Style Weekly
November 7, 2000
by Cheryl Pallant

"Complementary Choreography: Starr Foster and Shannon Hummel join forces in “Red,” a performance at Artspace."

Starr Foster met Shannon Hummel several years ago when both women presented work in a dance concert at James Madison University. They appreciated each other’s work and struck up a friendship. Since that meeting, the two dancers have maintained contact, despite the fact that Hummel lives in Brooklyn and Foster in Richmond. When Foster launched her dance company last year, she invited Hummel to participate in her choreographer’s showcase. This weekend, Foster’s latest concert, “Red,” on Nov. 10 and 11 at Artspace, will feature two new works of her own, plus a work by Hummel.

“We spent a lot of time together discussing all sorts of things,” says Foster, speaking about the meeting in Harrisonburg. “We saw we had similar goals. Our dance is very different, but is complementary.”

Hummel realized they shared much in common, including what she refers to as a “difficult” past. She also recognized a great difference in their creative process. “Our work is polar opposite,” she says. “I believe Starr is more intentional. She comes into the studio with a solid idea from beginning to end and sets it up on the dancers. I work differently. I have sense of what I want to explore with my dancers and find it in the process of the dance.”