Heartland Collective

HEARTLAND is a multi-disciplinary collective directed by Molly Heller, alongside founding members Florian Alberge, Nick Blaylock, Nick Foster, Brian Gerke, Marissa Mooney, Melissa Younker, and Mike Wall. Our collaborative way of working integrates the mediums of dance, visual arts, costume design, and sound design. Heartland re-imagines a new company model where leadership is decentralized and creative motivation is a movable, non-hierarchical exchange. The model for Heartland is based around curated, themed performances (such as: Valentine’s Day, Woodland Creatures, Cosmos) that open the evening. The performance then merges into an open dance party, where the audience immediately has permission to move and groove through their experiences and engage in connection (and most importantly, to experience JOY).

Our work has been presented by: Modern West Fine Arts (SLC), 801 Salon (SLC), Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (SLC), Beehive Concert Venue (SLC), Urban Lounge (SLC), and Shawl-Anderson Dance Center (Berkeley, CA). We are drawn to intimate and atypical performing spaces that offer opportunities for ingenuity and beckon audience engagement.