Sunday Feature: Choreographer Jennifer Nichols on The Messiah

Tradition. Nostalgia. Sacred.
A choreographer explains the presence of dance in Against The Grain's production of The Messiah
by Jennifer Nichols

Jennifer Nichols, choreographer and dancer, was classically trained at L’École Supérieure de Danse du Québec and the Quinte Ballet School. Currently a company member of Atelier Ballet, the ballet ensemble of Opera Atelier, she has also danced professionally with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Banff Festival Dance and choreographers such as Robert Desrosiers and Newton Moraes. Jennifer is owner and director of Toronto’s Extension Room, home of the acclaimed ballet fitness program she founded in 2003, The Extension Method^TM. She is also Co-Artistic Director of Hit and Run Dance Productions. Jennifer Nichols’s performance and choreography can be seen in several film and television productions, including the upcoming CBC primetime television drama Reign (principal choreographer), feature film Barney’s Version, BRAVO’s docu-drama Nureyev, and the National Film Board’s Dance of Death.

Tradition. Nostalgia. Sacred. 

All words associated with Handel’s Messiah, a ritual holiday experience that draws loved ones to churches and theatres, uplifting the spirit and celebrating another cyclical passage of seasons. 

This annual classic is typically presented in a similar manner. Think formal dress (black tie, gowns), elegant choral books, music stands and a classic formation of voices projecting ‘en face’ to the house. 

Now picture bodies in motion, top buttons open, fervent faces moving in several directions and blood pumping harder.