Garth Newel

Community Company Workshop
with Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance

Saturday, September 20, 2025 at 1:00 - 2:00PM

Free to attend

Community Company Workshop (a part of The Fellowship Project) welcomes dancers of all ages, abilities, and experience levels to move from inspiration to performance—all in a single session. Rooted in Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance’s collaborative methodology, these workshops create an inclusive, supportive space where participants explore movement, connect with others, and experience the joy of creative expression. Whether you're an experienced dancer or stepping into a dance space for the first time, you'll find a place in this collective process.

Each workshop begins with accessible, gesture-based choreography led by SH/CD Choreographer Shannon Hummel, that allows everyone to move at their own pace. From there, participants may explore improvisation, develop short movement phrases, and build community through shared creation. The workshop culminates in a performance of a new, collaboratively choreographed work—crafted and performed by the participants themselves alongside professional company members from Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance. This format invites newcomers to experience the full arc of dancemaking while giving seasoned dancers a rare chance to create alongside artists of diverse backgrounds, generations, and physical abilities.

Event Details

Suitable for: All ages* and levels welcome. (Children age 8 and younger must be accompanied by a participating adult.)
What to expect: No prior dance experience necessary—just bring your curiosity and openness to move and connect with others through the universal language of dance.

About Shannon Hummel

Shannon Hummel (she/her) is a choreographer, educator, and arts advocate whose work centers intimacy, vulnerability, and human connection through dance. As Founding Artistic Director of Cora Dance, she has spent over 25 years creating emotionally resonant choreography and building equity-driven dance education centers in both Brooklyn, NY and Alleghany County, VA. Her company, Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance, is known for bringing professional dance into community spaces where access is limited, as well as being presented at venues such as BAM, the Brooklyn Museum, and NYLA. Hummel’s work has been recognized many times by The New York Times as “poignant, funny...remarkably assured and perceptive,” and “a rare gem” and has received numerous accolades including a NY Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award citation for Service to the Field of Dance. As a teacher and speaker, she has worked with countless institutions—from major universities to intimate youth studios—always guided by a belief in the transformative power of dance. She currently splits her time between Virginia and New York, grounding her artistic life in both rural and urban communities.

About Cora Dance:

Cora Dance is a multi-faceted arts organization founded in 1998 by choreographer and educator Shannon Hummel. The organization operates through three core branches: Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance (SH/CD), the critically acclaimed professional company known for presenting Hummel’s emotionally resonant choreography; Cora Dance Brooklyn (CDB), a New York City-based education hub established in 2009; and Cora Dance Alleghany (CDA), a dance education center launched in 2020 in the Alleghany Highlands of Virginia. SH/CD is now dually based in NYC and Virginia, and is celebrated for its deeply human, intimate, and vulnerable work. The company brings dance into non-traditional spaces nationwide, fostering community dialogue and shared experience. All Cora Dance programs are free or pay-what-you-can. Learn more at www.coradance.org.

View the Full Program Offering on the Living Arts Gathering website.

Contact info@livingartsgathering.com with any questions.

Photo Credit: Steve Pisano

Please select a performance