When We Were There [part one]

This is an invitation to move and be moved.

When We Were There is a dance experience which explores the way we embody memory and re-experience our own life narratives. Highlighting how our recollections shift over time and are impacted by “missed connections”, this concert utilizes modern dance, theater, live sound and video projection to evoke your own adventure in a unique manner. As distinctive as individual memory, so too, will be the reaction to this piece.

When We Where There is not a story, but has relatable narrative elements. It is not literal, but neither is it completely abstract. You are invited to engage with your true self, your most protected memories, your darkest moments, your brightest days, and to ask yourself how these inform your decisions and relationships.

The performers of When We Were There are of diverse movement backgrounds, all from our rich South Bend community. The primary cast, Greg Fox, Luke Fischer, and Susanna Frusti, began rehearsing in June 2014. A call for community cast was made in September 2014 and received an enthusiastic response. Jing Zhu, Sophia Zovich, Ridge Alencar, Evan Scott Bryson, and Kristy Ganoe compose the community cast.

Director Hannah Fischer brings her fresh inspiring use of mixed movement and media to the stage, propelling forward audiences’ self-experience.

Local musicians Patrick Quigley and Chris Arrowsmith collaborate with live and original music.

Meet the director, Hannah Fischer

Hannah Fischer is a native of South Bend, IN. Fischer recently returned to the area after three years as the Assistant Director of Leverage Dance Theater in St. Louis, Missouri. In this role, Fischer danced, toured, and choreographed for the company; taught company class; developed, implemented and trained artists to deliver Leveraged Learning Initiative educational programs; and acted as co-production manager and assistant artistic director for Leverage’s artistic work.



Fischer joined Leverage Dance Theater upon graduating cum laude with a BA in Humanistic Studies and a Student-Designed Major in Digital Media, Dance, and Women’s Studies from Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana. She was, and continues to be, a key player in the the restructuring of the company into what is now Leverage Dance Theater, an organization committed to training and developing community minded professional dance artists and educators by creating and presenting works of dance art and innovating community needs-integrated dance education. Fischer’s vision was key to establishing the Leveraged Learning Initiative (LLI), which expanded aTrek’s existing educational programming outside of traditional school settings to offer dance programming specifically designed to serve the social and emotional needs of underserved teens. Over the last three years Fischer has offered LLI programming to elementary school children, incarcerated teens, and survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.


Fischer co-directed Leverage’s Conversations in Concert, Seen UnSeen, Am I the Only One, Brave Women, Wiley and the Hairy Man and Pas De Chat’s Adventure. She has also performed professionally with Leverage Dance Theater and Karlovsky & Company, working with in-house choreographers as well as Guest Artists Nejla Yatkin, Mathew Janczewski, Jon Lehrer, Kim Epifano and Victoria Marks. Previously, she danced, toured, and developed improvisation workshops targeting underserved teens with South African based performing arts company 13th Floor. Her choreography has been performed at LangLab South Bend, Dancing in the Streets, National Dance Week, StLou Fringe and by Leverage Dance Theater at their annual concert.

In South Bend, Fischer is the Assistant Curator of Education at the South Bend Museum of Art. She recently launched South Bend Contact Improvisation, which meets Monday evenings at LangLab South Bend. Fischer is also a faculty member with Now & Next Dance Mentoring Project, a program that builds community between women and middle school girls through movement and dance. Since relocating to South Bend, Fischer has continued to collaborate with other artists, both locally and internationally on dance, film, and music projects. When We Were There is Fischer's first production in town since 2010. 


Contact: Hannahbeth dot fischer at gmail dot com