We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Hannah Grzymala a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hannah, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
I had never thought I would be a dance teacher or choreographer prior to 2020. I fell into teaching and started to choreograph not realizing how much joy and fulfillment it would bring me, the same way performing did. I started to choreograph more and more and in 2022 created a piece I will never forget. Entitled Mister Blue, I created a jazz dance that truly was pure joy on stage. Encompassing happiness and quirkiness, this piece was a true passion project where I got to see a vision truly come to life. I was at a point in my life where I started to shift my focus and knew that performing was most likely not a part of my foreseeable future, even though I had not fully admitted it to myself. Seeing these dancers take on the youthfulness and happiness of this piece head on helped me realize that I can truly make an impact on students through my teaching. Watching my piece on stage genuinely made me smile. Simply smile. So much of the world is rooted in depression and loss so for three minutes I sat, watched, and smiled – nonstop. This small fraction of time truly was so special because for those three minutes I forgot about worry, I forgot about my self-doubt, and I felt genuine happiness. Mister Blue will always be this moment in time forever encapsulated in my mind as the moment where I knew I could move forward with a new chapter of my life, where I forgot about worry, and where I could experience and have others experience TRUE joy.
Hannah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a Maryland native and graduate of Marymount Manhattan College who earned a BFA Major in Dance with Concentrations in Jazz, Modern, and Ballet and a Minor in Arts Management. I studied under esteemed faculty including Katie Langan, Nancy Lushington, Lone Larsen, Karen Gayle, Harriet Clark, Catherine Cabeen, and Sheila Barker, to name a few. While at Marymount, and performed new choreography and repertoire with several working artists such as Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish, Peter Chu, Loni Landon, Andrea Miller, and Anthony Morigerato. I’ve also worked as an Apprentice with Parsons Dance and a Dance Assistant for the Radio City Rockettes. Other performance credits include choreographic festivals both in NYC and Maryland including the Spark Dance Forum, CBG Dance Fall Festival, Steffi Nossen Choreography Showcase with Mobilized Voices Dance Collective, and the Baltimore Dance Invitational with Invisible Wings Dance Project. I currently teach and choreograph at Centre Pointe Performing Arts and have taught at Steps Youth Program in the past. In addition, I tour with Inferno Dance as a Judge at the National Level. I am a fitness and cross-training enthusiast and hold my NASM Certified Personal Trainer Certificate, Balanced Body Pilates Mat Certification and am a Barre Fitness Instructor and Orangetheory Coach.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I hope to provide a motivating and inspiring experience to all of my students. I strive to create stories that are meaningful, creative, and provoke feeling.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
Covid through my plans for a loop. I only ever saw myself as a performer but with Covid my direction took a quick turn towards education. I fell in love with teaching and choreographing before I even realized it myself. To start to give back to the next generation fulfilled me in ways I never thought I would experience. I only ever saw myself as Hannah – the performer, but can now see myself as Hannah – the educator. Looking forward to fully embodying this new chapter in my life.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://hannahgrzymala.com
- Instagram: @hannahgrzymalachoreo @hannahgrzymala
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hannah.grzymala
Image Credits
Headshot: Heather Allred Photography