MEMORIES Dancer Lindsey Matheis, left, and choreographer Madison Hicks rehearse movements for a dance Hicks’ The Moving Forward Collective performed at Catskill Art Space on Oct. 12. Adriana Serafino photo
Dance troupe moves to memory
In residence at CAS, The Moving Forward Collective
By Adriana Serafino | Manor Ink
Last month, on Oct. 12, Catskill Art Space hosted another in its series of Ardsley Dance Residency performances. CAS was happy to support a week-long stay in Livingston Manor by choreographer Madison Hicks and her company, The Moving Forward Collective. The talented dancers who performed with Hicks during the Residency were Nicole Hagen, Lindsey Matheis and Nicole Morris.
Hicks, the founder and director of the Collective, described the performance she planned to create for the Ardsley Dance Residency. “It’s centered around this idea of memory, kind of like a memory box,” she said. “Where age and time and the dancers fall into this room, into this space, and go through a journey, remembering moments in their lives.”
MORE THAN MOVEMENT Dancers Lindsey Matheis, left, Nicole Hagen, center left, and Nicole Morris, right, with their choreographer Madison Hicks. Photo by Adriana Serafino
Even those unfamiliar with interpretive dance techniques would be intrigued by the performance. Hicks explained her intent in choreographing the piece. “We’re trying to create work that invites people into a world that makes them question things, question their own lives and their own memories, question their own thoughts,” she said. “So it’s not about presenting something to give you an exact story or narrative. It’s just about inviting you into a world that makes you think.”
Madison Hicks started her nonprofit company in 2017 when she was still an undergrad at the Juilliard School in New York. She then applied for an entrepreneurship grant and started a dance workshop in her hometown.
“I received the grant, and then from there, I saw how successful the workshop was,” Hicks said. “It just continued to grow into this huge thing.”
The Moving Forward Collective has three different branches. The first branch is an educational program which has workshops for dancers; the second is about supporting emerging choreographers; and the third is the company that performed at CAS during their Ardsley Dance Residency.
“It’s been quite a journey,” Hicks acknowledged. “It’s challenging to craft these works because I prefer them to be much more than just making movement.”
Visit Catskill Art Space at catskillartspace.org to learn about upcoming exhibitions and events. To learn more about The Moving Forward Collective and founder Madison Hicks, go to movingforwarddance.com.