Happendance kicks off 50th season with a bang

A moonbow is a rare sight to see, a reflection of moonlight off water droplets that only occurs under very specific circumstances: a full or nearly full moon, low in the sky and unobstructed, with no light pollution and some sort of moisture in the air.

Similarly, Happendance’s first show of its milestone 50th season, “Threading Moonbows,” is never before seen and likely won’t be seen again after this weekend.

The world-premiere show weaves dance, music by contemporary ensemble Aurora & Antheia and poetry by local spoken word artist Lisa Sarno, all newly composed.

“Launching our 50th anniversary with a performance built entirely of original work reflects who we are as an organization,” Happendance CEO Rachel Miller said. “For 50 years, Happendance has championed creativity, collaboration and innovation in dance — and Threading Moonbows embodies that spirit.”

That focus on collaboration and improvisation is woven throughout the company, down to the way its shows are choreographed and scored.

“In the beginning stages, in August and September, we would sit in our rehearsal space and kind of just improvise and come up with little thematic materials that we liked,” Aurora & Antheia violinist Cori Beth Somers said. “We would come up with ideas, record them, send them to Rachel and be like, ‘What do you think of this?’”

“They would send me recordings of stuff, and I would listen to it while I thought about the theme and how we could create some words that fit with them,” Sarno added.

 “You just kind of get momentum going,” Somers continued. “We’re like, ‘Yeah, I’m into that.’  And then we expand it and expand it and send a lot of back and forth.”

Miller summed it up succinctly: “I mean, there’s a reason we call it Happendance, you know?”

The company was also founded somewhat by happenstance. In 1976, choreographer Diane Newman and a group of fellow dancers, who are now known among members as the “wise women,” teamed up for a free performance on the banks of the Red Cedar River floodplain at Michigan State University.

“It just grew from there,” Miller said. “They got their nonprofit status, and then it just grew and grew into all these different facets.”

The company reaches thousands each year through its movement-focused school residencies, aftercare programs, camps, teacher trainings and community programs.

“We also have a Happendance school where we teach classes, which has a long history. A lot of those students have gone on to have professional careers,” Miller said. “And then we have the professional companies, who have been performing all over. We do sliding-scale or free performances, and we do a lot of collaborations with local artists, like Lisa and Aurora & Antheia.”

The 50th season continues with several events through summer 2026, including an alumni gathering and 50th anniversary kickoff celebration Dec. 27, featuring a performance by the “wise women”; a dinner fundraiser Feb. 7, offering a sneak preview of the upcoming Happendance documentary, set to be released in fall 2026; a collaborative concert with the Lansing Community College Jazz Band Feb. 20 and 21; a tentatively planned site-specific improv piece at the former bank building recently taken over by Thrift Witch and Eclectic Art Tattoo Gallery; a revival of two fan-favorite family-friendly shows, “Treasures in the Treetops” and “The Legend of Sleeping Bear,” as part of the company’s Education Exchange program; and the season finale, the 50th anniversary gala performance, July 31 and Aug. 1 at the Red Cedar River floodplain, where it all began. The company will reprise works from past Happendance shows of the ‘80s, ‘90s, 2000s and beyond.

“Right now, I’m setting a piece on the wise women. They’re all in their 70s and 80s,” Miller said. “I love that experience. Some of them have canes. Some of them are using canes in the dance.

“We’ll also have a call out for a national choreographer to come in and set a work,” Miller continued. “We’ll take project submissions, narrow it down to three people, and then we’ll put it out there for the community to vote on. That will be the big celebration.”