We had the good fortune of connecting with Micaela Church and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Micaela, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
MAC & Company was founded from a shared passion for dance education and performance between Micaela Church and Li Pei Khoo in 2014.

Li Pei and I had both recently graduated from ASU, where she received her BFA in Dance Education and I have received my MFA in Dance. We were both full time teaching dance (Li Pei at a high school, myself at a college) and we wanted to be able to work with other dance professionals and be able to create impactful work outside of the educational environment. The options in the valley were limited or exclusive to a select few, so we decided to create our own dance company. One were we would be able to work collaboratively with other dancers and offer them a place to create, rehearse and perform free of charge. So, we rented a studio and found other dancers looking for the same collaborative experience and MAC & Company was formed. With the common goal of presenting innovative work and nurturing professional growth in the field of dance and music, we hope to provide a platform for fellow dancers who share their passion.

We officially registered MAC & Company as a 501c3 non-profit organization in 2014 and we have be performing throughout the southwest for the last decade. The company has grown from the initial 7 dancers to a current roster of 22. We’ve has amazing growth and continued support form a dedicated audience base.

Our current 10 year anniversary performance “10” will is upcoming on August 10, 2024 at Tempe Center for the Arts. We are looking forward to celebrating a decade of MAC dance.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
MAC & Company has truly been a unique creative outlet. Having trained in dance from three years old, all the way through getting an MFA in Dance, it was hard to just stop performing when completing the educational track. You spend your life honing your craft and then the competitive nature of the field leaves few opportunities to create and perform work. I felt that there needed to be a way to fulfill my personal drive to choreograph and perform dance work. I am one of the lucky few that was able to secure a career in my degree field, but that alone with not enough to fulfill the creative drive. If there was not any opportunity readily available, then I knew I’d have to create my own. I knew I wasn’t alone in this either, as many dancers graduate with a degree in dance, then take a career in another field and have no outlet for their true passions. This is what I wanted to create for with MAC & Company. A place for dance creatives to come, connect with others in a meaningful way, create collaborative work and be able to perform in a professional setting. I’ve felt very fortunate to be able to connect with so many creative and caring dancers that are now considered a second family. We create work that spans so many dance genres from modern, ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, hip hop, and aerial dance. That is the beauty of creating a diverse group and sharing our different dance styles. We can create piece of all types from comedic, serious, entertaining to abstract. There really is something for everyone to enjoy at our shows.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Love all the local and dance and theater work. Anywhere you can see a live performance is the place to be. We have held our major production and Tempe Center for the Arts and Phoenix Center for the Arts throughout the last decade. Go see and support the arts!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Li Pei Khoo and Martha P. Hernandez, plus the amazing MAC & Company dancers have been integral to the success of the company.

Li Pei was the force that brought the company into existence along with myself. If not for her, there would have been no MAC & Company. She was the skilled, creative, and organized mind to bring this dream to life and still continues to support us from across the globe. We are looking forward to her upcoming performance with MAC this August as she returns from Singapore for a guest appearance in our upcoming show.

Martha has been an incredible rock and staple of the dance company. She was one of our founding company dancers and has been sharing her creative and unique choreography, exceptional dance performance, and skilled aerial dance creations for the last ten years. She has been my right hand at rehearsals for the many years and truly an incredible dance presence in the valley.

All the MAC dancers make this worth it and without them none of what we do would be possbile!

Website: https://www.macdance.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mac_and_company/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/macdancecompanyphoenix

Other: Ticket link to our upcoming performance “10” on August 10, 2024, 7:30pm at Tempe Center for the Arts
https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/78576776/mac-company-presents10-tempe-tempe-center-for-the-arts-

Image Credits
Photo credits: Rick Meinecke, Diana Reyes, Schyler Anderson, Michelle Kelker

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