Meet NewBrese Dance Project | Physical Dance Theatre Company

We had the good fortune of connecting with NewBrese Dance Project and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi NewBrese Dance Project, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
NewBrese Dance Project was born out of this love we (co-directors Rachel Calabrese & Sawyer Newsome) both have for physical dance movement and collaboration. We graduated in 2020 during the pandemic where there wasn’t much happening in the dance scene. We were so excited to get out there and found ourselves needing to fulfill that artistic craving we had. Making work and being able to create worlds outside of the reality we are living in is something that is so precious to us. We love the art of choreographing and collaborating and have been so lucky to create that space not only for ourselves but for the other artists we work with as well.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As a company, we are really interested in creating work that focuses on the ideas of self-identity, our identity within society, and the complexity of interpersonal relationships. We are inspired by our past experiences and want to use them to showcase the most raw & honest version of ourselves to our audience. In creating our work, we rely heavily on input from our dancers (both in movement and in thought) so the work is not only about us but about them as well. We trust our dancers so much and love collaborating with them. Without their amazing artistry our work would not be the same at all and we cannot wait to see what we keep on creating with our team. Investigating the physicality of movement and how its momentum can be the driving force behind each impulse is at the forefront of our work. How we can tap into that animalistic energy inside of us and showcase extremes in emotion is something we love navigating. These investigations lead us in our movement practice of floorwork flow, partnering, improvisation, and storytelling. We are really most proud of how far we’ve come in such little time. We know we still have a long way to go and so many goals we want to accomplish but from starting this dance company from nothing 2 years ago we are so proud of where we are and what we have been able to do. We are so excited for what’s to come and for our dancers/friends that are with us right now being a part of our process.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We both love Bryant park! We know that is a very touristy spot but that’s definitely our go to place especially in the winter time! We love walking around the shops and going ice skating. There’s also always such good food at the shops and so many different options to satisfy any food craving you have! Another place we would recommend is walking the high line- there is something about seeing the city from up above and it spans so many blocks you can decide where you want to get off at and explore.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We believe heavily in collaboration and our company would not have come as far as it has without the collaboration from our dancers and our friends. As anyone can attest to, starting something from scratch is hard – it takes time and multiple people coming together to make it happen. Our friends and collaborators have been there to help us with marketing, photographing, editing, thoughts/ideas behind pieces, and everything in between. Everything we are trying to achieve and have achieved would not have been possible without them and we are so grateful for all their support. We are so lucky to have friends who believe in what we are trying to accomplish and want to be a part of the start up.

Website: https://newbresedance.wixsite.com/my-site

Instagram: newbrese_danceproject

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@newbrese_danceproject

Image Credits
1. Steven Pisano 2. Effy Grey 3. Elyse Mertz 4. Michael Pilla 5. Haven & Hazard