Marda Kirn Oral History, 2005-2006

Marda Kirn recounts her early life in Connecticut where she started ballet class with Olga Terrasova. She stopped dancing in college but later took a ballet class with Larry Boyette and decided that she must be in dance. Kirn was not a performer, so she taught dance at the Community Free School in Boulder, Colorado where her interest in dance films, workshops, and presentation began. Kirn talks about her avid interest in dance presentation and how it expanded over the years. She became the dance program coordinator at the Community Free School where she developed her expertise. She wanted to create dance festivals so that not only known dance troupes and performers could perform, teach and compete, but where new talent in dance and choreography could be introduced. With help from Bob Shannon and others she received funds to mount several small film festivals including the Boulder Dance Festival. She was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, which was the foundation for the annual Colorado Dance Festival. Kirn talks about traveling to New York City where she visited several dance theaters, workshops and producers. She viewed dance films, which gave her insight into performers as well as dance troupes that she wanted to recruit to participate in the Colorado Dance Festival. The first annual Colorado Dance Festival was held in 1982. The festival expanded over the years and became its own organization. Kirn was a driving force in putting together tap dance shows. Kirn speaks briefly about her current involvement in EcoArts. She explains that EcoArts is not a festival but that is what people call it. It is an event where arts and dance are used to stir the emotions about climate change and the environment, to bring more awareness and motivation for people to get involved.