LEANNE SCHMIDT & COMPANY
Leanne Schmidt and Company, is making strides in Phoenix with a cast of four in the creation of a new collaborative work, The Intimate Encounter of Yes and No while in residence with NueBOX. In this new work, Schmidt and Company asks ”What is it that drives us to make a specific choice? What is ones own process to arrive at a decision? If we could look at it on the inside, would it look like characters from a Mucinex commercial; equal parts glee and tragedy?” The Intimate Encounter of Yes and No takes a deeper look into the neurosis of the decision making process.
Schmidt’s work takes a humorous route, tickling audience members with its melodramatic movements but sincere sentiment. Developed through improvisational games and gesture play, the performers combine tightly interwoven choreography with subtle gestures which makes Schmidt’s work both heartbreaking and hysterical. The result is a journey that is rich in metaphor where the audience is bound to find candid similarities between themselves and the performers.
Artist Bio
Leanne Schmidt, is founding artistic director and choreographer of Leanne Schmidt and Company, whose mission is to recruit new dance audience by presenting dance that is human, vulnerable and accessible. Her works explore that which is innately human about us all, diving into the depths of vulnerability with a cast of characters that are equal parts glee and tragedy. She develops her work through an arsenal of choreographic methods and improvisational techniques, resulting in pieces that evoke a physical empathy and are strikingly rich in metaphor.
Leanne has been presenting work throughout New York City since 2006 at venues including Triskelion Arts, Dance New Amsterdam, chashama, Dixon Place, and Chen Dance Center, among others. In addition to New York City and Buffalo, her choreography has been produced in Phoenix, Washington, D.C. and on Martha’s Vineyard. Leanne has received commissions from Travesty Dance Group/Cleveland, Kent State University (OH), Happendance (MI), American University (D.C.), Grand Canyon University (AZ) and has been a guest teacher at various universities. Leanne has served on the dance faculty at Glendale Community College, Paradise Valley Community College, Estrella Mountain Community College, Camelback High School and Arizona State University.
Leanne holds a BFA in Dance from SUNY College at Brockport and a MFA in Dance from Arizona State University. She has served on the Board of Directors at Triskelion Arts in Brooklyn, NY. She recently publicized her article Make ‘em Laugh: 6 tips for incorporating comedy into your choreography in the September 2014 issue of Dance Teacher Magazine. Leanne is currently Artist in Residence at Grand Canyon University.