Maharishi University of Management alumnus, Hilary Jordan has been keeping dance alive in Fairfield since she became a student in 2004. She has produced more than 15 dance shows in Fairfield, and danced in countless more. Originally from California Hilary came to Maharishi University of Management with a background in dance, massage therapy, and ayurveda. She graduated from Maharishi University of Management (MUM) with a second BA in Physiology and Health and a Master’s in Vedic Science. While a student, Hilary helped found the student dance club “Beatdafeet,” and taught introductory dance classes to students, staff, and faculty.
Hilary Jordan
“I’ve been choreographing and dancing since I was 3 years old, it almost feels like dance chose me, as opposed to me choosing it. I believe it is a beautiful art form that is a part of all of us and that each of our souls wants to dance,” says Hilary, “I think that the reason I dance, teach, choreograph, and direct, is that I bring a willingness to think and express outside the box, and that helps the art of dance break its social boundaries. My mission is to revive dance as something relevant to the average person. It is a right-brained, archetypal art form, a chance to get out of the mind and into the heart. It has an effect on our subconscious and inspires us to dream.”
Currently, Hilary is working with David Murphy to create an original rock ballet to perform at the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center in early June. Think “Rock Opera” but where the dance is telling the story instead of the lyrics. It’s also like a rock opera, so they tell me, in that there is very little opera (or in this case ballet) in the show. Ballet, jazz, bellydance, modern dance, Irish step dance, and folklorico will all be featured on stage.
“I’ve been writing music since I was 8. It’s my lifeblood,” says David, “I’ve got hundreds of songs written and recorded, most of which have yet to be released. It’s like a huge artistic dam that’s about to break. This show is basically cracking that open.”
Rehearsal for the 80s dance gala
The ballet is based on the Greek myth of Persephone, the one about how the seasons came to exist. Both David and Hilary love art that references archetypes, and think emotional integration of opposites is an important factor of personal evolution.
They adapted the Greek myth to include some alien and faerie characters and outlined the plot into 18 scenes. David is writing 18 songs and each one is based on the emotional context of a scene. Hilary is choreographing 18 dances that tell the story in detail, using David’s songs as the music. Over 20 dancers will tell this tale through dance to both pre-recorded and live music.
Beginning ballet class at Passion Dance Studio
Want to learn more and/or support their work? Check out their kickstarter page or check out the full schedule of dance classes available at Hilary’s Passion Dance Studio.
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Anna Bruen is a MUM alumnus who graduated with a degree in Sustainable Living. Anna is the resident blogger here at MUM. To learn more about Anna take a look at her introduction post. |
