Modern Connections

Where Movement Meets Meaning

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Modern Connections, founded and directed by Jenny Oliver, creates access to Modern dance and cultivates belonging for people who may, or may not, consider themselves to be dancers.

Jenny Oliver

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Photo credit: Stefanie Belnavis of The Diahann Project

Throughout Jenny's 18-year career as an artist and educator, she has cultivated a trauma-informed, culturally-responsive, kinetic storytelling practice. She believes in the power of dance to catalyze meaningful and effective change in the lives of others and works at the intersection of dance, education, and collective collaboration to elevate systemic issues affecting Black and Indigenous people.

Modern Connections

Photo credits (left to right, top to bottom): 1. JHsumedia 2. RBelleau Photography 3. Jenny Oliver 4. Sarah Takash

Modern Connections is a multifaceted organization that:

Offers weekly low-cost public adult dance classes
Hosts interdisciplinary workshops
Cultivates partnerships with public, private, and government entities
Choreographs thought-provoking performances

Learn More & Donate

We invite you to learn more about our work below, to follow Modern Connections on Instagram @modern_connections, sign up for our monthly newsletter, and to donate to our fundraising efforts by selecting "Support Dance" in the upper righthand corner of the screen.

Classes

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Photo credits (left to right, top to bottom): 1. Trisha French 2 & 3. Stefanie Belnavis of The Diahann Project 4. Jessie Jeanne Stinnett

Classes are the heart of Modern Connections. ❤️ When Modern Connections classes launched in 2014, its singular weekly class saw just a few attendees. Over the past nine years, hundreds of people have joined the Modern Connections community. Now classes are offered 3-4 times a week at three studios in Greater Boston.

What Your Support Means for Classes:

Overall: Your support allows us to continue offering Modern dance classes to the public at low to no cost. You can help us maintain accessible prices in the midst of a recovering economy, an inflationary period, and a year of organizational growth.
Access: Modern dance training is typically only available in university settings or professional dance companies. Modern Connections offers a rare opportunity by making this genre accessible to the public.
Pricing: Modern Connections prioritizes people over profit by keeping its offerings affordable. Regardless of class length or the cost of studio rentals, the class price remains $16.
Subsidies: The cost of class is free or subsidized for a variety of participants including work-study students.

Testimonial: “I am grateful deeply for the sacred and safe space that is Modern Connections, a healing space of mind, body and soul.” - Charles Murrell @theblackcomposerspeaks

Performances

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Photo credits (left to right, top to bottom): 1 & 2. Stefanie Belnavis of The Diahann Project 3. Alexander Sargent 4. Unknown

As a Black Native woman, Jenny’s work expresses her experiences of the world and the sociopolitical realities of race, equality, inclusion, and hierarchy. Below are a few descriptions of Modern Connections performances.

Ansel Adams In Our Time: In 2019, Jenny served as the first choreographer-in-residence at the Museum of Fine Arts creating an interactive gallery in conversation with “Ansel Adams in Our Time.” The residency allowed Jenny to view her choreography from the vantage point of mapping and landscaping. Fusing the environmental motifs of Adams’ work with her company’s choreographic language sparked inspiration for viewers to generate their own narrative from these themes.

Hot Water Over Raised Fists: In 2019, sparked by the struggles of indigenous people at Standing Rock and the fight for clean water in Flint, Michigan, I developed an evening-length immersive choreographic work, “Hot Water Over Raised Fists” that illustrated the necessity of engaging in protest. In addition to representing these social issues through dance, we also called for national and local action: We raised $2,275 for the children impacted in Flint; collected signatures to lobby for Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda; and raised awareness about the movement to privatize water in the northeast.

Belonging: Since January 2021, Jenny has produced a series of dances inspired by her lived experiences - and those of her community - in response to isolation, grief, and loss. Through film and movement, Belonging performances and events have prompted audiences to reflect on the questions that fueled the creation of this work: What does it mean to belong to a person, to a place, to yourself? In a time where many people are navigating place, space and increased screen time, audiences are invited to experience the joy of dance as a way to be closer to ourselves and others.

What Your Support Means for Performances:

Creative Economy: Performances create work opportunities for a variety of creatives - from dancers and stage managers, to lighting designers and sound engineers.
Dancer Pay: Modern Connections strives to provide consistent opportunities for dancers through long-term projects and to maintain market rate wages.
Community Transformation: Modern Connections performances are designed to cultivate impact beyond a singular moment or event. The themes of the work and engagement with the audience cultivate opportunities for individual and community transformation.

Testimonial: “Thank YOU for a fabulous weekend and for bringing mindfulness to movement for our museum guests! People absolutely loved you all." - Museum Presenter

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