NextMove makes its next move: To the Annenberg Center

NextMove Dance and the Annenberg share a long history together and a short one apart. Once upon a time, Dance Affiliates partnered with Annenberg in a shared, long-lived program called Dance Celebration. Dance Affiliates became NextMove Dance, an Annenberg presenting partner. Then NextMove relocated to the Prince Theater on Chestnut Street.

Surprising departure

NextMove artistic director Randy Swartz said in a press release that new leadership at the Annenberg “has made a major commitment to support and sustain a full season of dance next year and for years to come.” Annenberg Center executive and artistic director Christopher A. Gruits characterized the relationship between NextMove and the Annenberg as a “co-presenting partnership [that] combines Philadelphia’s two major dance presenters under one roof.”

One of last season’s performances, Company Wang Ramirez’s Monchichi, was among the year’s best dance events in Philadelphia. Another, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, with the Ahn Trio, afforded a precious experiential learning opportunity for students taking my world literature class at Community College of Philadelphia.

It was my first field trip as a faculty member at CCP and I was overwhelmed. Anne-Marie Mulgrew, NextMove’s then-director of education and special projects, essentially held my hand through the planning process. It resulted in a wonderful experience, worth far more than the $5 fee for student tickets and the logistical hurdles I had to jump through.

Following the announcement about the organization’s return to the Annenberg, I received an email from Mulgrew updating her contact information; her position at Dance Affiliates/NextMove Dance had been eliminated. Soon, an email followed from Swartz thanking Mulgrew for her service and clarified the partnership between Annenberg and NextMove that led to her departure.

She said budget cuts; he said staff merger. This left me with even more questions.

Helping each other

Talking with Mulgrew and Swartz provided some answers. The move may be as necessary as it is beneficial. Swartz’s email emphasized that NextMove remains fiscally strong, yet it apparently lacked other resources the Annenberg could provide.

Swartz said Penn is making more of a commitment to NextMove and to the broader goal of creating a home for dance in the city. In addition, he explained that remaining at the Prince Theater, which offered only a venue, was unsustainable. The Annenberg, on the other hand, has an entire department devoted to marketing and communications.

The center’s resources will help prevent scheduling conflicts with other companies and performances, so NextMove avoids competing for an audience. And perhaps moving to University City will attract new audience members (from the Penn community). Swartz claims that 50 percent of Penn’s graduating class never attended a live performance of anything, let alone dance. As he pointed out, these are educated and often privileged young people.

Time is money

NextMove at the Annenberg seems poised to remedy that deficit. The live performance series is central to NextMove’s mission, but so is outreach and education. Friday-morning student performances will continue at the Annenberg, and engagement initiatives will expand to include pre- and post-performance talks as well as free classes for the community.

But Mulgrew’s departure from NextMove struck me as a real loss. Her considerable experience in arts education, from school residencies to teaching in higher ed to a decade with the Institute for Arts and Education, uniquely equipped her to direct NextMove’s education work.

Perhaps for this reason, by mid-August, she told me the Annenberg brought her on board as an education consultant for the Student Discovery Series and Children’s Festival. I found it strange that NextMove let Mulgrew go only to have the Annenberg bring her back. And I am troubled by the reduction of her role, the demands of which I witnessed as she helped me plan my field trip. Contingent and part-time work tend to require more time and effort and less compensation than they should, especially in education and the arts.

Another new reduction is the length of each NextMove run. Mulgrew noted that in the past each company performed four times. Now the runs are shorter, with only two or three performances per company, which poses challenges for outreach.

Good dance, good thing

I have other, more selfish reservations about NextMove’s return to University City. I don’t love that the ticket window is staffed by Penn work-study students who may not be familiar with the visiting companies. The Annenberg Center is not as easy to get to as the Prince. And large performing-arts venues usually mean hassles and headaches for press people like me seeking media passes, photos, and other materials.

In the past, I simply contacted Mulgrew, who handled press and promotion in addition to her duties in education and mediating between NextMove and visiting artists. Smaller companies provide more personal attention and the opportunity to form working relationships.

But the Annenberg offers superior facilities, for both audience members and performers. This will help NextMove bring the best companies to the city, and indeed, the 2018-2019 season looks terrific.

It opens with the U.S. premiere of Humans, from Australia’s Circa, which blurs the lines between dance and acrobatics. In December, Caleb Teicher & Company will bring his innovative approach to tap, jazz, and swing. There’s also Martha Graham Dance Company, Union Tanguera + Kate Weare Company, Spectrum Dance Theater’s A Rap on Race, and much more.

As Martha Graham said, there are only two types of dance: bad and good. NextMove brings an impressive array of good dance each season, and I hope its return to the Annenberg means more of a good thing for dance-loving Philadelphians, even if it means less of Mulgrew and the skills she brought to her position.