2021 was an amazing start for our small company! We were able to host two residencies, 14 open classes and workshops, hire 6 new dancers, and begin two new creations. We were so thrilled to collaborate and work with a few different organizations including, New Dialect, Portland Ovations, Midday Movement Series, Casco Bay Movers, and Movement Arts Gloucester. Our work this year was generously supported by The Canada Council for the Arts, The Maine Arts Commission, The New England Foundation for the Arts, and people like you! Donations to little house and in kind support make up a hugely important part of our yearly budget. Thank you to all the friends, family, and community members who donated their time and resources this past year! Our success is thanks in large part to all of you!

 

We are closing out 2021 with an intimate work in progress showing of our new group creation, thorns & leaves, at Maine Mechanics Hall in downtown Portland. This will be our first in person sharing of work since before the pandemic. Creation for thorns & leaves began in 2021 and features our 8 company dancers. 

 
From creation to performance, little house dance’s work is rooted in collaboration. As a small project based company, little house dance is committed to creating healthy, sustainable employment opportunities for artists. Working with both local and international artists, little house brings together talented artists to explore and create new dance work.
 
little house dance was established in 2020 by Canadian choreographer Heather Stewart in order to formalize her working relationships with other dancers, musicians, visual artists, and writers. The vision for little house’s future has been developed by Heather and dance artist Riley Watts. After working and performing extensively around the globe, Riley returned to his home state of Maine in 2016. Over the past few years, Riley and Heather have supported one another’s artistic work through collaborations and conversations. They share a similar desire to grow the visibility of dance in the Maine region and support artists in the making and presenting of dance work.

We have several exciting opportunities on the horizon! In 2022 we are looking forward to premiering Hour Wolf, a new collaboration between Riley Watts and Heather Stewart. Hour Wolf has been commissioned by Portland Ovations, a non-profit performing arts organization in Portland, and will premiere in Portland, Maine in the spring of 2022. We are also thrilled to bring this new work to San Francisco! Hour Wolf is being presented by a new festival, State of Play, and will be performed in San Francisco’s ODC theatre. 

 

In the summer we look forward to returning to one of our favorite New England Arts Organizations, Movement Arts Gloucester, to share a live performance of thorns & leaves. We also have some exciting collaborative projects underway with local Maine artists. Stay tuned for more! 

 

Along the way we plan to continue to host open classes and workshops, online and in person, for our community.

 little house is committed to creating equitable employment opportunities for talented dancers and artists. Last fall we received 97 applications from dancers around North America who wanted to work with us. Of those 97 applicants we hired 6 new artists Katie Lake, Laila Franklin, Isabel Ball, Tyeri Morrison, Michaela Esteban, and Nicole Bradbury. These artists have joined established company members Emily Jerant-Hendrickson and Alyx Henigman. You can read more about our team here!

We are currently seeking to raise $10,000 before the end of 2021 to help support the growth of our company in 2022. Donations from this campaign will go toward paying our little house collaborators and supporting our 2022 projects. As our company continues to grow, so does our need for your support. 

 

In 2021 we were able to bring our dancers together for 3 in person creation residencies. Our goal for 2022 is to double our in person work to include 6 creation residencies. A typical creation residency lasts for 1-2 weeks and the dancers rehearse between 4 - 6 hours a day. On average it costs between $500- $750 to rent studio space for one week. Our current budget allows us to offer $500 per week for our dancers and $250 per week for our apprentices. Over the next two years our goal is to eventually be able to pay our dancers $25 an hour and our apprentices $17 an hour for studio rehearsals. We pay our teachers $80 to teach a 90 minute warm up class before rehearsal. Here is a breakdown of what that looks like during a 2 week residency:

 

Studio rental: $1200

Dancer Fees: $5000 ($500 per week  x 5 dancers)

Apprentice Fees: $1500 ($250 per week x 3 apprentices)

Teacher Fees: $800 ($80 per day x 10 classes)

 

Total= 8500

 

*This does not include the extra costs related to travel, housing, and per diems. 

 

Your donation will directly support our mission to build a professional dance company for the state of Maine. Our aim is to develop the presence of our region by creating opportunities for exceptional artists to create and perform new dance work. Donations are US tax deductible. 

 

 As part of our campaign perks this year we have brand new little house socks. These black athletic socks feature our logo, designed by our dear friend Vincent Pilotte. Vincent is a Montreal based architect, artist, and all round beautiful human. Other perks include silver little house earrings, designed and made by dancer and artist Cacia LaCount, access to exclusive video content of our new work, and high quality matte print photographs of little house dance. 

 

Thank you thank you thank you !

 

Thank you always for being a part of our support network. We are so grateful to the people around us and the different ways that they show up for us and demonstrate their support. 

 

Looking forward to more!

Please reach out to Heather Stewart at heather@littlehousedance.com if you are interested in a customizable donation.