Oral History Project
In 2021, Pentacle launched the Pentacle Legacy Project to gather more information about the organization and its archives from both artists and arts workers it has worked with. A series of oral history interviews, conducted by Grants Manager Anna Brady Marcus with assistance by intern Sophia Gronczewski, commenced to gain more insight into the experience of those involved with the organization over its rich 50 year history. We invite you to engage with this project and celebrate Pentacle through listening to these insightful conversations. Below you can find 5 to 10 minute highlights of the interviews below; if interested in the full recording, please reach out.
QUINCIE HYDOCK
Bio
Lynn (BA, MA, MFA) began her career in arts administration in New York City where she worked under the tutelage of Mara Greenberg and Ivan Sygoda at Pentacle (DanceWorks), Inc. While there she worked with emerging iconic artists such as Mark Morris, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and Eiko and Koma. Following Pentacle, she became Director of Finance for the Mark Morris Dance Group and oversaw the capital campaign to build their building in Brooklyn.
In 2005, moving to the Cunningham Dance Foundation, she became their Chief Financial Officer and was part of a team that conceived and implemented Merce Cunningham’s unique legacy plan. As the Cunningham Foundation was closing, the Trustees of the Merce Cunningham Trust asked Lynn to open an office and create an administrative structure for licensing and promotion of the work of Merce Cunningham. She was instrumental in that transition, serving as executive director for five years.
During her Cunningham years she administered the transition of the Cunningham Archival Collection to the Dance Division of the New York Performing Arts Library. Subsequently she became involved in researching and editing that collection in collaboration with the Library. She has archived the Nancy Meehan Collection and is currently in the process of inventorying the archive of Impulses Dance Theatre Arts (Margaret Beals).
Lynn holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Dance and a masters of arts degree from the University of Iowa. After school she taught dance in the theatre departments of Illinois Wesleyan University, Drake University and Simpson College. Curious about the actor’s process (movement needs), she attended Case Western Reserve University obtaining a master’s of fine arts degree in Dance and Theater. Post graduation Lynn was the Director of Dance for the Theatre Department of the University of Virginia in the beautiful town of Charlottesville, Virginia.
Lynn has served on the boards of the Des Moines Ballet (Secretary), American Dance Guild (Treasurer), Nancy Meehan Dance Company, Pentacle (DanceWorks) Inc. (Treasurer), Foundation for Independent Artists and Unique Projects Inc. (President).
Also a choreographer, she has presented works in New York at the Merce Cunningham Studio, DIA Center for the Arts, the 92nd Street Y and the Laban Institute of Movement Studies. She has danced with the Nancy Meehan Dance Company and was co-director and choreographer with EM/R Dance Co., presenting five New York seasons.
Lynn is a dance researcher and has a passion for preserving American dance of the 20th century.
Invested and inventive arts worker, Quincie Hydock, discusses all things Pentacle. She describes her beginnings in the field at Pentacle, how much she has grown there, and which programs she feels connected to. Quincie also touches on how working in arts administration went hand in hand with her artistic career. She speaks to the true spirit of Pentacle and how it will continue to evolve and take shape in the future.
"We're creating an actual, new organization with fresh thinking and programming...the idea is that we're taking a real look at each of them, and spinning a new vision or mission...bringing that freshness into what we already have going on, that's really exciting, "
ANNA MARCUS
Bio
Anna Brady Marcus started her career in arts administration at Pentacle in 2001 where she was exposed to many areas of performing arts management and worked with dozens of dance companies and hundreds of performing artists. During her tenure at Pentacle she created a program to facilitate new explorations into media and dance, and founded Kinetic Cinema, a dance film screening series that ran monthly for four years. As a grant writer, she has over a decade of experience developing proposals for private and government institutions, specializing in funding for the arts. She enjoys putting into words the invaluable work that Pentacle does for the dance community and making a strong case for how important the arts are to our society.
Anna has her BFA in dance from California Institute of the Arts, and a graduate certificate in Media Management from the New School. She is also a writer of fiction and memoirs; founder of Anchor Your Legacy, a service for recording personal, family and community histories; and a performer and dance filmmaker.
Anna Marcus recounts her journey at Pentacle as it was the birthplace of her career in arts administration. She describes how she navigated through various departments, adapting, learning, and training along the way. The listener is able to enjoy hearing about the many artists Anna has served, as well as exciting projects she initiated at the organization. Marcus notes prominent changes in trends in the field from both the artist’s and art worker’s side, and rounds everything out by sharing what she feels is Pentacle’s impact and lasting legacy.
"I'm also excited to see how more and more choreographers are creating work for screen, as well as for stage, and they're thinking about them in two different ways. They are not just– it's not just a documentation of a stage performance put on a screen."
BRIAN MCCORMICK
Bio
Lynn (BA, MA, MFA) began her career in arts administration in New York City where she worked under the tutelage of Mara Greenberg and Ivan Sygoda at Pentacle (DanceWorks), Inc. While there she worked with emerging iconic artists such as Mark Morris, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and Eiko and Koma. Following Pentacle, she became Director of Finance for the Mark Morris Dance Group and oversaw the capital campaign to build their building in Brooklyn.
In 2005, moving to the Cunningham Dance Foundation, she became their Chief Financial Officer and was part of a team that conceived and implemented Merce Cunningham’s unique legacy plan. As the Cunningham Foundation was closing, the Trustees of the Merce Cunningham Trust asked Lynn to open an office and create an administrative structure for licensing and promotion of the work of Merce Cunningham. She was instrumental in that transition, serving as executive director for five years.
During her Cunningham years she administered the transition of the Cunningham Archival Collection to the Dance Division of the New York Performing Arts Library. Subsequently she became involved in researching and editing that collection in collaboration with the Library. She has archived the Nancy Meehan Collection and is currently in the process of inventorying the archive of Impulses Dance Theatre Arts (Margaret Beals).
Lynn holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Dance and a masters of arts degree from the University of Iowa. After school she taught dance in the theatre departments of Illinois Wesleyan University, Drake University and Simpson College. Curious about the actor’s process (movement needs), she attended Case Western Reserve University obtaining a master’s of fine arts degree in Dance and Theater. Post graduation Lynn was the Director of Dance for the Theatre Department of the University of Virginia in the beautiful town of Charlottesville, Virginia.
Lynn has served on the boards of the Des Moines Ballet (Secretary), American Dance Guild (Treasurer), Nancy Meehan Dance Company, Pentacle (DanceWorks) Inc. (Treasurer), Foundation for Independent Artists and Unique Projects Inc. (President).
Also a choreographer, she has presented works in New York at the Merce Cunningham Studio, DIA Center for the Arts, the 92nd Street Y and the Laban Institute of Movement Studies. She has danced with the Nancy Meehan Dance Company and was co-director and choreographer with EM/R Dance Co., presenting five New York seasons.
Lynn is a dance researcher and has a passion for preserving American dance of the 20th century.
Brian McCormick reflects on Pentacle’s impact as a hub for artists, administrators, and creative communities. McCormick highlights the mentorship, connections, professional support, and opportunities Pentacle provided, emphasizing how Pentacle helped artists thrive and left a lasting mark on New York’s arts world.
"Some artists are really good at navigating [the field], and other artists want to make their art. Some artists are entrepreneurial. And so there has to be someone to bridge that gap. Who better? Then Pentacle."
FELICIA ROSENFELD
Bio
Lynn (BA, MA, MFA) began her career in arts administration in New York City where she worked under the tutelage of Mara Greenberg and Ivan Sygoda at Pentacle (DanceWorks), Inc. While there she worked with emerging iconic artists such as Mark Morris, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and Eiko and Koma. Following Pentacle, she became Director of Finance for the Mark Morris Dance Group and oversaw the capital campaign to build their building in Brooklyn.
In 2005, moving to the Cunningham Dance Foundation, she became their Chief Financial Officer and was part of a team that conceived and implemented Merce Cunningham’s unique legacy plan. As the Cunningham Foundation was closing, the Trustees of the Merce Cunningham Trust asked Lynn to open an office and create an administrative structure for licensing and promotion of the work of Merce Cunningham. She was instrumental in that transition, serving as executive director for five years.
During her Cunningham years she administered the transition of the Cunningham Archival Collection to the Dance Division of the New York Performing Arts Library. Subsequently she became involved in researching and editing that collection in collaboration with the Library. She has archived the Nancy Meehan Collection and is currently in the process of inventorying the archive of Impulses Dance Theatre Arts (Margaret Beals).
Lynn holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Dance and a masters of arts degree from the University of Iowa. After school she taught dance in the theatre departments of Illinois Wesleyan University, Drake University and Simpson College. Curious about the actor’s process (movement needs), she attended Case Western Reserve University obtaining a master’s of fine arts degree in Dance and Theater. Post graduation Lynn was the Director of Dance for the Theatre Department of the University of Virginia in the beautiful town of Charlottesville, Virginia.
Lynn has served on the boards of the Des Moines Ballet (Secretary), American Dance Guild (Treasurer), Nancy Meehan Dance Company, Pentacle (DanceWorks) Inc. (Treasurer), Foundation for Independent Artists and Unique Projects Inc. (President).
Also a choreographer, she has presented works in New York at the Merce Cunningham Studio, DIA Center for the Arts, the 92nd Street Y and the Laban Institute of Movement Studies. She has danced with the Nancy Meehan Dance Company and was co-director and choreographer with EM/R Dance Co., presenting five New York seasons.
Lynn is a dance researcher and has a passion for preserving American dance of the 20th century.
Over the course of just over an hour, Felicia Rosenfeld recounts her robust career as an arts worker, with an emphasis on its seemingly inseparable link to Pentacle. Felicia engages with the listener on what kept bringing her back to arts administration, how her views on the arts sector had morphed and took new perspectives, as well as how she best fits into the role of developer and programmer. In addition to an insightful look into her professional life, Felicia describes Pentacle’s journey of growth and its brief, yet integral expansion on the West Coast.
"Plus, I understood Pentacle. I had to learn what the new programs were, but the, the vision hasn't changed. The mission of, you know, finding things that are needs in the community and then trying to offer low-cost services that meet those needs. So, it's after my own heart."
Lynn Wichern
Bio
Lynn (BA, MA, MFA) began her career in arts administration in New York City where she worked under the tutelage of Mara Greenberg and Ivan Sygoda at Pentacle (DanceWorks), Inc. While there she worked with emerging iconic artists such as Mark Morris, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, and Eiko and Koma. Following Pentacle, she became Director of Finance for the Mark Morris Dance Group and oversaw the capital campaign to build their building in Brooklyn.
In 2005, moving to the Cunningham Dance Foundation, she became their Chief Financial Officer and was part of a team that conceived and implemented Merce Cunningham’s unique legacy plan. As the Cunningham Foundation was closing, the Trustees of the Merce Cunningham Trust asked Lynn to open an office and create an administrative structure for licensing and promotion of the work of Merce Cunningham. She was instrumental in that transition, serving as executive director for five years.
During her Cunningham years she administered the transition of the Cunningham Archival Collection to the Dance Division of the New York Performing Arts Library. Subsequently she became involved in researching and editing that collection in collaboration with the Library. She has archived the Nancy Meehan Collection and is currently in the process of inventorying the archive of Impulses Dance Theatre Arts (Margaret Beals).
Lynn holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Dance and a masters of arts degree from the University of Iowa. After school she taught dance in the theatre departments of Illinois Wesleyan University, Drake University and Simpson College. Curious about the actor’s process (movement needs), she attended Case Western Reserve University obtaining a master’s of fine arts degree in Dance and Theater. Post graduation Lynn was the Director of Dance for the Theatre Department of the University of Virginia in the beautiful town of Charlottesville, Virginia.
Lynn has served on the boards of the Des Moines Ballet (Secretary), American Dance Guild (Treasurer), Nancy Meehan Dance Company, Pentacle (DanceWorks) Inc. (Treasurer), Foundation for Independent Artists and Unique Projects Inc. (President).
Also a choreographer, she has presented works in New York at the Merce Cunningham Studio, DIA Center for the Arts, the 92nd Street Y and the Laban Institute of Movement Studies. She has danced with the Nancy Meehan Dance Company and was co-director and choreographer with EM/R Dance Co., presenting five New York seasons.
Lynn is a dance researcher and has a passion for preserving American dance of the 20th century.
An in-depth and descriptive conversation with Lynn Wichern details her career in arts administration, highlighting her time at Pentacle. The listener becomes acquainted with what drew Wichern to this field and her first impressions of the service organization. Amongst discussing the artists she has worked with and various services Pentacle offered, Lynn unveils why she resigned and what her career looked like following her endeavors at Pentacle. After a long hiatus, she makes a return to Pentacle as a member of the board and she shares what she hopes Pentacle’s lasting legacy is.
"Plus, I understood Pentacle. I had to learn what the new programs were, but the, the vision hasn't changed. The mission of, you know, finding things that are needs in the community and then trying to offer low-cost services that meet those needs. So, it's after my own heart."