"Circle Up Volume 1 - A collection of square dances and thoughts towards promoting inclusivity" is a square-dance calling resource that features inclusive square dance adaptations in the form of a printed zine. This project was envisioned by Becky and involves the brain trust of Emily Prentice, A'yen Tran, Jen Cooney, Lou Maiuri, Abby Huggins, Hannah Johnson, Ben Nelson, Beth Molaro, Joe Burdock, Tyler Hughes, Gabe Strand, Alex Udis, Janine Smith, Ellen & Eugene Ratcliffe, Anne Beal, Anna RG, Will Mentor, T-Claw, Nevada Tribble, Lindsay McCaw, and Mack Samples. This zine is available for purchase on a sliding scale of $10-20, reach out directly if interested. This project was funded through the Mid-Atlantic Arts Central Appalachia Living Tradition Grant, CDDS Mini-Grant and Bluegrass Pride. Zine release parties are scheduled for Clifftop - Appalachian Stringband Festival and Helvetia Hoot 2023.
In Step-a-tune Sound Web Erik Spangler aka DJ Dubble 8 and Becky work with technology and percussive dance to create a composition that combines both live and archived sound. The Soundweb Experiment features percussive dance amplified through a contact microphone to trigger a wide range of sounds from a customized analog modular synthesizer. The progression of this piece explores connection between movement and sound, sonic abstraction, and specific sounds connected to Appalachia. The auditory element of the dance is no longer solely linked to the sound it naturally generates but rather through the interaction of dance and electronics, it creates a sonic artifact that blends both live and archived sounds.
This experiment started in February 2021, debuted at Strathmore in August 2021, expanded it for Lost Patterns Becky's MFA thesis performance in March 2022, and was featured at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage in November 2022.
This experiment started in February 2021, debuted at Strathmore in August 2021, expanded it for Lost Patterns Becky's MFA thesis performance in March 2022, and was featured at the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage in November 2022.
Shift was an evening length music and dance work inspired by Appalachia. It debuted November 18, 19, 20, 2017 at the 4th Story Theater in Nashville, Tennessee. This choreographic work seamlessly blends both contemporary and traditional Appalachian percussive dance and music. The cast included Brock Rovenstine, Chloe Edmonstone, Kristin Andreassen, Meredith Krygowski and Sarah Morgan, and was directed by Becky Hill. “The goal of this work was to blend the lines between musicians and dancers while exploring both the shadow and light in Appalachia and in ourselves ” stated Hill.
The show premiered November 18 - 20th at the 4th Story Theater in Nashville. We presented at Folk Alliance International Conference 2018, and expanded the piece for Wheatland Music Festival, September 7-9, 2018.
The show premiered November 18 - 20th at the 4th Story Theater in Nashville. We presented at Folk Alliance International Conference 2018, and expanded the piece for Wheatland Music Festival, September 7-9, 2018.
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Claw & Foot made up of T-Claw Crawford & Becky Hill have joined forces to offer Helvetia Hoot September 15-17, 2023 We are looking towards the light and are excited to gather in music, dance and song. To learn more visit clawandfoot.com
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Dance Exchange's Creative Aging Cohort Fall 2020 - Spring 2021
Becky is excited to join a multi-generational cohort selected by Dance Exchange that will work to develop tools and practices to support creative aging and intergenerational exchange. Dance Exchange’s Creative Aging and Intergenerational Exchange Program harnesses the power of our creative tools and practices to create opportunities for movers of all ages to cultivate lifelong connection, creativity, and meaning. Come take a Creative Aging class with Dance Exchange on Thursdays at 11am and sign-up for their winter institute. Keep your eyes open for May 2021 a creative aging movement festival will be coming to you.
Becky is excited to join a multi-generational cohort selected by Dance Exchange that will work to develop tools and practices to support creative aging and intergenerational exchange. Dance Exchange’s Creative Aging and Intergenerational Exchange Program harnesses the power of our creative tools and practices to create opportunities for movers of all ages to cultivate lifelong connection, creativity, and meaning. Come take a Creative Aging class with Dance Exchange on Thursdays at 11am and sign-up for their winter institute. Keep your eyes open for May 2021 a creative aging movement festival will be coming to you.
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ONEBEAT - Becky was selected as a 2019 OneBeat fellow as a percussive dancer. OneBeat brings musicians (ages 19-35) from around the world to the U.S. for one month each fall to collaboratively write, produce, and perform original music, and develop strategies for arts-based social engagement. OneBeat begins with an opening residency, when Fellows collaborate to create original material, record new musical ideas, and incubate their projects. OneBeat fellows then go on tour, performing for a wide array of American audiences, collaborating with local musicians, and leading workshops with youth. This is an initiative of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in collaboration with the groundbreaking New York-based music organization Bang on a Can’s Found Sound Nation, OneBeat employs collaborative original music as a potent new form of cultural diplomacy.
Good Foot Dance Company, explores the complex cultural twinings of the root-system of American vernacular dance, from Appalachian flatfooting, to tap, to contemporary urban dance. By mixing and remixing traditional dance and music and bringing a critical and historical inquiry to the shared history of American dance cultures, they raise questions about connectivity, continuity, and social responsibility. At the core of Good Foot Dance Company is the partnership of Emily Oleson and Matthew Olwell and they often collaborate with guest artists. Becky Hill has been involved with the company since 2011 and has performed with them at Jacob's Pillow, Newport Folk Festival, Wheatland Music Festival, Sheperdstown Appalachian Heritage Festival and numerous others.
The Davis & Elkins College Appalachian Ensemble is a student performance group led by Dance Director, Emily Oleson and String Band Director, Emily Miller and Tour Manager, Becky Hill. The Appalachian Ensemble is dedicated to bringing live traditional music and dance to audiences in West Virginia and beyond. The group focuses on the intersections of different American Vernacular forms and their roots, ranging from old-time music and flatfooting to jazz music and tap dance, to Irish step dance and numerous traditional American styles of harmony singing. The show includes a variety of regional dance styles, contemporary choreography, and a selection of traditional songs and tunes performed by the Appalachian Ensemble’s string band. All students receive scholarships for their participation in the ensemble. Auditions are open to talented dancers and musicians who are interested in attending D&E and performing with the ensemble. Becky was one of the founding directors of this ensemble and is very excited to see it grow into what it has become. See the Appalachian Ensemble YouTube Channel.
The Mountain Dance Trail, a heritage tourism project of Augusta Heritage Center and Davis & Elkins College and is coordinated by Becky Hill. The Mountain Dance Trail connects fifteen communities throughout West Virginia that hold regularly scheduled square dances and over hundred are slated for 2015. Local musicians and callers provide the music and figure calling for every event. The project has received support from the National Endowment for the Arts, West Virginia Division of Culture and History and the West Virginia Humanities Council. The Mountain Dance Trail has been featured in the New York Times and on NPR's All Things Considered. Gerry Milnes and Becky Hill released a documentary on West Virginia traditional dance, "Reel 'Em Boys, Reel 'Em" in 2014. The Mountain Dance Trail has hosted Dare To Be Square in West Virginia the last three years.
Carry It On… is a Dance for Camera film created, performed and shot on site at the Wernette Farm outside of Remus, Michigan, home to the Wheatland Music Festival for the past 40 years. The film focuses on the sacred power and potential of place and our relationship to it. Moving through, with and around open fields, a pine grove and an old stage, a cast of dancers and musicians explore humankind’s relationship to the environment and our universal need to gather. Choreographed by Sharon Leahy, the film was selected for the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, International Screen Dance Festival and the Dance on Camera Festival. Becky Hill danced in the project and was mentored by Sharon Leahy to create two new pieces of choreography for the Carry It On... live performance, which premiered at Wheatland Music Organization's 40th Festival in September 2013.
See the trailer on the LeahyGood YouTube channel.
See the trailer on the LeahyGood YouTube channel.
