Nahant dance company to perform at annual summer concert

NAHANT – The company is named Forty Steps Dance, but that’s a reference to its local roots – not its repertoire.”We have yet to create a piece with only 40 steps,” said company director Sallee Slagle, laughing. “It’s Forty Steps Beach, which I always felt was like my backyard.”Slagle founded the dance company in 1992 as a way to present her compositions – or choreographed dance pieces – to the local community.This weekend, Slagle and her seven-member troupe and the Du?an T?nek Dance Theatre of New York City will conclude intensive dance workshops at the Windhover Center for the Performing Arts in Rockport by performing three works at the festival’s Annual Summer Dance Concert.The Windhover Festival has been a longstanding commitment for Slagle. The festival was founded by Ina Hahn, Slagle’s mentor and former dance teacher at the Boston Conservatory. Since college, Slagle has danced with Hahn’s Windhover Dance Company in addition to organizing her own company and running Dance Dimensions studio in Nahant.This year, Slagle is primarily organizing the festival.”I am so thrilled,” said Hahn. “That’s what it’s all about, creating for the next generation and continuing the legacy.”The Forty Steps Dance pieces at the festival reflect the diverse influences of a dancing style that Slagle described as a constantly evolving “modern expressive dance.”The pieces are set to music by Beethoven, Sting and Depeche Mode.”Nowadays you can’t really do it black and white anymore,” Slagle explained. “You will see jazz dancers using ballet and modern moves, and contemporary style is just a big blend of everything. I also try to have a varied style – I don’t like to create works that are all similar but look to try something new each time.”Slagle said she wants to eventually make Forty Steps a full-time, non-profit dance company. And she said that she remains as inspired by Nahant today as to more than 25 years ago.”There’s something really aesthetic there,” Slagle said. “You hit the causeway and you take a sigh and everything melts away.”