麻豆直播

Crowdfunding dance performances in public parks? Flash mobs as a key part of a business plan? It鈥檚 all in a day鈥檚 work for Melissa Riker 鈥�96, artistic director and choreographer of Kinesis Project dance theater and a self-described 鈥渂usinessperson-slash-artist.鈥�

The mission of Kinesis Project, Riker explained, 鈥渋s to place dance in surprising spaces, and to change spaces with dance.鈥� Working largely outdoors, often in public places, Kinesis Project democratizes dance, said Riker, taking it 鈥渙ut of the elite鈥� and into everyday life. In October, the company premiered Secrets and Seawalls, a work inspired in part by Hurricane Sandy, performed at Fort Tilden in the Rockaways. And this fall at Adelphi, Riker choreographed Ghost Stories, a campuswide, site-specific performance collaboration that was a centerpiece of the Fall 2015 Ephemeral exhibition.

Melissa Riker ’96 (middle) is the artistic director and choreographer of Kinesis Project with alumni Molly Rappold ’14 and Sasha Smith ’14, who danced in Riker’s work DISTRACTION at Adelphi. Photo by Stephen de las Heras.

Since starting Kinesis Project, Riker has had to be as inventive about funding as she is about her choreography. The company began taking shape around the time of 9/11, when support for the arts dropped dramatically. 鈥淲e just started scrappy and had to keep going in that way,鈥� she said, and that can-do attitude is reflected in the company鈥檚 multiple business strategies. Performances in public places may mean that ticket sales aren鈥檛 an option, but crowdfunding allows appreciative audiences to support the work鈥攁nd they do. In 2015, a campaign to fund the intensive rehearsals needed to complete Secrets and Seawalls surpassed its goal, raising a full one-third more than the target figure. Commissions and partnerships with other organizations are also part of the business plan. Unlikely as it may seem, so are flash mobs. In 2014, Riker and Kinesis Project worked with Pepsi and Flavorpill to create flash mobs in three cities for a Pepsi Super Bowl campaign. To date, Riker and Kinesis Project have created flash mobs for 30 events in the New York area, including marriage proposals and birthday celebrations in Central Park, Times Square and Battery Park. Flash mobs are so integral to its work that Kinesis Project maintains a 600-plus-member Meetup group, , for volunteers looking to participate.

Kinesis Project dancer Callie Ritter. Photo by Stephen de las Heras.

Riker credits her Adelphi education with readying her for the challenges of being a dancer, choreographer and entrepreneur. As an undergraduate, she studied with dance legends Norman Walker, Carmen de Lavallade and Gelsey Kirkland, among others. The strength of her training, she said, 鈥減repared my instrument, my body, in an extreme way鈥攁 wonderful way.鈥� At the same time, she was a student in the Honors College, which honed her capacity for 鈥渜uestioning things,鈥� and for the independent thinking that she finds so valuable in running Kinesis Project.

Riker鈥檚 involvement with dance at Adelphi has continued. In addition to Ghost Stories, she choreographed projects for the two previous Ephemeral exhibitions, and looks forward to more collaborations with Adelphi dancers. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e so trained, and so beautiful as technicians,鈥� she said of the students. 鈥淭he level of power they鈥檙e able to exude as performers is really satisfying.鈥� The 麻豆直播 Performing Arts Center (AUPAC) hosted Kinesis Project as a resident company in Summer 2014, culminating in a production development performance of Secrets and Seawalls that was crucial to the work鈥檚 creative evolution.

As a student in the dance department, Molly Rappold 鈥�14 was a performer in DISTRACTION, Riker鈥檚 work for the first Ephemeral exhibition, and again when the piece was presented this summer at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. 鈥淲orking with Melissa is really fun,鈥� Rappold said, adding that 鈥渉er material makes sense on my body. It feels good to do her movement.鈥� Riker鈥檚 work is also inspiring on another level. Being a dancer is a difficult lifestyle, said Rappold, and 鈥渢o see someone who started at the same place I started鈥攖o see what she鈥檚 created for herself and for the dance community鈥攇ives me a lot of hope. It makes me think that I鈥檓 in the right place and I鈥檓 doing the right thing.鈥�