Kanopy Dance Company celebrates anniversaries, looks forward

Lisa Thurrell at Kanopy Dance Studio. (Sofi LaLonde/Madison Commons)

Art, rebellion, and clear, dramatic expression through movement. That is how dancer Lisa Thurrell speaks.

Thurrell brings this language to the stage and in her classes at Kanopy Dance Company, which she co-directs with husband Robert Cleary. This year marks her 20th anniversary with the company.

Even though the couple sees choreography differently, both say it works.

“It’s actually really great, which seems bizarre. It seems like it would be really horrible,” Thurrell said.

Cleary said their teaching styles are different but that “adds to the strength” of their company.

Thurrell became the Co-Artistic Director of Kanopy Dance Company in 1995. She returned to Madison after studying at the Martha Graham School for Contemporary Dance in New York City in the early 1990s. Her experience there still has an important influence on her work today.

“When I think about the significance of my really intensive Graham training, it seems like yesterday. And I think about it and it was so long ago now,” Thurrell said.

Martha Graham’s influence on modern dance can be likened to Pablo Picasso’s influence on modern visual art. Her technique focuses on movements of the body, specifically on contraction and release. It is infused with social and political themes that challenged many contemporary issues of her time and was considered a dramatic departure from popular dance technique.

“I gravitated to [Graham’s style] because I move that way naturally,” Thurrell said. “[It] creates incredible strength and drive in moving through space. The woman figure [is] a strong figure, not a wispy thing to be taken care of.”

The differences in their own Graham educations have provided a greater range of creative direction and choreography for their students. 

“I see the trees and he sees the forest. In other instances, I see the forest and he sees the trees,” Thurrell said.

Located on State Street in downtown Madison, Kanopy Dance Company was founded in 1976 and has introduced Madison to the art of modern dance. It also introduced Thurrell to Cleary.

“I fell in love immediately.” said Cleary. “It took a good six months for me to wear on Lisa.”

The two were married in 1998.

Kanopy Dance Studio is unique in their emphasis in modern dance education. (Sofi LaLonde/Madison Commons)

An Emphasis on Education

Under their guidance, Kanopy has evolved into more of a school over the last 20 years.

Their teaching is based on Graham’s technique and includes choreography, composition and improvisation.

“There’s a clear, dramatic expression through the movement itself. We like to use music, we like to use metaphor imagery, narrative,” Thurrell said. “We think costuming is actually important because it gives the visual impact.”

The directors also have built a ballet program to complement the modern dance style. 

“We’re unique in that we’re a modern-based school. And that’s pretty rare,” Thurrell said.

The dance company has not reduced its performance activity either.

In 2004, Kanopy Dance Company became a residential company at the Overture Center of the Arts. Today, The Overture Center has ten resident companies, including Madison Ballet, Madison Opera and the Madison Symphony Orchestra.

“Resident companies are the reason Overture Center exists,” said Rob Chappell, Director of Strategic Communication for the Overture Center. “The audience is here, the dancers are here and the artists are here. We are thrilled to have them as part of our family.”

During the center’s construction, local artists were asked what they needed for performance space. Their involvement in the development, however, didn’t necessarily mean for an easy transition once the theater opened.

“It was difficult at first because we weren’t a big group,” Thurrell said, “Over time it’s helped the company grow in the sense that we have a home base.”

Kanopy does an annual performance season at Overture, as well as additional performances and education outreach outside of Madison. Cleary said that with a smaller company like Kanopy, the directors take on administrative responsibility in addition to artistic roles.

“We wear all hats. We do it all,” he said.

Kanopy’s Next 20 Years

Thurrell expressed frustration over the difficulties the come from running a dance studio with such a small staff. Kanopy Dance Company is a non-profit organization, and tuition from students supports the operations of the company, from paying teachers to renting the studio to the company’s performance season.

Some of the funding allows dancers to go on short weekend tours and work with other companies around the country, but longer tours require more resources than Kanopy currently has. Thurrell said these tours are in her long term vision for Kanopy. She would also like to establish partial salaries for the company dancers.

In the near future, Kanopy plans to continue to improve the educational and artistic excellence of the school while keeping the Graham technique part of the Kanopy legacy.

“We love what we do,” said Cleary. I don’t see myself doing anything but Kanopy.”

Thurrell has danced her whole life and made Kanopy a visual expression of her life’s work.

“I’ve always been a choreographer, I’ve always been a dancer and performer.”