Dancer Seah Hagan Comes Home to Palm Beach with 'MOMIX Alice'

Seah Hagan, Florida native and dance captain with MOMIX, will be performing MOMIX Alice at Dreyfoos Hall at the Kravis Center in Palm Beach on Wednesday, March 20 at 8 p.m.

The show Alice is created by MOMIX founder and artistic director Moses Pendleton and is inspired by Lewis Carroll’s classic, Alice in Wonderland.

The show, in true MOMIX Dance Company fashion, is said to seamlessly blend illusion, acrobatics, magic and whimsy, leaving the audience “amazed,” says Hagan. “We get incredible audience feedback.”

Hagan says that sometimes they have a Q&A after the show, or they see people at a restaurant or in passing and they all comment on the MOMIX aesthetic, Wonderland, and what the dance company brings to the stage. “Everybody has a favorite part of the show,” says Hagan.

Hagan has been with MOMIX for six years now and has been dancing since she was 4 years old. Born and raised in Tallahassee, Hagan is a third-generation dancer and started her career being classically trained in ballet. She began at the Southern Academy of Ballet under the tutelage of Natalia Botha and Charles Hagan. She was also an advanced company member with the Pas de Vie Ballet and performed many classical and contemporary soloist and principal roles.

At 18 years old, she flew to New York and auditioned for world-renowned dance company MOMIX. She got the job shortly after her 18th birthday. She has since toured across the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Asia, performing in two other original shows, Viva MOMIX and Opus Cactus.

“We’re very lucky to have such a broad audience across the globe. Our tour schedule is very extensive and we get to travel and bring the show to so many wonderful theaters.” says Hagan, adding that she feels honored to be a part of MOMIX and work under the direction of Moses and Associate Director Cynthia Quinn.

Hagan says that working for this particular dance company is unique because of Moses’ vision that challenges the dancers as well as the audience to open their minds and hearts.

“He allows us to explore a type of expression within the physicality of dancing and the use of props, but also within the technical elements of lighting, projection and fantastic music,” explains Hagan, continuing to entail how he challenges the audience as well through his story to find what they are personally looking for in these shows. Hagan adds that MOMIX involves a lot of illusion that provides the audience something to search for and encourages them to be immersed in a world that’s sometimes “a bit confusing visually, in a good way.”

Hagan explained that she was one of the original cast members in the creation of Alice and that the dancers were given a collaborative role in the process. “Moses provided the dancers a lot of freedom to play with the work and create what felt natural and what came to them,” recalls Hagan. “And then with his fine-tuning and vision, he compiled the production into a story.”

Hagan says that she is really looking forward to the show and coming home.

“I’m a Florida girl, that’s my home,” says Hagan who added that while on tour she is also going to the University of Florida online to obtain a Business Management degree.

Hagan says that her hopes for MOMIX Alice is that her audience comes in with an open mind and an open eye, ready to be amazed and become immersed in the show. She encourages attendees to laugh when they want to laugh and feel curious or scared if that is how the story makes them feel. She wants her audience to allow their imaginations to run wild and adds that Alice is a show for all ages.

“Fantastic is a great word for this show, because it is truly that,” expresses Hagan, who says that Alice is the perfect show for the fast-paced society we live in right now since the story allows the audience to escape but also process whatever they are going through personally through Alice’s adventure.

“You can just sit and become immersed in this world we have created that doesn’t have anything to do with anything going on outside,” says Hagan. “It’s truly magic and I think a lot of people come into this show as an adult and leave as a child again in a way where things are a little bit more carefree.”

Hagan concludes with some advice for aspiring dancers and artists out there.

She says, “Don’t be afraid to show who you are as a dancer; your artistry is what is going to make you stand out, express that.”

To purchase tickets for MOMIX Alice at the Kravis Center’s Dreyfoos Hall on Wednesday, March 20 at 8 p.m., visit kravis.org/events/momix-alice or call the box office at 561-832-7469. The Kravis Center for Performing Arts is located at 701 Okeechobee Boulevard, West Palm Beach. For more information about MOMIX, visit momix.com.

-PARTNER CONTENT