Associate professor and chair of the Department of Dance Orion Ducksteinās idea for choreographing a piece about his grandmotherās life emerged at an unexpected moment.
He and his dance students had been deeply immersed in rehearsing a dance with a dark vibe, and he joked that they should take a break for a wholesome activity like baking muffins in the Performing Arts Centerās kitchen. When he talked with his mother that night and shared his idea for lightening the mood in the studio, she loved it and suggested his Grandma Kikiās favorite lemon muffins. Right then,ĢżĢżwas born.
āMy grandmother, Mildred āKikiā Kelley, was born in the 1920s and led a very dynamic life, especially for that time,ā Duckstein said. āI shared her story with the dancers and they shared stories from their ancestors. In this dance, we tried to refer to their diverse experiences as a way to turn a singular story into a story where many people can see themselves.ā
Duckstein shares that Kiki was a part-time model, held a degree in engineering from Rutgers University and was a black belt in judo. āDuring World War II, she served stateside as a self-defense instructor and demonstrator for the United States Marine Corps, where she met her future husband, Francis,ā he said. āAfter the war, Kiki worked for Bell Laboratories where she and a few others co-developed the first telephone that could call from an airplane to the ground.ā
Kiki left her job when Francis returned from serving overseas, and they had six children. When Francis left the family for his secretary she moved to Florida, pivoting to a career in education and becoming an environmental activist, leading scientific tours through the Everglades.
āCancer took my grandmother at the age of 70, but she certainly lived a full and extraordinary life,ā said Duckstein.
Introducing Mrs. BaxterĢżtakes womenās issues from the 1950s and looks at them through todayās eyes. The performance debuted at Dance Adelphi in Spring 2023, with a cast of 14 dancers from Adelphiās Dance Theater course. āThe piece starts as a mock Miss Adelphi pageant set in 1958 and finishes in the present day,ā Duckstein said. āDevelopment of this piece was intense, but itās a fitting tribute to my grandmotherās life and legacy.ā
One could say that Duckstein inherited his grandmotherās zest for life. Though he initially studied acting while in college at the University of Connecticut, he says he hungered for a more physical experience. āI was an athletic kid, loved music and was always a bit of a daydreamer,ā Duckstein says. āWhen I saw the Alvin Ailey Dance Company in my junior year of college something snappedāthe theatricality, the physicality, the interaction with musicāI wanted to do what those gorgeous dancers did.ā
After completing his degree in theater, he shifted the direction of his career to dance. Through the years, he danced and choreographed for a number of major dance companies, taught dance professionally in New York City, and completed residencies at arts and educational institutions across the country. He began his tenure as a member of the Department of Dance faculty at Ā鶹ֱ²„ in 2010, teaching students the artistry of dance in courses such as Modern Technique, Dance Improvisation and Conditioning.
āMany people are afraid to see dance, thinking they will not understand it,ā Duckstein said. āIf there is any dance to see as a way into this art form,ĢżIntroducing Mrs. BaxterĢżis itāthe dancers are wonderful, the piece has comedy as well as human moments, and it ends with a surprise as the dancers break out of the stage and into the audience.ā
He adds, āI think Grandma Kiki would be proud, and the dancersā grandparents too.ā