Inlet is in the middle of its 17th season! There are many reasons to celebrate the life of the organization, and we are going to start by celebrating the lives that have been impacted by Inlet Dance Theatre. This article is “Why Inlet?” because no matter why, how, or when people were involved with Inlet, they have a story to tell and an experience worth acknowledging.
Here is Maribeth Van Hecke, a veteran dancer of the Inlet Trainee & Apprentice Program!
“When I left undergrad I was looking for an experience and a community that would continue my growth as a performer, artist and individual. As a modern dance student interested in concert dance work, I highly valued collaboration, being part of the creation process and learning how to create work that moves audiences. Even more, equally a writer and a dancer, I was interested in lacing scripts into large productions, and work that defied genre. At the time, these goals sounded vague. I had intentions to move west, or maybe stay near my family in Chicago, or better yet stay in West Michigan where many of my friends were.
So after graduation, when I came to visit my best friend who lived in Cleveland and we decided to go to the Inlet audition, I was not expecting to call my mom that next afternoon to say, “Mom, I think I’m moving to Cleveland.” Better yet, I was not expecting to get the email that I was accepted into the program when I was spending the weekend in Portland, OR.
I am now in my second year of the Inlet Trainee and Apprentice Program (ITAP), and when I walk into the Inlet studio, I am not only welcomed into a world class dance environment, but I am re-welcomed into a family that is continually growing. At its root, Inlet Dance Theatre is an organization that creates and performs professionally, works with students of all neighborhoods and engages with its community like a family, using the strengths of each member to further all people.
As a member of the training program and a valued member of the family, I get to be a part of these goals week by week by training in the studio next to my mentors, assisting in outreach classes around the city, and performing with my family of dancers I have made through collaborating, creating and moving audiences together with an expectation that my work is furthering other people when I do it well. In all of that, the family of Inlet pushes me to train harder and move up faster, create material that produces clear ideas, and perform at a level that I did not have access to while training in undergrad. I am watching the creation of large productions be made from the ground up, and I get to be a part of it.
One of my favorite pieces to perform is 3 (Women), which is a trio inside the evening length work Easter Island Memoirs. This piece is about a community of women who are continually leaning on and pulling on each other, and everything they do is connected to one another. We have had the opportunity to perform this multiple times this season, and it is one of my favorites because it is a great representation of a healthy community and support system. Being inside of one is incredibly life-giving, but to showcase the effectiveness of this kind of community can be important for an audience to see and understand. When an audience can witness that kind of love and understanding, they have a better chance of creating it for themselves.
It is taxing physically, mentally, spiritually, and of course financially to be a student of dance. But when I chose Inlet, it was because I believed that the mission was bigger than I was, and that I believed that I could be a valuable member of the family. If nothing else is clear, there is a clear call when you walk into the Inlet family: that we are here to serve people through dance.”
Maribeth Van Hecke
Protégé
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