Dozens of bare feet gracefully yet powerfully hit the floor. You can feel their energy when you listen to their deep breaths, and witness the passion and exhilaration that saturates every moment of their movement. Keshet Dance Company (Keshet means “rainbow” in Hebrew) is not merely a locally and nationally renowned dance company. The bare feet belong not only to professional dancers, but to anyone with the interest and motivation to dance: able-bodied or handicapped, free or incarcerated, wealthy or penniless. Shira Greenberg, founder and Artistic Director of Keshet, moved to Albuquerque from her home in Minneapolis, where she had envisioned a grassroots dance company accessible to and challenging for every interested person. This vision became a reality in 1996, making this year Keshet’s 14th dance season.

In Albuquerque, Keshet is most popular for its annual show, “Nutcracker on the Rocks,” a rock and roll version of the Nutcracker Ballet. Every scene represents a different decade of the 20th century, and the audience is encouraged to cheer and clap throughout the lively performance. There are no auditions; every year, the cast grows.  Greenberg said that she will never turn people away from Nutcracker.

Keshet’s pre-professional programs also have annual spring showcases. Keshet’s newest show, “Ani Ma’amin”(Hebrew for “I believe”), a performance about the lasting effect of the Holocaust on American Jews, just finished its third annual performance. Keshet’s revenue from ticket sales is a critical part of supporting their many programs.

Students struggling financially are never turned down. Keshet awards $50,000 every year to financial assistance, despite having an annual budget of only $5,000 for it. Scholarships are non-restricted and non-competitive. Roughly 60 percent of their students benefit from Keshet’s scholarships.

From the start, Keshet has made serving the community its priority. Keshet goes to the Youth Diagnostic and Development Center (YDDC, a statewide juvenile detention facility) every week to offer either a school day course integrating math, literacy and conflict resolution through dance or an after school program for incarcerated girls that focuses on reconnecting with a positive body image through dance. “Most of the girls that are there have been sexually abused in one way or another,” Greenberg said. After being released, the youth can attend more dance classes and have a lasting relationship with a Keshet mentor.

In 2009, Keshet was honored by First Lady Michelle Obama with the “Coming Up Taller Award”, which gave national recognition to Keshet for their work with children in YDDC.  Greenberg and a student of the YDDC program were invited to the White House to receive this award. She said that once they arrived there, they were told by White House security that due to the young woman’s criminal history, she would not be allowed in the White House. Greenberg said, “We got the phone call when we were picking out our outfits.” With only several hours’ notice, Greenberg called on Keshet Pre-Professional Level 3 (referred to as KP3) student and family friend Eliana Boswell ’12 to come to Washington D.C. to receive Keshet’s award.  Although the YDDC student could not enter the White House, Congressman Elison of Minnesota gave her a behind-the-scenes tour of the Capitol Building. “She was very gracious,” Greenberg said of her former YDDC student. Greenberg, despite the obstacles, was very pleased with the award and with meeting the First Lady. “I really felt like this was important to [Obama],” Greenberg said. 

Another program that Keshet offers is through the Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) Title I program, an APS program for homeless students. Keshet goes to several centralized schools to offer hot meals, tutoring, activities, physical activity and movement, or as Greenberg said: “just to be a kid.” 

For several years now, Keshet has begun to outgrow their small two studio building. In light of this, the Kimo Theater and its adjacent building will be undergoing a $12 million renovation “as soon as [we] get the money,” Greenberg said. Greenberg said that so far, Keshet has about $5 million of it of secured. “We can reach three times as many people in the new studio,” she said, “and ten times as many people off-site.” Once the renovation is complete, Keshet will also be responsible for running the Kimo Theater.

This year’s Diversity Day at Academy, Keshet held a workshop partly inspired by its “Ani Ma’amin” show. According to Rehearsal and KP3 Director Lisa Nevada, the workshop was about “moving memoirs.” She worked with Academy students, teaching them to connect memories to movement. This summer, Keshet will also participate in Academy’s Community Builders Program. Academy’s Community Builder’s Program is a tuition-free summer program where admitted students learn about dozens of non-profit organizations throughout Albuquerque, and at the end of the program, allocate $10,000 to the organizations of their choice. Although Keshet’s relationship with Academy is fairly new, Greenberg said she looks forward to being part of Academy’s annual Diversity Day in the future.