I am Also is a series of theatrical dance works by Molly Poerstel that considers the immediate impact of the past and how a dance maker’s memories inform embodiment and authorship. I am Also - Monte, the latest work of this series, explores the relationship between Poerstel and Monte Jones, improviser, prolific house dancer and long-time collaborator. Through the life stories of Jones, this work unpacks how the life experiences of a dancer become entangled with a choreographer’s practice.

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Please make sure to review our COVID-19 safety policies here. ABOUT Molly Poerstel is a dance artist whose performing and choreographing career spans twenty years. She has collaborated with David Dorfman Dance Company (05-09); Susan Rethorst; Larissa Valez-Jackson; Ivy Baldwin; Juliana F May; Roseanne Spradlin; and Jeanine Durning among others. Poerstel has taught at SUNY Purchase Dance Conservatory, and The Eugene Lang College of Liberal Arts, The New School, among others. Her choreographic works include: Are we a Fossil, and of facings (2016), Stolen Grounds (2014), The Highlands (2014), Hungry Ghost (2013), and Do Beast (2012). She is a Distinguished Honors Student Fellow at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and was nominated for a New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" for Sustained Achievement in 2019.Meoleaeke "Monte" Jones received a BFA in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University and since that time has collaborated on New York City-based projects with Ron K. Brown, Marleas Yearby, and Niles Ford, as well as Holly Bass Dance Theatre Company in Washington, DC. He has performed with international Cuban percussionist: MELENA, A Cultural & Musical Journey intoAfro-Cuban Roots and has also appeared in numerous Hip Hop and R&B videos in New York, Washington DC, and Richmond, VA. He taught dance and choreography in Virginia through the educational programs of the Latin Ballet, "Be Proud of Yourself." Currently, Jones performs with the Latin Ballet Of Virginia, and Drums No Guns. Jones’ own Choreography and solo work have debuted with Claves Unidos, RVA Dance Collective and Elegba Folklore Society.

FUNDING

I Am Also – Monte is commissioned by the Abrons Arts Center and was supported, in part, by a Foundation Contemporary Arts Arts Emergency Grant. Special thanks to Carrie Hughes of Chesterfield Dance Center, in Richmond, Virginia.

Image Credit: Monte Jones performing, photo by Megan Lee, image courtesy of Molly Poerstel