Nonce Dance Ensemble ("Dance Nonce") is a non-profit 501(C)(3) dance company whose mission is to create art through dance, nurture Company members as dancers, choreographers and teachers of dance, and develop as wide an audience as possible for dance through performances and teaching.

Founded in 1973 and based in Detroit, Dance Nonce has pursued its mission throughout Southeast Michigan under the leadership of Artistic Director Denise Szykula. Ms. Szykula, whose choreographic approach is distinguished by a unique "traveling" technique, studied with Martha Graham, Jose Limon and Merce Cunningham. In addition to being the only Michigan choreographer notated by the Dance Labanotation Bureau of New York, Ms. Szykula has been the recipient of numerous grants, awards and commissions, including an Arts Foundation of Michigan Excellence in Arts Award, and Commissions from the Smithsonian Institute, the American Archives and Meadowbrook Art Gallery.

Dance Nonce is guided by a Board of Directors who bring legal, financial and marketing resources to the Company's efforts. The Company has a permanent teaching and rehearsal space at St. Columba Church in Detroit where it rehearses, creates new works and offers workshops on creative movement, theme development and teaching techniques. The Company also enjoys long-standing collaborative relationships with Michigan composers, set designers, visual artists, costumers, and lighting and sound engineers, who assist in the realization of the Company's performances.

Dance Nonce consistently presents performances and lecture demonstrations throughout Southeastern Michigan. Annual Concerts of new works have been presented since 1994 at the Millennium Theatre in Southfield, Michigan. The Company has been in residence at Ball State University in Munci, Indiana, has appeared as a featured Company in the PBS Front Row Center Series and presented concerts at Wayne State University in Detroit, the Michigan Association of health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and Ann Arbor's Performance Network "Spring Dances" and "Autumn Dances" series. In addition, Dance Nonce has recently embarked on a unique program of "stealth dances" in which the Company presents specifically choreographed dances in public venues, such as Detroit's Hart Plaza, shopping malls, office buildings and other venues.

Ensuring the future development of audiences for dance as an art form is a significant aspect of the Company's mission. The Company's teaching, education and outreach programs are considered essential tools for reaching younger audiences and teaching youth the value of the arts in their lives. Ms. Szykula's thirty-year personal history of bringing dance education to schools in Southeastern Michigan through artist-in-residency programs and regular teaching positions has been aimed at heightening the appreciation of young audiences for dance, thereby enhancing the local environment for dance and the arts.

Dance Nonce's most ambitious project to date is the projected mounting of a fully realized production of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana. Although portions of Carmina are familiar to the general population, they are usually presented out of context with no attempt to link the listener to the whole. At a time when classical music is reduced to disembodied themes peddled on late night television in a "greatest hits" format, it is more important than ever that audiences be engaged by the whole of a composer's vision. Denise Szykula has now conceived a choreographic rendering of Carl Orff's masterpiece which illuminates through movement the timeless yet timely themes of Carmina. We invite you to participate in bringing Carmina to the public, which deserves to hear and see this powerful reminder of the beauty that can - and should - grace our lives.