Are we born resilient or are we forced to be? 

This February, Chutzpah Dance presents their second evening-length show, titled Unshaken. The production aims to create captivating movement that intricately fuses tap and contemporary dance, through the concept of resiliency. 

The show includes work choreographed by the company’s Artistic Director, Erica Isakower, and features dancers Laura Ardner, Kim Hancock, Julia Lawton, Claudia Logi, Natalie Long, Melanie Molina, and Ava Rakowski. 

Unshaken centers on resilience and questions are we born resilient or are we forced to be? How does stress impact every part of us including how we move in our body and how we create art? The work explores these questions through three main pillars which are the neurology of resilience, dance movement therapy, and history of protest art, explored by the dancers through Isakower’s layered choreography. The first category depicts how the brain reacts to stressors focusing neuron pathways and how our brains physically evolve and adapt due to the stress and trauma they endure. The second pillar examines how dance movement therapy builds physical resilience, highlighting the process of overcoming challenges through physicality. Lastly, this piece is contextualized from inspiration drawn from the history of protest art. 

Chutzpah Dance is a nonprofit dance company based in NYC. Chutzpah Dance has performed locally all over the tristate area in NYC, NJ, and Philadelphia, and toured nationally to upstate New York, Chicago, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Salt Lake City. Chutzpah Dance also toured internationally at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland this past summer and most recently this December in Mumbai, India at the Mood Indigo festival. Chutzpah Dance is primarily a contemporary dance company, but this new show incorporates rhythm tap dance, blending the dance forms while allowing them to have their moment to shine. Through their work, Chutzpah Dance aims to push the boundaries of dance by layering movement into an indelible web, emphasizing inclusion and creating new opportunities for artists. Ahead of the performances on the 8th of February, tickets can be purchased directly from the company from the following link: https://www.ticketleap.events/tickets/chutzpahdance/unshakenchutzpahdance 

Select amount of discount tickets are also available for TDF members. Visit www.tdf.org for more information.