A Step Forward

In the fall of 2006, the Twin Cities dance community was rocked by the death of three stalwarts: Northrop director Dale Schatzlein, composer Drew Gordon, and choreographer Danial Shapiro. The grief for all is still felt, but recovery is beginning. While Joanie Smith, Shapiro’s partner in work and life, still misses him, she’s also taken on making art without him almost as a new project that, paradoxically, continues their joint journey.

Still, it hasn’t been easy. When she began working again, she says, “I sat in a room thinking, ‘I don’t know if can.’ I felt like half of a choreographer.”

Her new work—“Miniatures”—a series of heightened, intimate vignettes, shows that she’s gotten past that feeling. As Smith smiles, the rehearsal space hums with energy and beautiful dancers leap through the strenuous but soulful movement that has marked Shapiro & Smith Dance for more than twenty years. But there’s more to the energy than dance—it’s an electric connection between Smith and her dancers that fills the gap they all feel.

Shapiro and Smith both came up with the idea for “Miniatures,” but Shapiro died before they began the choreography. Now it’s the first work that Smith is making on her own for the company. “It is so strange to be here without him. It’s so surprising still,” she says, gesturing toward the rehearsing dancers, “because here he is in the repertory. He’s always present with us.” But with this tight-knit community, she is hardly on her own. “The amount of support they give me is extraordinary,” she says.

Along with “Miniatures” and several other works, the performance, titled Next Steps, will include a short film about Shapiro. “It’ll be just a goodbye” to a community still reeling, says Smith—but Shapiro’s memory and influence will live on as long as the company keeps dancing. April 3–6. Southern Theater, 1420 Washington Ave. S., Mpls., 612-340-1725, southerntheater.org