TESTIMONIALS
May 2017 Post-Audience Survey of “SCRUTINY”
“Wow, powerful, thought-provoking”
“Powerful, deep, gutsy”
“Different, provocative, inclusive”
“Imagery, Ambiance, Internal”
“Rewarding, Cryptic, Emphatic”
“Unique, emotional, sad”
“Moving, Inspiring, Emotional”
“Awesome, Sad, Excellent”
“Excellent, Beautiful”
“Excellent”
“Original, Combining, Impression”
“Fabulous, Heavy-duty, though-provoking” Kay Varobson
“Engaging, Ground-breaking, Sad”
“Moving, Realization, Awareness” K. Gonell
“Fascinating, Thought-provoking”
“Amazing, Heartfelt, peaceful”
“Incredible, Stunning, Including, Awesome” Dotty Vasquez
“Inspiring, Thought-provoking, Visceral”
“Poetic, Real, Lovely”
“Gritty, Compositional, Moving”
“Inspiring, Beautiful” Jose Luis Rodriguez
May 2016 - Audience Responses to Performance
“Kind, creative, inclusive” Andy Winter
“Inspiring, Original, Lovely”
“Meditative, European, safe” Jared Sharon
“Intense, brilliant, flowing” Ginny Detzner
“Spiritual, fluid, beautiful”
“Genuine, whole, healing” Diego Llewellyn-Jones
“Breathe-taking, amazing, Wow!” Victor Mendez
“Interesting, Hard-working, great” Scott
“Mesmerizing, Calming/therapeutic, fluid” Jonas Harka
“Awesome, great, inspiring” Aurora
“Great, Interesting, breathe-taking” George
“Fascinating, Enduring, Nuanced” Sangode
“Artistic, Inspirational, Intimate” Lyn Johnson
“Inspiring, Great, Majestic” David
“Great, Super, Interesting” Bennie
“Great, Wow, Wonderful” David
“Fantastic, Emotional, Thought-provoking”
“Cathartic, poetic, true” Fernando Iglesias
“Professional, unique, beautiful” Ximena England
“Inspirational, unique, touching” Kristen England
“Inspiring, uplifting, moving” Oscar Machado
“Inspiring, beautiful, creative” Elizabeth Machado
“Emotional, touching, expressive” Marlen Machado
“Gripping, graceful, new” Annie
“Fresh, Intense, Fluid” Thais Selwab
“Amazing, inventive, Intimate” Peter Strewbrioge
A Letter From an Audience Member:
Saturday night Mitch and I went to your performance with the Karen Petersen dancers. It was amazingly good. It was original and had a lot of meaning and depth. I thought the black material was interesting and warped the dimensions and the use of the video to multiply the dancers, as well as the old film footage, was creative. I loved the dance with the man and the woman on the 2 loveseats plus the floor. I also love that she uses the various abilities without judgment and as options of movement. My background is appreciating all movement...it was very sophisticated---all the props- the chairs the ladder the top of the space and your playful piece with the finger-paints was great.
I loved the performances on Sunday - they were completely amazing. It was a beautiful collaboration with Maria and I loved seeing the complete development of the work from the Field. What an incredible afternoon - I was totally blown away by the company..
– Bill Spring
Response from Audience
“It was inspiring to see the fusion of music, dance and mixed ability performers, It was very powerful, and quite an intense experience to see individuals perceived in the general ‘eye’ as disabled create, express and surpass in ability, what many of us are not capable of doing.”
–Natasha Bravo, therapist, Children’s Creative Therapy
“Creative, refreshing, imaginative” –Christine Pointer
“Breathtaking, astounding, awesome” –Anonymous
“From the intensely dramatic to the light and funny, Peterson & Dancers encompasses it all. A venue for new talent and mixed abilities that is unique to this area. Always refreshing and inspirational.” –Lisa Cantu, audience member
“Terrific!!! Very well put together, lots of talent, Bravo!” –Enrique Mesri
“One of the things I really enjoyed about the performance I saw was the diversity presented. I found it very interesting to watch such a variety of styles, from creative young girls to seasoned dancers. Each of the dances has a way of communication that was uniquely different from the others. It made me realize how personal dancers make their movements. It was a thoroughly enjoyable program!” –Diane De Vries Ashley Managing Director / Partner Zenith Capital Partners
“Inspirational, moving, encouraging” – Jill Brondolo
“Peterson's work has emotional intelligence and touches places in your heart that only a true artist can go” –Mary C.Kane, New York City
Response from Parents
“Excellent program. Word needs to get out to the benefit of highly skilled, dance teachers providing the great benefits of movement, music and creativity to kids with special needs.” –Libby Navarrete
“Gabi was extremely happy. She was working as part of a team. Her confidence has improved greatly.” –Antoinette Bednarczyk
“Please continue to empower my son; your program is a class “A” service to children and young adults with disabilities. Danny has better coordination and the most beautiful outcome of his achievement in your program is that he now dances at all parties!! I was recently at a party with Danny and he asked every lady at our table to dance with him. Thank you so much!” –Janet Belltaylor
“Your classes are a great opportunity for children without Medicaid, to take advantage of the quality of therapy dancing provides. The teachers are so professional.” –Sandra Garcell
“I truly believe that the dance classes are helping Gabby to maximize her abilities. For example, it relaxes the muscles enabling her to move more smoothly while performing functional activities, including standing, walking, playing (skipping, hopping, running).” –Marguerite Alvarez, R.P.T.
“This is a wonderful program. Gabi has improved socially, emotionally, and physically.”–Rose Marie Chang (nurse)
“Emilee’s muscle tone seemed to improve – she gained some weight and increased her stamina. I also noticed a change in her classmates. I was so amazed to see her autistic classmates interacting with teachers, students and even other parents!” –Lori German
“All activities were rewarding for parents and children.” –Maria C. Hoffman
Response from Miami-Dade Teachers
“I hope we could do it next year too.” –Sara Ogliastri, Nautilus Middle School
“This program gave the students a new and wonderful way to express themselves while reinforcing functional skills.”
–Natalie Sanz, North Miami Beach Senior
“The students loved her and the program.” –Brownsville Middle School
“These students demonstrate improvement in motor skills as well as social skills. They learned to work cooperatively and enjoy themselves while engaged in the dance activities." –Isabel Arias, Farah Arab, Vivian De Armas, Lourdes Duckardt Hialeah Miami Lakes Senior
“What a great experience this was. The students looked forward to participating.” –Gail Williams, Booker T. Washington Senior
“I think the impact of this dance will stay with the children for a very long time.” –Francine Miller, Brownsville Middle School
“My students felt that they were part of something extraordinary. This program has boosted their self-esteem and taught them valuable social skills.”
–Maria Bermudez Country Club Middle School
"WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING..."
"Perfume de Gardenias' features a wheel chaired dancer, all innovative and accessible"
-–The Scottish Newspaper Daily Dance Reviews
"... an engaging blend of synchronicity and spontaneity"
–The Miami Herald
“Mano a Mano is a tour de force, offering a more a more exquisite and inquisitive look at mixed ability dance”….. “innovative and meaningful”
–Mia Leonin, Performance Journalism
"Karen Peterson and Dancers is redefining dance"
–Joanne Green, Miami New Times
"this is a most interesting dance company and one that should attract attention of dance lovers; in the future buy a ticket"
–Marj O'Neil Butler, Miami ArtZine Magazine
"Buoyant Dreams was beautiful. It brought the concert up to a new level. Please tell your dancers how much they were admired"
–Anna Preston, VSA Regional Coordinator for the Lyric Theatre, Stuart, Florida
"unconventional concepts of beauty, using two traditional dancers and two in wheelchairs with recorded video"
–Jordan Levin, The Miami Herald
"daring artistic challenge to society's notions of physical form and graceful movement"
–ENZ Magazine
"Ms. Peterson has consistently performed outstanding work locally, statewide and nationally and made vital contributions to the field of accessibility to the cultural arts"
–Marion Winters, Executive Director, VSA Florida
Carlos Ochoa, Tom Olsen, Danielle Peloquin