We had the good fortune of connecting with New Breed Dance Company Co-directors Linzee Klinkenberg, Kelsey Kempfer, and Mimi Ferrie and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi New Breed Dance Company, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
How Does Your business Help the community or the world?

Our company strives to decolonize dance by prioritizing accessibility and inclusivity. Traditionally, dance culture propagates biases toward class, race, gender, ability-status, age, and body size. New Breed aims to counter those oppressive conventions because we believe dance is and should be a unifying, liberatory artistic medium. We honor the multiple identities of our artists and celebrate their differences. By creating a safe and generative community within our company, and then sharing that spirit with an audience, we get to make a certain magic. Our dancers feel enriched and enlivened, and so too does our audience. Everyone then gets to bring that magic to the larger community. It’s a feedback loop of connection and belonging.

Risk Taking: how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?

At its core, our company aspires to uplift, challenge, and entertain our audiences. We feel deep respect and gratitude for the lineage of artists whose work serves as our foundation, and we consistently gamble on the chance to create something new. It is both exciting and terrifying to invent our own art and to tackle provocative subject matter through the medium of dance. We value boldness with the potential of bombing far more than creating something predictable or forgettable. To balance heartfulness with hilarity, athleticism with beauty– and to actually pull it off– is the risk New Breed takes with every production.

What is the most important factor behind your success/the success of your brand?

We have succeeded for two primary reasons. First, we truly value the talent, time, individuality, and expertise of artists. Colorado is home to a richly diverse population of professional dancers. New Breed fosters an environment of respect, gratitude, and trust in order to showcase the abundant abilities and perspectives of the dancers with whom we work.

Secondly, we regard the experience of our audience as paramount to our success. While we approach each project and performance with a vision and goal, our highest aim is to honor our patronage. We want our audiences to leave feeling dazzled and moved. The highest compliment we can receive from a member of our audience is an expression of inspiration to explore their own creativity.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
New Breed Dance Company features the diverse talents and creative collaboration of local Colorado dancers. Steeped in style, sensuality, and musicality, New Breed strives to create innovative choreography that is both wildly entertaining and maintains strong artistic integrity. This company captivates audiences with their bounding athleticism, emotionally evocative performances, and astounding showmanship. The mission of New Breed is to bring this invaluable art form to audiences and students of all ages. Whether in the theatre, classroom, or street scene, New Breed’s dynamic dancers and accessible choreography enriches the lives of its community and beyond.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If we had friends visiting from out of town, our day would start bright and early with a sunrise hike up Mount Sanitas to enjoy the stunning views of Boulder, CO. As dancers we love to cross-train and enjoy a variety of movement modalities, next head to our favorite class at Gyrotonic Bodhi to stretch, strengthen, and prevent injuries. Having worked up a hearty appetite, we would take ourselves out for brunch at Snooze on Pearl Street and walk the outdoor mall for the best people watching in Boulder. Our day wouldn’t be complete without dancing. New Breed company dancer and teacher extraordinaire, Lauren Beale’s modern class is not to be missed. After such an active day, we would grab dinner at Rosetta Hall before taking in a performance from one of our beloved local dance companies including Wild Heart Dance, VisKosity Dance Collective, or JK-CO Dance Company. Finally, our night would conclude with chair massages at Bamboo Foot Massage in Lafayette. Tired bodies, full bellies, and creatively inspired spirits make for great company and a fulfilling day together.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We want to shout out our Co-Director Mimi Ferrie’s non-profit Dandelion Arts Collective. You can connect with Mimi to learn more about her organization, collaborators and their amazing work at dandelionartscollective@gmail.com.

Website: newbreeddance.co

Instagram: @newbreeddancecompany

Facebook: New Breed Dance Company

Image Credits
Grace Creative Studios Heather Gray Photography Medium Lab Films Laura Rose Studios

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