COMPANY HISTORY

Treehouse Shakers, Inc., a non-profit dance and theater company, was co-founded in 1997 by Mara McEwin and Emily Bunning. Treehouse Shakers has created and performed 20 original dance-plays for young audiences and adults in many established performance venues, including theaters, festivals and schools across the nation. The company was awarded a Creatives Rebuild New York, a Project of the Tides Foundation Award for their expansion of their LGBTQIA+ programming. We were also awarded a commission from Performing Arts Center at SUNY Purchase under the leadership of Executive Director, Seth Soloway, for the production of The Boy Who Grew Flowers. We have received the CUNY Dance Initiative, Flushing Town Hall 2015-2020 Space Grant, selected artists for the New York State Presenters Network Roster, and were chosen to participate in the prestigious BAM Professional Development Program in association with the DeVos Institute of Arts Management for the 2014-2015 cycle. Treehouse Shakers created and performed the dance programming for the Television show, Alex & The Kaleidoscope, which won an Emmy. In partnership with UOutlook and Star America Preschools, we have led drama camps in Shanghai and Beijing, China and surrounding provinces. We also have awarded services to serve LGBTQIA+ youth, with our programming, Branching OUT.

Currently, Treehouse Shakers has several original performances for young audiences on a rotating tour across the nation including: Let’s Talk About IT!, a piece for teens. Let’s Talk About IT! incorporates the vocabulary of dance, world folklore, real-life stories, and video interviews of everyday teens. Hatched, for the youngest viewers ages 0-6, is about baby animals and their life on the farm. Our newest piece is the dance-mystery, Under the Tangle, about an orphaned young girl who becomes trapped in an enchanted labyrinth, for ages 8 and up. Olive & Pearl is our newest piece for the very young, ages 2-5, follows the story of a young girl Olive and her grandmother. The Boy Who Grew Flowers, based on the book of the same name, is about diversity, empathy and celebrating individualism. Our new show for babies, Flutter, is for ages 6-18 months.  The Deepest Breath, for ages 9-13, premiered March 2023, alongside The Littlest Cove, for ages 3-6, an immersive experience for the very young. Sail Away, a discovery play for toddlers, 18-24 months, premiered May 2024. Pillow Fort, is our 9 part web-series for ages 3-7, and Dance Break, an interactive dance series specific for classrooms.

Since 2004 Treehouse Shakers has dedicated itself in providing free and low-income tickets and residencies to underserved, low-income and differently abled communities. We offer Title One schools tickets to the performances, and have created strong relationships with organizations across NYC to reach these disadvantaged communities. Many of the students we serve not only live in poverty, they have never left their NYC neighborhood or experienced a live professional performance in a city that prides itself on being a cultural capital. Treehouse Shakers also offers Relaxed Performances in our New York City Seasons. These performances are part of our commitment to making our work accessible to all. Relaxed Performances are designed to welcome audience members who will benefit from a less restrictive audience environment, including (but not limited to) those with sensory processing conditions, Autism, and learning or intellectual disabilities. Everyone is invited to these performances. Children with the tools of imagination are more likely to imagine themselves into a better set of circumstances as adults.