Addy O: Narrative Choreography and Graham Technique

Addison Ouellette is a local four-year senior who was born and raised in Rindge, NH. Addison has multiple sides to her character, the first being a mellow and humble version of herself, where she can be found doing ceramics, drawing, painting, and sewing. Despite this calm side of Addison, she is also a very adventurous snowmobiler, alpine skier, and motorcycle rider! Yet, all these aspects are merely a substitute for the most important part of her identity: she was born a dancer, has studied dance since the age of three, and impresses everybody with her undeniable talent and grace. 

After many years of dancing and choreographing for fun, Addison joined Dublin School, and her passion for choreography grew even stronger. One year ago, this eagerness led her to take a Graham class in New York and fall in love with the style of dance. Addison wanted to take her choreography skills to the next level by conveying a story, and this is exactly what gave her the idea to study narrative choreography and the Graham technique for her Senior Project. 

Over the course of her Senior year, she has been taking Graham classes to learn the basics of the technique. She has also spent copious amounts of time researching Martha Graham and studying her life, artistic contributions, and innovative style. Another way she is also becoming well-versed in the choreographic process is through interviews like the one with her mentor, Laila Franklin from Bates Dance Festival, about her process with choreography and what inspires her creatively. Currently, Addison is working on choreographing and figuring out how to get her story into movement.

Addison's final project will be to create a 10-minute dance that will walk the audience through her journey with dance, while incorporating techniques from Martha Graham. She will use hanging fabric to represent dance as a physical form and interact with it as she grows closer to dance and gets disconnected. She will also be working on lighting and costuming to further convey a message and learn all the aspects that go into creating a narrative piece. This study will play a huge role in her future endeavors later in life, because she is planning to go to Skidmore College, where she will major in dance to someday be able to use this talent and become a professional choreographer.