Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania


ABOUT THE Pittsburgh REGIONAL NACHMO HUB

NACHMO Pittsburgh was established in 2019 by Kaitlynn Flynn Goodwin as a performance opportunity for the community that simultaneously provided panelist feedback for participants. The showcase has attracted a wide variety of cultural dance styles and has always featured a diverse set of pieces in annual showings. In 2022, the hub received new leadership in Angelica Daniele and Marcella Day.

In 2024, Shana Simmons and Amelia Reuss became that Regional Leaders for NACHMO’s Pittsburgh Hub and maintain fiscal sponsorship through Shana Simmons Dance. These new leaders are excited to continue NACHMO Pittsburgh’s mission of providing a platform for local artists to share their work, and hope to grow the hub in its reach and support for the community.

Contact: nachmopgh@gmail.com

https://www.shanasimmonsdance.com/community.html


2024 Showing Information

Date: Saturday, February 17 at 7:30pm

Location: Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre's Upstairs Studio (2900 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15201)

Cost: Ticketed event (price TBA)

Partners: NACHMO Pittsburgh is excited to return to Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre for another year of showings!

Unique to NACHMO Pittsburgh: A panel of local dance artists will attend the show to provide live feedback to interested choreographers. Audience members are also able to provide written feedback with their thought on creations. The hope is that Pittsburgh Hub directors can help assist local creators to choreograph outside their comfort zones and see what works well and what improvements they might make.


Pittsburgh Prompts

In addition to the unique feature of receiving live feedback at their studio showing, Pittsburgh choreographers get additional development opportunities with the Pittsburgh Hub’s additional prompt track. Read what Hub Directors Shana and Amelia have to say about this approach:

“Bi-weekly choreographic development prompts encourage outside of the box thinking, yet aim to connect ways to progress a currently developing work. The Pittsburgh specific prompts happen less often (than the NACHMO National daily prompts) and are dedicated to furthering choreography and relating the prompts to one another in an effort to develop the work in a new way. We want to emphasize experimentation and exploration of many aspects while creating a piece of choreography!”


Hub Leaders

Shana Simmons

Shana Simmons holds a BA Dance from Point Park University and an MA Choreography from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Dance and Music. Simmons’ choreography has been seen in New York City, London, Belgium, Chicago, Boston, and Pittsburgh. She taught for the Internationally acclaimed National Dance Institute, founded by Jacques D’Amboise, for three years in New York City, taught at Point Park University for the past ten years, independently teaches in the Pittsburgh community, and is part-time faculty at Seton Hill University. Simmons has typically performed in her own works since 2009 and was a nominee for the Carol R Brown Award (2016) and received Pittsburgh's Best Dance listings (2014/2015/2018). Simmons is the Artistic Director of Shana Simmons Dance(SSD), a professional nonprofit organization based in Pittsburgh, PA. SSD aims to draw audiences into modern dance through immersive environments which highlight current societal topics. The company’s mission is to seek advancement of quality dance performance and increased engagement with audiences through financially accessible interactive productions. The work relies heavily on partnerships and outreach to explore topics relevant to our community at large with a heavy focus on the integration of movement in education.

 

Amelia Reuss

Photography: Liz Hunter

Amelia Reuss is a dance artist currently based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who graduated from Point Park University with a BFA in Dance and a Minor in History. Although not originally from the area, Amelia appreciates the many opportunities Pittsburgh provides to both present and perform in other artists' work and has enjoyed cultivating a freelance career in the city. Some highlights include performing in works by Moriah Ella-Gabriel Mason, Maree ReMalia, and Pearlann Porter, as well as presenting solo works in PearlArt's Charette incubator, slowdanger's Lightlab performance series, and NACHMO Pittsburgh's annual showcase. Amelia’s work incorporates dance, spoken word, and theatrical elements to explore themes of queerness, societal pressure, self-reflection, and the personal and generational anxieties that come with living in the 21st century. After being a NACHMO participant for the past three years, Amelia is excited to take over as the Pittsburgh Hub’s co-director and give other local artists the same opportunity to share their work!