Amanda Comi
Amanda is the owner and director of Revolution Modern Dance. She is unique for maintaining a presence in multiple different types of dance communities throughout her life. She hopes to use this perspective to enhance the dance community in Frederick, MD.
Modern Dance
Amanda is originally from the Capital Region of Upstate New York. She started creative movement classes with Ginny Martin the week before her 4th birthday. By age 12 (1997), she was dancing in the highest-level classes offered by her studio, and she began supporting instruction. In high school, Amanda joined the audition pool of community dancers used by Skidmore College Dance Majors to cast their compositions.
Amanda studied Physics and Math at the University of Chicago. While there, she was a co-director of UC Dancers, the student modern dance company. She performed with other student organizations including a ballet company, a “Mr. University” beauty pageant fundraiser, and a circus.
Living in Maryland for work since 2007, Amanda has casually participated in several dance community events and performances across the state. Most recently, she was a company member and choreographer with the Equinox Dance Company of Frederick, MD for the 2017-2018 season. In February of 2020 she performed with the Baltimore Collective in their open Community Project.
Amanda’s modern dance background is strongly informed by Graham, but her personal style of movement is generally more organic with elements of release.
Social Dance
In college (2002), Amanda began to learn swing and blues dancing. At the time, Chicago dancers preferred Hollywood-style Lindy Hop which is characterized by smooth, controlled movements, patterns which lean more heavily on swing-out variations than Charleston moves, and which integrates easily with blues dance. Since her initial exposure to swing dance, Amanda has worked to embody a neutral and simple form of leading and following in all social dance, informed by contact improvisation techniques from her modern dance background.
Amanda has provided informal or substitute instruction in all of the dance communities where she has lived and visited including Chicago, Albany, Hartford, Montreal, Virginia Beach, DC and Baltimore. In the fall of 2019, Amanda taught a special Lindy 500 Workshop on Laban Movement Analysis for swing dancers. This workshop was her first successful experiment in helping other swing dancers combine modern dance techniques with social dance. During the pandemic, Amanda traveled to DC to substitute teach for QT Fusion Dance events while local instructors were unavailable.
Amanda also likes to explore other social dance scenes for inspiration; you may see her at a local salsa night or dropping into an Urban Kiz lesson.
Hatha Yoga
Amanda’s modern dance training has always included movements based on yoga, for example Graham’s classic six-on-two exercise includes Ustrasana (camel pose) as a peak shape. After decades of informal practice, she supplemented her practical experience though a remote study of yogic philosophy with a school in Rishikesh, India. Amanda maintains a 200 RYT certification with Yoga Alliance.
Amanda believes that yoga can be an excellent experience for dancers; the practice deepens the connection between the body and the mind, while also demonstrating how to integrate moderate movement into your daily life in a healthy and sustainable way.
When you come to one of her yoga classes, don’t be surprised if you find her dance influences sneaking into the practice. Some of the most requested exercises from her sessions are secretly movements inspired by Isadora Duncan, modified Graham exercises, and Bartenieff (Big X) Fundamentals.