Rebecca Margolick grew up at Arts Umbrella, literally. She watched her mother, Mary-Louise Albert, teach classes from the time she was a newborn and later started taking her own dance classes when she was 7 years old.
‘Arts Umbrella always fostered a foundation of continual exploration and curiosity in movement and performance for me. It is a place that pushes you to take your own educational initiative, which is an invaluable thing to take with you no matter where you go or what you do,’ says Rebecca.
Rebecca took this foundation when she left Vancouver in 2009 to complete her BFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts; she’s been on a roll since.
Currently in her fourth season as a company member of Sidra Bell Dance New York, Rebecca also works with companies including Shay Kuebler Radical System Art (Vancouver) and UNA Projects (NYC). Most recently, she performed in an immersive show involving actors, dancers, musicians and interactive lighting called “Fable” directed by Emily Terndrup and Derrick Belcham. Rebecca is also an Assistant Lecturer at University of the Arts in Philadelphia, co-directing a class with Sidra Bell.
She shows no sign of stopping and this year, she and her partner Maxx Berkowitz have been chosen as LABA Fellows at the 14th St Y in Manhattan to study texts and work on a new creation that will premiere in April 2016.
Rebecca exemplifies the group of thoughtful, articulate, and intellectual dancers and people who graduate from the Arts Umbrella Dance Program.
‘Stay present and check in with yourself throughout the process,’ Rebecca says when asked what advice she would give to someone considering or beginning their education at Arts Umbrella, ‘avoid getting caught up in how you think others see you, it’s not worth the energy and takes away from the enjoyment of dance, the work, and being in an intimate driven group of young artists.’