Kanopy Dance Company 2 & Academy Showcase

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Shawn Harper Photography

Kanopy 2 dancer Lena Komar.

press release: Kanopy 2 & Kanopy Academy Showcase

Watch the next generation of dancers and choreographers in Kanopy’s pre-professional training program ignite the stage with new ideas, new stories and new expressions through dance. Original dances by Kanopy 2 Company members, artistic directors, guest artists and signature modern masterworks.

Coming to the Saturday evening show? Join us for a post-show reception!

A Reception will follow the 5PM Performance

$35/general, $30 groups of 4 or more, $20 students and ages 18 and under. Reserved Seating. Don't Delay! For tickets go to overture.org or call 608 258-4141.

The  return of the Kanopy 2 & Academy Showcase after a two-year Covid intermission, and its significance to Kanopy cannot be overstated. Kanopy Academy and its 100 + dedicated students are integral to our cultural mission. We are so very honored to shine a special light on their hard work, and their technical and creative progress.  

Watch the next generation  of dancers and choreographers in Kanopy’s pre-professional training program, Kanopy2, and the Kanopy Academy ignite the stage with new ideas, new expressions and  even original choreography developed by the dancers themselves.  

It is also a special opportunity for members of our preprofessional company, Kanopy 2, (along with some Company members and Academy students)  to perform iconic works by Kanopy’s co-artistic directors, Robert E. Cleary and Lisa Thurrell including Chaconne, Cassandra’s Cry  and Water Music.  

Kanopy 2, our second Company, offers a pre-professional training program open to exceptional students of dance by audition. Serious dancers are introduced to an intense vocabulary of classic and modern forms and study with national luminaries shaping the future of modern contemporary dance. Each year, Kanopy 2 performs and presents original choreography in Kanopy’s season ending show at the Overture Center. Numerous Kanopy 2 alumni have forged professional dance careers or earned success in other creative careers of their choosing.

The May 21 Showcase  also will be the finale for one of our treasured Kanopy 2 members, Lena Komar, (Lena) who is graduating from Mt. Horeb High School and will head to UW-Madison on an academic scholarship to study neurobiology. She will also be continuing her dance training seeking a Certificate in dance at UW’s Department of Dance.  

Lena has studied with Kanopy Dance for the past 15 years and has had the opportunity of working with various renowned artists such as Miki Orihara, Jim May, Donlin Foreman, Lone Larsen, and Virginie Mécène during that time. She has  also performed in many Kanopy productions including  the role of the Snow Fairy Queen in Winter Fantasia last December.  

Lena wrote that her experience with Kanopy Academy and Kanopy 2 was “very rewarding…It helped develop interpersonal skills, the importance of expressing ideas, and a strong work ethic. Kanopy also provided her with an inclusive environment, allowing her to form invaluable friendships with so many of her peers and engage in unforgettable experiences.”  

This summer, Lena plans on attending the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance for a third year, where she will be taking Graham, Ballet, Repertory, and Contemporary classes. In addition, she is excited to participate in Kanopy's Guest Artist Workshop with Martha Graham Dance Company’s Lloyd Knight  during Kanopy’s Summer Intensives.  

Congratulations, Lena, we  are incredibly proud of you and truly honored to count you as a member of the Kanopy family. We wish you the very best as you light up new paths in your academic and creative journeys. You will always be a treasured part of the Kanopy community.