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Repertory

Metanoia

Choreographed and performed by Carolyn Paine along with Alex Zarlengo, this piece debuted in summer 2018 at Charter Oak Cultural Center in Hartford. It is an expression of change and the process of evolving-a personal response to the  journey both dancers went through following injury and surgery.

The Paint Project

Created collaboratively on site in Hartford as part of Open Studios, dancers used their bodies and movement to create splatter art beneath their feet. Pieces of the canvas with the unique art from this live performance are for sale.

The Nutcracker Suite & Spicy

"If you're not into the classic version of The Nutcracker, this version will tickle your Sugar Plums."   --Harford.com

 

The Nutcracker Suite and Spicy has become a sell-out Hartford holiday traditon. The unique produciton features a fusion of athletic dance forms including ballet, tap, jazz, ballroom, and hip hop, along with a sense of humor to re-tell the holiday classic. There is a raucus Ugly Christmas Sweater Party and an athletic and dizzying snow ball scene with acrobatic dancing using pearly white exercise balls.
In Act II, the audience meets sexy hip hop Sugar Rum and CONNetic Dance’s signature Florettes in a high kicking, Rockettes-inspired Waltz of the Flowers, followed by a battle between Club Rat and the Nutcracker in the Club of Sweet Temptations. It is all set to a compilation of diverse music inspired by Tchaikovsky’s classic score.
The Nutcracker Suite & Spicy is great fun, has creative choreography, and is accessible and enjoyable for all audience members because of the various forms of popular and modern dance used to tell and update the classic story. It is a show as truly diverse as the city from which it hails, with talented professional dancers from varied backgrounds.

Dracula

In 2013, CONNetic took on the dark and sensual Bram Stoker classic. The production's adaptation focused on the manipulative character of Dracula, brilliantly brought to life dancer Langston Fishburne. Set in the Art Deco Jazz Age it featured a beautiful set and backdrop design by resident artist Nina Salazar. The Jazz Age was a time when old world traditions were transforming radically and choreographer Carolyn Paine played with the idea of the vampire character of Dracula, who would be hundreds of years old, living in a world where formal classical music and waltzing is being taken over by jazz and the Charleston dance, incorporating that into choreography and costuming. The music for the production ranged from Mozart to Marilyn Manson, all blending perfectly to create a score that dramatically expressed and motivated the gripping action of story. The production brought to life the cast of characters, including a vampire who is a sexual predator, in scenes such as a macabre dinner party, a chilling and somber funeral scene, and a culmination of all the action with a masquerade ball party that Gatsby himself would be proud of which builds to an intense battle scene between two incredibly powerful male dancers with Dracula and Van Helsing.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

CONNetic Dance brought their unique vision and choreography to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in June 2012. With Steampunk Set Design by Artist Geoff Houghton and elaborate Steampunk costumes and accessories-this production brought the fantastical wonder of Shakespeare's fairyland to life in an incredibly original way! Steampunk is a genre growing in popularity which incorporates elements of fantasy and science fiction with innovations based on a Victorian-era perspective of fashion, culture, and art. Think of the fictional machines from works of H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. It's a perfect concept fit for Midsummer Night's Dream which plays with the contrast of society, the mechanicals, and fantasy land of fairies. Featuring a giant glowing moon on stage and a swing as part of the original choreography by Director Carolyn Paine the production was a hit!

Read About it in The Hartford Advocate!

HubPages.com said:
"A cast of characters portrayed by experienced and talented dancers, supported in their roles by appearances from younger learners.....it was magical! These talented people took me on a visually stunning journey. Go see these folks...you are going to love CONNetic Dance!"

Grimm's Fairy Tales

With CONNetic Dance's 2011 collaborative production of “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” with Ballet Theatre Company, the lush choreography took popular tales of princesses, wolves, and witches, and created fanciful and modern retellings in a series of vignettes linked together. The production also featured several students from Ballet Theatre Academy. Audiences found it “spellbinding” and the dancing “exceptional.”

Alice In Wonderland

CONNetic Dance's 2010 collaborative production of "Alice in Wonderland" with Ballet Theatre Company featured over 30 children and adults from the Hartford dance community and Ballet Theatre Academy alongside CONNetic's professional dancers. The production, conceived and directed by CONNetic Dance director and founder, Carolyn Paine, featured a fusion of different dance styles to bring to life the quirky characters. A Bollywood style Caterpillar flanked with a harem of belly dancers, a jazz ballet Mad Hatter's Tea Party, an enchanted garden of hippie flowers, a hip hopping TweedleDee and TweedleDum, and a deck of cards shuffling on pointe were just some of the original takes on the popular classic tale. With amazing vibrant costumes and multimedia effects, the production was an "outstanding and fun creation. With amazing vibrant costumes and multimedia effects, the the production was an "outstanding and fun creation.”

Other Works

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