ELY – The Reflections Dance Company’s summer show was truly a lesson in resilience. “Home on Earth: COVID-19 Style” was introduced to local audiences this past weekend at Ely’s Historic State Theater. What wasn’t obvious was the drastic change of direction made by the dance students this past spring as the coronavirus turned their choreography world upside down.
Some 100 people over two days were treated to both a live showcase and a big screen film preview. The production was made possible by a grant from the Donald G. Gardner Humanities Trust with support from the Northern Lakes Arts Association. The full-length dance movie will be released on YouTube in December, according to Molly Olson, of Reflections Dance Company.
“It was a unique experience to pivot quickly from live classes and rehearsals to virtual ones this spring,” Olson said. “The process of creating choreography for the screen is different than creating for the stage.”
White Pine Productions filmed and edited the production with Jacob White as the videographer.
“We took some pieces and just recorded snippets of dancers moving to the music, then Jacob was able to mix these pieces together to create a feeling that matched the story in the music,” she said. “One of the pieces ends with footage of three dancers overlaid and fading out to show them as ghosts set to the song ‘Dance in the Graveyards.’ This effect would not have been possible live on stage, so it is yet another silver lining to living in the age of COVID-19.” 
The music that was recorded for the film used layers of tracks with the instrumentals being recorded first, then the vocals added after that.
“The singers were able to record in their homes, while the other musicians met and stayed physically distant while playing,” Olson said.
“We were able to accommodate dancers who needed to be filmed in small groups so that we could keep socially distant, and use Jacob’s expertise to combine the footage so that all dancers could appear in the pieces,” she said. “Our older dancers did meet for rehearsals in person at outdoor locations and that helped them prepare for the live show as well as the filming. Using family groups and people who had already been in a quarantine bubble together gave us the ability to still incorporate some lifts and group work.”
The live show featured just four or five dancers onstage at a time, so the company was able to physically distance. The audience was limited in numbers and wore protective face masks. 
“The challenges we faced were numerous, but the dedication of the people involved in the show ensured that the movie is creative and still interesting to watch,” Olson added. “We are so fortunate to have a group of talented individuals who love being part of the Reflections productions.”
The dance company featured Brooke Pasmick, Phoebe Helms, Cora Olson, Kahsha Hyde, Gracie Pointer, Johnnie Hyde, Tara Johnson, Molly Olson, Maria Paschke, and Crystal Poppler.
The musicians were Irene Hartfield (musical director, keyboards, vocals, production), Jef Cerniak (bass), Joey Kenig (guitar, vocals, songwriting), Sarah Mason (vocals, percussion), and Karin Schmidt (vocals, percussion).