Nora Sharp

“My time at Hambidge was unlike any other support or experience I have received in my time as an emerging career performer (in the first decade of my professional career). With two weeks of autonomous time and space, and the support of residency staff and studios, I was able to experience a different pace and mode of my own creativity that allowed new work to simply pour out of me. I wish I could always be in "Hambidge mode": independent, quiet, beautiful studio space to make my work; time to work through ideas and emotions; community to feel a context beyond myself and learn from others; extremely limited phone and internet distractions; food that nourished me and took care of my body; and 600 acres of trees, streams, and trails to stimulate my consciousness and my spirit. I cannot overstate the significance of having this level of support, and the kind of support that it is, for allowing creative practice to unfurl and flourish. I created the amount of new dance-based performance material that would normally take me 2-4 months or more in my daily life and access to studio space - including pieces of choreography, structured improvisation, spoken comedic text, and 3 new songs. I also wrote a couple of unplanned essays that already have potential for public presentation/publication in the works. I am so grateful to all of Hambidge's staff and donors for affording this experience for me and my fellow artists, and I hope to be back in Rabun Gap, GA sooner rather than later. Hambidge Forever!”

– Nora Sharp, Illinois, Dance