Shannon Hummel is a choreographer, arts educator, arts activist and the Founding Artistic Director of Cora Dance.

I create choreography and artistic practices that open possibilities for intimacy, vulnerability, human connection, and personal and communal revelation. In my work, this happens through detailed physical conversations between myself and the dancers. My happy place is with them. I find my deepest pleasure in seeing their individual voices and intentions radiate through movement until the work no longer feels like it is mine, but instead belongs to the dancers and the audience. In this collaborative ‘giving away’ of dance, I get to tell a story and receive one at the same time. I love lingering inside a story, being pulled along through expectation and surprise toward a resolution which, for me, means finding the alignment of seemingly disparate ideas in movingly cohesive universals. While dance is often focused on perfection, I am most interested in the moments where we fall short, misunderstand, overshoot, underestimate, and yet, through effort, love, or the sheer grit it takes to keep existing together for some undefined reason, we go on. 

Clearly defining movement intention - whether a volatile sweep of a leg or the tentative touch of fingertips to a cheek - is my tool for dissecting the detailed emotions within. Creating choreography in which dancers experience emotion authentically as they perform rather than depict or portray it is the thrill and challenge that keeps me committed to the process. Probing each moment and unpacking its emotional value is what I offer to dance and what dance offers to me. Dance keeps me honest and brings me clarity. There, I find dignity, belief in humanity, and heart.

From choreography, education, and community engagement to administrative practices, Cora and I seek to manifest this same belief in dignity, heart, and shared humanity, creating space for practices that allow us to trust, connect, reveal ourselves, and embrace one another not only in our dancing but in the world.