underwater!

Our favorite photo from the weekend rehearsals: Kaitlyn as Luna falling into the sea.

Luna's choreographer: Christine Poland

Christine Poland graduated with honors from Roger Williams University with a BA in Dance Performance Studies. In NYC she became a founding member and the managing director of Rocha Dance Theater. During her years with the company Christine assisted the productions of Gaining Voice, Ponder Me, Not so Soft, Painted Ladies in NYC, RI, and Boston. Christine has performed with Sonia Plumb, Works/Laura Glenn, and Joseph Albano of Hartford, CT. After moving to NYC she began performing for many small pick up companies getting exposure to the NYC dance scene. In 2005, she joined Hedi Latsky in Club Riot as “Valkeries”, this production took place at LaMama Experimental Theater. Performance credits include dancing for Monica Bill Barnes, Mary Fullam, Full Force Dance Productions, Guta Hedwig, Noel MacDuffie, Oil and Water Productions, Vanessa Paige and Angela Jones. Theatrical dance productions include Shirley and the Tropicana, Fishbowl, Her Mom’s Feet, and Queen Juniper all of which were directed by Christine Henry. She has also co-choreographed STUCK with Jenny which was presented at Dancers Responding to Aids, Dixon Place, New Dance Group and Spoke the Hub. During 2000 – 2003, Ms Poland was a guest choreographer for Creative Arts Studio in Brooklyn, NY. Her choreography has also been in a silent film short by Christian Zuccoro, Serenity. In 2005, Christine had the great pleasure of dancing as the evil seagull for Gary Shore of RI in Ode his silent dance film. She has just completed a full season with Cornerstone Playhouse in Mystic, CT. She is on staff at Kiks Dance Studio in Uncasville and The Writer’s Block in New London, CT. Her latest endeavor is teaching theater for CT Performing Arts Programs.

meet the cast and crew

It takes a lot of people to make Luna's Sea!

Weston, Ali and Erica, puppeteers.

Christine Poland, choreographer and The Moon.

Kim and Kaitlyn, the two Lunas.

Felicia, puppeteer and understudy for The Moon.

Karl Gasteyer, producer, co-director and technical director.

rehearsal

Pictures from Saturday's rehearsal. What is going on in these photos? Mysterious things! Watch over the next 3 weeks and find out!

Seahorses!

Here is Jen working on her first seahorse body. She used a material called rattan, which comes from a plant that grows like a vine. You've probably seen rattan a lot, it's used to make baskets and some types of furniture. It also turns out to be excellent for making seahorses! Jen used traditional basket making techniques to shape the rattan by wetting it, then letting it dry on a form. For the tale, she made triangular pieces that fit together like vertebrae, which are the bones that make up your spine and let it move in all sorts of directions.

seahorses! The Inspiration

These little fellows are some of our favorites at the aquarium. We could watch them for hours. We especially love their agile tales, which wrap every which way around anything near by, like seaweed, and other seahorses! Jen went back to her studio right away and started designing a snake-y mechanism that would mimic these wonderful creatures. A real challenge!