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composing – Paul Matthew Moore
"I'm kind of a crazy person," says Paul Matthew Moore cheerfully. "I love random things that come by." His enthusiasm and energy are great, his taste in music composition eclectic, running the gamut from classical [...]
disconnecting – Penny Saunders on Edward Hopper
Self-Portrait, 1925 – 1930 “Keep it not collective,” says Penny Saunders to the seven dancers moving in unison. They are working on a new piece called Soir Bleu, which takes its themes from [...]
embracing difference – Olivier Wevers’s newest
“This is almost the most unclear and uncertain that I’ve been," says Olivier Wevers, Whim W'Him's artistic director, "but somehow I'm not as scared of it as I was.” It seems evident in the extra level [...]
bending – Kelsey Fernkopf
"The BLOCKHEAD series," says Kelsey Fernkopf, who is contributing the piece above (called 'Scary Bear') to Whim W'Him's Out On A Whim 2014 auction and fundraiser, "started 7 years ago. Essentially, they are about communication and [...]
finding the thread – Shawn Parks
The studio of Shawn Parks has a wonderful wall made of spools of yarn—beautiful colors, the different sizes and shapes of the spools, the yarn textures. Putting the wall up was itself, as he remarks, [...]
observing – Mary Lamery
"I will never get bored with this," says Mary Lamery of painting places in new ways, recording what she hasn't seen before. She is drawn to what the Impressionists did when they broke with classical [...]
moving – Penny Saunders
Penny Saunders—photo by Tom Maday "I was really young, just turning three," says Penny Saunders, who is choreographing a new piece for Whim W'Him's January show. "You know—my mom." The usual reasons kids [...]
unadorned – shooting photos
This was a big week for Whim W’Him photoshoots, two quite different ones. The first—for the company’s major yearly fundraiser, Out on a Whim 2014—happened at the old Georgetown Steam Plant, originally built in 1906 [...]
joining Whim W’Him – Justin Reiter
From a very young age in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Justin Reiter was jumping and doing cartwheels in the back yard. "I was the black sheep of my family with regard to sports— I grew [...]
starting up – fall 2014
After a far-flung summer Whimmers are assembling in Seattle to start Whim W'Him's fifth season. Some fall highlights: In mid-September, the company took part in a presenters’ showcase at the Pacific Northwest Ballet studios for [...]
About the writer
Victoria Farr Brown is a former historian, a writer, now mostly of fiction, and a long-time lover of dance. She has written about Whim W’Him from its first steps in 2009.