Mission, Vision, & Values
MANX Mission
MANX, short for Movement Arts Nature Exchange, is a dance/opera fusion company integrating opera and dance through embodied research, healthy technique, and artist-centered processes. Led by Artistic Director Melanie Holm, MANX produces and collaborates on dance/opera fusion performances and leads Movement/Singing workshops and residencies.
At its core, MANX is about embodied experimentation, and creating humane spaces where opera and dance are integrated through curiosity, sustainable technique, and fearless exploration. Through interdisciplinary performances and educational outreach, MANX challenges stereotypes about what it means to be a dancer or opera singer, and helps artists cultivate and develop greater confidence in their bodies and voices.
MANX Vision
A founding principle of MANX is that harnessing the body’s full capacity for movement is inherently possible for performers of all shapes and sizes, and that there is power in artists learning how to use their voices. MANX’s work crafts spaces where dance and singing are for anyone and anybody.
MANX Values
Integrity. Creativity. Connection. Sustainability.
Integrity: MANX creates art without creating traumatic situations for its people. MANX is committed to compensating people for their time. MANX is committed to combatting the systemic patterns of abuse and harassment that have defined the dance and opera industries, and enforcing kind and respectful behavior from the top down.
Creativity: MANX is committed to investing in its collaborators as people first, and in giving people at every step of the process room to develop and contribute to MANX projects in creative and innovative ways. Through this integrated approach to art making and administrative support, MANX shatters long held industry stereotypes about what it means to be a working artist.
Connection: MANX believes we are stronger together than alone, and believes in the power of collaboration to lift up people with a diverse array of experiences and perspectives in affirming and empowering ways.
Sustainability: MANX operates within a sustainability forward lens. This means: 1) Producing art with minimal props/sets/costumes, and using secondhand/reclaimed materials when possible, 2) Managing creative projects with realistic timelines, hours, and budgets, & 3) Investing in quality over quantity.