Samudra Studio Work In Progress Performance Creature Works Dance

Work In Progress Performance Creature Works Dance

Creature Works presents THE TOWER, a work in progress showing in its early development phase, an intimate sharing of a new evening length dance work in formation.

Tickets HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/creature-works-the-tower-work-in-progress-tickets-1992393855656

Creature Works is an experimental dance company creating character driven, physically rigorous work that sits between theatre and dance. The company’s work is structured through layered visual worlds, embodied storytelling, and shifting choreographic systems that explore how bodies carry memory, behaviour, and transformation.

THE TOWER continues this body of work, bringing together an intergenerational cast within a developing choreographic structure built around a sculptural “light tower.” Bodies construct and inhabit a changing environment of light, height, and proximity, where attention shifts between ensemble building and individual presence.

As a work-in-progress showing, this event offers a glimpse into an evolving process rather than a finished piece. It is an opportunity to witness the language of Creature Works as it is being formed in real time, where structure, humor, and physical storytelling continue to develop through rehearsal and experimentation.

THE TOWER invites audiences into a space where visibility, collaboration, and transformation are actively being tested, and where meaning is still open and unfolding.

CAST OF THE TOWER

Ann Barksdale, Sarah Speigel, Hannah Haines, Daija Paradis, Hannah Ranco, Kay Nadine, Sharoan Cohen, Cassidy Brown, Jennifer Hoffer.

ABOUT THE CHOREOGRAPHER

KELSIE STEIL is a New England–based choreographer, director, and dance artist and drag king whose work blends dance and character to create emotionally resonant, story-driven performance. She explores mental health, domestic scenarios, and human archetypes through character profiles drawn from lived or observed experiences. Her choreography seeks the moments where movement and message collide, often leaning into dissonance and a sense of unreality to deepen impact.

Kelsie’s creative process is collaborative and grounded in care. She builds safe, communicative environments for performers, combining rigorous rehearsal with dialogue, group exercises, and playful experimentation that foster trust and emotional risk. Her practice spans live performance, dance film, and interdisciplinary collaboration, often working with composers, filmmakers, and other artists to develop original scores and multimedia elements.

Prior to the founding of Creature Works in 2026, all of Kelsie’s work was presented under her own name. In 2025, she premiered Split My Soul, an evening-length, character-driven work refined through an immersive study of Commedia dell’Arte. The piece demonstrates her signature approach to choreography, blending theatricality, emotional depth, and movement invention. Her collaborative projects include CRAVING THE MYSTIC, adapted into an award-winning film by Jennifer Hoffer, and Rummage Lane, a full-length duet co-created with choreographer Hannah Haines.

Kelsie earned the Contemporary Dance Award at Plymouth State University for her achievements and choreography, recognizing her early commitment to innovation, storytelling, and emotional resonance in dance. Her work has been presented across New England at venues including SPACE Gallery, Lila Dance Festival, Engine, Franco Center, Dance Annex, Hill Arts and City Theater.

Kelsie Steil

Kelsie Steil is a Pilates instructor, dance artist, choreographer, and movement educator based in Southern Maine. Comprehensively certified in Pilates through the PhysicalMind Institute, she has nearly a decade of teaching experience and has been instructing at Evercore Pilates & Wellness in Biddeford since 2019, working with clients of varying backgrounds, abilities, and movement goals. She is excited to bring her experience and love of movement to the Samudra community.

Kelsie holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Adventure Education with a Minor in Dance from Plymouth State University, where she received the Contemporary Dance Ensemble Award for excellence in choreography. She is also the founder and director of Creature Works (creatureworksdance.com), a company that develops original performance works throughout New England.

Drawing from extensive training in dance, physical theater, choreography, strength training, and movement analysis, Kelsie brings a thoughtful and highly embodied approach to her classes. Her teaching emphasizes core strength, alignment, mobility, balance, and body awareness while encouraging students to move with confidence and curiosity. Whether leading a focused Pilates session or a dynamic full-body workout, she aims to create an environment that is both challenging and accessible.

Kelsie believes movement should leave people feeling stronger, more connected, and more at home in their bodies. Her classes blend technical precision with creativity and play, offering students an experience that is both empowering and sustainable.

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