Dance Chance Omaha provides fun and new opportunities for artists and audience members alike

When thinking of fun activities or weekend plans, Omaha has plenty to offer in the arts department. When looking for ways to have fun or to broaden one’s horizon, Dance Chance Omaha is a perfect opportunity. Dance Chance is a performance one Saturday a month at the Bancroft Street Market.
Dance Chance is a chance for choreographers to informally present their work in a welcoming environment. It is also welcomes non-dancers to see works of art from local performers and dancers.  Pieces of work are performed or presented in a unique setup because there is no formal stage. At each performance, there are usually three of four choreographers that present a dance. The first Dance Chance was in September of 2015, and Carly Sinn, the co-host, showed her work at that time.

“Erin Brandt told me about Dance Chance Atlanta and Dance Chance Chicago,” said Sinn. Brandt is the other co-host of Dance Chance. “We had discussions about wanting to create a place where the dance community could come together to connect, network and share feedback with each other. Dance Chance seemed to fit the bill.”

That’s exactly what Dance Chance does. Every month, performers sign up to showcase their choreography. Once they perform their work, the audience is free to give their feedback to the dancers. The point is to have an interactive environment that benefits both the dancers and audience members alike.

“It felt totally safe and like anything was possible,” Sinn said. Though Sinn is the co-host, she has performed and presented work in Dance Chance as well.  “The people at Dance Chance are hungry to see new things and ideas, which helps promote an environment of being able to try new things”.

Dance Chance is not exclusive to dancers; it welcomes and encourages non-dancers to participate.

Sinn and Brandt hope to expand Dance Chance to performers of multiple dance backgrounds and even filmmakers and musicians.

“I would love to see [Dance Chance] be the place to help nurture an artist’s process.” Until then, Dance Chance will continue to mostly see dance, although a few musicians have performed too.

Because Dance Chance is largely based on audience participation, the more people that come to see the show, the better. Not only does it benefit the feedback that choreographers receive for their work, but it will be an opportunity for people that are unfamiliar with dance to come and experience something new.

“Community outreach is a huge part of the growth,” says Sinn. Some months, the audience number isn’t as large as it could be and in the future, Sinn and Brandt hope that Dance Chance grows even more.

Dance Chance can now be added to the list of the other endless art and performance offered in Omaha. All our welcome to attend and enjoy the show.