The Healing Power of Dance

America’s obsession with its newest spectator sport—ballroom bedazzlement—has not only seen an increase in sign-ups at Arthur Murray studios across the country but provided a welcome respite from reality shows in which contestants agree to be shot from canons, pelted by Dungeness crabs or go bobbing in a trough for slimy cow brains. And yes, there’s a lot more sartorial splendor to go around, too.

If you’re not quite ready to don your dancing shoes and kick up your heels on prime time, however, there’s no shortage of local inspiration the San Gabriel Valley of Southern California to make you wish you’d paid a little more attention in those modern dance classes back in high school. Hilary Thomas, founder and artistic director of Lineage Dance, took time from rehearsals to explain how her all-female troupe uses its talents and music as a living canvas on which to paint life’s most poignant journeys.

Founded in 1999, the company has garnered a national following by raising money for such charitable organizations as Five Acres, Night Books and Basketball, The Paralysis Project of America, South Pasadena Educational Foundation, The Giving Tree, Heart of the Mountains Hospice, Habitat for Humanity, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

I started the company,” she says, “when I decided to put on a dance performance to raise money for an organization in Pasadena called Young and Healthy.”

For those unfamiliar with the name, Young and Healthy is a community health care program which offers free medical, dental, psychological and case-management services to low-income, uninsured children in Pasadena schools, day care centers and area homeless shelters. Thomas’ father, retired Huntington Hospital physician, Dr. J. Donald Thomas, not only initiated the program but continues to travel to Africa through his involvement with the Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance. The lessons of compassion and giving back to one’s community which he instilled in his daughter are very much in evidence with the mission statement of Lineage and the list of organizations that have benefited from its time and energy.

We had so much fun doing that first show that we decided to put on another fundraiser. Things snowballed from there. Now we do benefit performances all over the country for many different kinds of nonprofit fundraisers.”

She currently uses a total of six performers, a number that she deems reasonable in terms of managing the costs of a touring organization. “Thank goodness all of us are so close,” she adds, “because we spend lots of time together traveling, performing, rehearsing, and squeezing into motel rooms!”

Their joie de vivre is unmistakable and their dedication to making dance both accessible and relatable to audiences of all ages is praise-worthy.

Thomas, who teaches science and dance at Flintridge Preparatory School and kickboxing at the La Cañada YMCA, grew up in Pasadena and first started dancing at age two.

I trained with the Pasadena Dance Theater as well as the Joffrey Ballet.” Her credits also list her as a soloist with Western Ballet in Mountain View and four years with Benita Bike’s DanceArt Company. “I attended Santa Clara University,” she continues, “which is where I met Lineage Dance's Associate Director, Caterina Mercante. She's been with the company the longest. Santa Clara is also where I began to leave ballet behind and explore modern dance.”

The mere mention of modern dance stirs memories on my part about scratchy leotards, a stout gym teacher with the unlikely name of Miss Gazelle, and interpretative dances involving dying geese and swaying wheat. To this day, in fact, I still can’t listen to Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi: O Mio Babbino Caro” without remembering how choreographically-challenged I was as a freshman.

In contrast, the photos that can be found on the Lineage website (http://www.lineagedance.org) reveal an ensemble of seasoned professionals for whom the phrase “poetry in motion” can’t begin to describe the symmetry, strength, unity, grace and passion involved in conveying the energy of the human spirit. It’s truly the marriage of athletics and aesthetics with a captivating score running throughout.

I like to use a wide variety of music in my performances,” Thomas explains. “If I start to stick with the same type of music for too long, the choreography all starts to look the same. So often the music really guides the personality that the dance takes on.”

Thomas reveals with pride that Lineage passed its 120th performance earlier this year while they were in Seattle. “In retrospect, it’s pretty amazing,” she remarks. “The first year we started, the company performed 4 times. Now we perform at least twice a month and are in demand by non-profit organizations looking for a unique and entertaining way to raise funds for their programs.”

We are very proud to announce that through our last major production, ‘Healing Blue’—which we premiered at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium last November—we were able to donate $28,000 to breast cancer. The proceeds were split between the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Los Angeles County Affiliate and the Circle of Huntington Hospital. This year's national tour of ‘Healing Blue’ will help in raising money for breast cancer organizations all over the country.”

Several years of preparation went into launching “Healing Blue”, including extensive interviews with breast cancer survivors and the incorporation of their voiceovers into a music tableau featuring the works of Cat Stevens, Alby Potts and Rusted Root. In concert with the importance of delivering her message about breast cancer awareness, Thomas further encourages patrons who attend the “Healing Blue” tours nationwide to buy tickets in bulk and distribute them to women who might not otherwise have a chance to attend.

Lineage is pleased to announce that this year’s major concert project, “Dancing Through the Ages” has been funded in part by a grant from the Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission and the City of Pasadena Cultural Affairs Division.The Pasadena Arts & Culture Commission awarded sixteen grants for a total of $108,000 in four categories. Lineage Dance was selected from a highly competitive field to be one of the recipients in the Arts and Culture I Category.

Company Manager Peggy Burt states, “We are so pleased with the support provided by the City of Pasadena and the Cultural Affairs Division. The city of Pasadena is a leader in this region in support of individual artists, arts in education and arts organizations. They have made it possible for Lineage Dance to produce a major community outreach dance event. ‘Dancing Through the Ages’ brings together people of all different generations. There is a sense of powerful community when you see young children dancing with seniors and middle-aged people dancing with pre-teens. We are inviting the community to participate in free dance workshops that allow for improvisation, structured movement and sheer dancing fun.” These workshops, she explains, explore the contemporary dance style of Lineage Dance and give people of all ages an opportunity to dance together. The next one is scheduled for Sunday, November 12th at the Armory Center for the Arts, 145 N. Raymond Ave in Pasadena from 3:00-5:00pm. Admission is free and no pre-registration is required.

Lineage Dance will present the culminating performance, “Dancing Through the Ages” at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on Feb. 11, 2007. The Lineage dancers will be joined on stage by selected community members who have attended workshops. This innovative, multigenerational dance concert will feature original music, multimedia images and an uplifting look at moving with grace through all the ages and stages of life.

Thomas has been named as one of the top choreographers in the Beverly Hills Outlook Dance Awards 2004 and 2005, owing to a style of choreography that incorporates the grace of ballet but constantly challenges gravity with daring lifts and falls to the floor. In addition, the Pasadena Arts Council honored her with the prestigious Gold Crown Award earlier this summer.

To schedule or attend a fundraising performance, readers are invited to visit the Lineage website at www.lineagedance.org or call them at (626) 399-3676.