Cohesion Dance Project presents Recollections, an evening-length performance by 2026 Spring Artist-in-Residence Nina Murphy.
Murphy’s residency explores repetition, pattern, and recurrence, drawing inspiration from nature, daily life, and her own choreographic process. Influenced by philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, the work considers repetition and recollection as the same movement in opposite directions – repetition as a repeating lived experience in the present, and recollection as a return to what has already occurred.
Recollections challenges the notion of repetition as monotonous, instead revealing it as a source of renewal rather than duplication. As time shapes each moment, repeated actions evolve – gaining new meaning, depth, and possibility. The performance features a varied cast of community and professional dancers from Cohesion and the broader Helena community.
A Helena native, Murphy spent the past four years in the United Kingdom, where she earned her MFA from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. She received her BFA from the University of Wyoming and began her dance training at Helena’s Creative Arts Center. She has been a guest instructor for Cohesion summer intensives and was most recently featured as the Rat Queen in Cohesion’s 2025 rendition of Shira Greenberg’s Nutcracker on the Rocks.
Cohesion’s Spring Artist Residency Program supports contemporary dance artists in the creative development of new work, from concept to stage, while fostering meaningful connections with audiences through classes, outreach, and community engagement. Beyond the stage, the residency program extends into the community through movement-based outreach with local schools – expanding opportunities for students to engage with and learn from professional dance artists. The residency program is supported in part by the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation and the Montana Arts Council.
