Dear visitors to the ReImagination Café™,

Sometimes in the middle of a busy day I notice someone and wonder what their life is like. It could be someone who catches my eye as I’m walking down the street in Manhattan; a fellow commuter I regularly see on the Metro-North train platform; or the Dig Inn employee who adds the chicken, rice, and cauliflower to my lunch bowl.

For Allison Orr, founder and Artistic Director of Forklift Danceworks, “noticing” is an integral part of her DNA – and, true to her background as a dancer and choreographer, it typically starts with a simple movement that most of us overlook, but that captures her full attention.

It was the graceful strokes of a window washer that inspired Allison’s first foray into community-based artmaking. She has since collaborated on projects with firefighters, sanitation workers, Elvis impersonators, Venetian gondoliers, and a symphony conductor, to name a few. The projects often culminate in a dance performance that allows those participating to see their extraordinary contributions through new eyes, and offers audiences a window into the work that keeps our communities running, and the people who do that work. By adding lights, music, and choreography, these performances draw people in, uncover the beauty in work that is often overlooked or hard to understand, and strengthen our connections to each other.

While Forklift’s early projects focused primarily on workers, as the organization evolved, Allison and her team began collaborating with a broader group of stakeholders, including artists, scientists, cultural historians, and community advocates. And they began to take on more complex issues, such as environmental stewardship, cultural preservation, and social inequities. Projects centered on places that embody a community’s cultural heritage provide opportunities for people from every corner of a community to share the stories that matter most to them – and help to spark change that continues long after a performance ends.

As I learned more about Allison’s work, and had the opportunity to speak with many of her collaborators, I became increasingly moved by the deep connections she formed with the people who generously invited her into their worlds, and the lasting impact of those relationships.

Peter Bay expressed amazement that Allison chose him as her subject for Solo Symphony, and shock that audiences cared so much about his work as a symphony conductor. Dr. Pearl Cox, a former beauty queen, beamed with pride as she reflected on the encore performance she was invited to participate in for Givens Swims. Inspired by the light shined on his team at Austin Water through The Way of Water Colorado River, Scott Morrow has made it his mission to continue highlighting their work. And Steven Brown, a longtime community advocate, continues to lead a working group that grew out of Givens Swims, which is committed to strengthening  relationships between the Givens community and the city of Austin – relationships that had long been strained but that began to show signs of healing through the collective reimagining of Givens Pool.

Working on this episode has encouraged me to notice more of what is happening around me – the sanitation workers who pick up the trash at the end of my driveway every Thursday; the firefighters who are ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice; the symphony conductor who helps me feel connected to music written over 200 years ago, and the people in the concert hall who are enjoying the music with me.

At a time characterized by disconnection, polarization, and a growing sense of helplessness, perhaps these projects, which remind us of our inherent connections to one another, and that bring us together for moments of shared joy, offer something so many of us desperately seek: a renewed sense of possibility and hope for a better tomorrow.

My sincere gratitude to Allison Orr, Peter Bay, Steven Brown, Scott Morrow, and Dr. Pearl Cox for generously sharing their stories with me, and for reminding all of us here at The ReImagination Café of the extraordinary power and potential of creative collaboration.

Reimagining always,