Virtual Barre at the Bar
By Elise Butterfield
Five months ago I was writing press releases detailing plans for our 15th anniversary season: Barre at the Bar at Cole’s Bar, a Dancing Families event at Volta, shows at the Hamlin Park Fieldhouse Theater and an after-party to toast 15 years of TSMP with the company and its loved ones. And yet here we are: Ashley is decked out in butterfly clips, Anne is wearing a seriously daisy-covered t-shirt, and I’m in denim shorter-alls for the first time since 2002, rocking out to “Whatta Man” by Salt ‘N’ Pepa in our living rooms.
In place of all these in-person events we had planned, we’ve got an hour of Ballet Barre every Sunday and a Virtual Barre at the Bar event once a month - this time ‘90s themed.
It’s not enough, but it’s helping to get me through.
Look, let’s not kid ourselves: it’s dark out there in the world right now. We’re all mourning the loss of a pre-pandemic life, and the loss of whatever flimsy sheet of denial we had used to paper-over the clear and brutal injustices of the world. On the edge of this grief, I’m steeling myself for that next New York Times notification everytime I pick up my phone.
And yet, I am also here, standing in front of my computer trying to remember a tendu combination.
As much as I love the feeling of pushing my sock-covered foot across the floor to a soft point, it’s not really about that. It’s about remembering that there are other people outside the bubble of my apartment also trying to claw their way through this thing. About a chance to find some joy together. It’s an hour and a half where we can move, we can laugh, we can kick our legs in the air while singing out loud because that’s where we’re at right now.
These virtual events are not rehearsal, and they’re not even really dance class. They’re a little bright spot of imperfection and affection - for each other and our bodies - wrapped up in a simple Ballet Barre (which is all optional, open to modification, and sometimes peppered with drinking games). It’s a small offering, perhaps even insignificant given the weight of what we’re facing, but it’s what TSMP has for you. And maybe it’ll be meaningful to you, too.
Elise, Operations Coordinator for The Space Movement Project since December 2019, is a grad student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago pursuing a dual Master’s in Arts Administration & Policy and Contemporary Art History. She has been dancing for many years and graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with degrees in Dance and International Studies.
You can join TSMP for Virtual Barre at the Bar events approximately once a month, or for regular barre class on Sundays via Zoom at 4 pm CST. Email tsmp@thespacemovementproject.org or sign up for our email list for more information!
