was referring to were known as the “Molly Maquires” and the town is Jim Thorpe PA, or Mauch Chunk as the locals call it. “We could pack the opera house,” he was visibly enthused. […]

Memories of Concert Dance in China

Image of Concert Dance and the Dragon

In the New York Times, I see an article dated October 10, 2021. The headline says, “China Flexes Power over Taiwan”. This island has moved to the heart of tensions between our two countries. Could it really come to war? It’s been 12 years since I traveled to China with my company, Concert Dance. We […]

Concert Dance Cultural Exchange in China

June 2009 – After two years of planning, fundraising, and rehearsing, Concert Dance, Inc was finally on its way to China. We were at O’Hare airport waiting for our flight to China, where there was a SARS flu alert. A scratchy voice from United Air Lines over the intercom announced, ” If any of you […]

Terra Cotta Soldier Dance

As I view the dancers in the video below, I’m struck by their generosity and skill. Jorge on the right of the screen and Garrent on the left are learning a dance titled “The Terracotta Soldier” from the Chinese dancer in the center (for more about the Chinese Terra Cotta Army of soldiers go to […]

The Missing Coffee Cup

dancer with leg held high

Unfortunately, my efforts to communicate on this trip were less successful. Each day, our group and our Chinese hosts ate our meals together in the campus hotel dinning room, where we were staying. The meals were generally the same each day. Mysteriously non-western, with mostly unrecognizable ingredients. Most of the company were open to trying […]