This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Photo courtesy of Frank Ishman
Morgan Clune (Dance, 2018) has been surrounded by dance since a young age. Growing up in Chicago she recalls attending shows of professional companies – like Hubbard Street Dance – and expressing to her parents her interest in dancing professionally. Her ever-supportive parents held Morgan’s dreams close and together they found The Academy where Morgan enrolled as a sophomore.
Post graduation, Morgan’s passion for dance took her to the world-renowned Juilliard School in New York City where she was one of 12 students selected for their dance program. Morgan’s path recently came full circle: she moved back to Chicago in the summer of 2022 and is now a company member of Hubbard Street Dance (where she reunited with Randy Duncan for his world premiere, Love Infinite).
Read more about The Academy’s Morgan Clune and her upcoming performance below.
Tell us about your time here at The Academy.
It’s so nostalgic. I am right back in it. My time here was so special and before coming here – I grew up dancing and in competitive dance – you know, being in middle school you don't really think about what you want to do for a living. I never questioned it and I'm so grateful to have parents that never really questioned either. I think it was eighth grade or freshman year when we kind of paused and my parents and I were like – what are the steps to do what I want to do? I knew I wanted to do dance for a living and I really didn’t know what that looked like. I started to see more professional dance companies, like Hubbard and ones from out of the country and state and thought to myself “Wow, you can do that for a living?”. I didn’t know how it worked and, honestly, I am just now figuring it out. Once I knew that that was a potential, we found The Academy and my parents really pushed me toward changing from public schooling to go to an arts high school.
I transferred sophomore year from Barrington High School and I would take the train in with another Dance student and two Musical Theatre students that were a year older, so they already knew the flow of things. I was a little scared at first because I love academics so much, but here my brain expanded so much… I don’t even know how to explain it. I didn’t know what it would look like being in a school that is so focused on your craft. I knew that I loved dance and I wanted to do it hours on end, but trying to find the balance [with academics] was important to my parents too. I couldn't have asked for anything more. I learned so much and was so inspired through my morning classes that by the time it was time for dance class, I felt inspired and could turn on a different side of my brain to do a different kind of work. It wasn’t brain off and dance clothes on, it was a full experience. That’s something you can’t really get in a lot of places.
Do you think The Academy prepared you well for Juilliard? What was that transition period like?
I would definitely say it prepared me. Going in I was one of the only students coming from an arts school, but I could see a difference in how I felt confidence-wise compared to other students. Similar to how I felt stepping into this environment when I was 16 versus stepping into New York City when you’re 18. I had already been in a city, I had already acclimated to being around artists all the time, and I had already been challenged to think in a different lens about my work. It was still a transition and it was still overwhelming, of course. It was a big change, you know, dancing all day, but I definitely felt a bit ahead of other classmates in a way that I just felt more grounded in myself and handling the workload. It’s crazy the skills we got in high school – how to manage your time, your workload, how to commute – things that you may not even realize you’re learning.
Tell us about how it was working with Randy again at Hubbard Street.
It was really great. I mean, it’s just hard to explain. I could not have planned that or asked for that. Four years ago at this time, if someone told me that I would have been working with Randy Duncan at Hubbard Street I’d be like… no, there’s no way! He is a dance icon in Chicago and Hubbard Street is known for being an iconic Chicago company, and having them together is special in and of itself. It all just came right back to me. He came in and was teaching before we started learning all the choreography, and I was out there demonstrating all the combos – it was just muscle memory. His spirit in the room is really warm; everyone just enjoyed working with him so much. His dance also brought me closer with the company members and to be able to share his piece with the other dancers, because his work is really comfortable to me. Not to mention, being back at the Harris where I had performed Randy’s work in high school; it seriously was a full circle moment and a dream come true.
What are you working on right now?
Hubbard Street has a show once a year called Inside/Out, which is a production run by all of the dancers where you can switch roles and play any part of producing a show. If you’re interested in choreographing it, you can choreograph. If you’re interested in marketing, you can be a part of the marketing team. What I’m doing is the budgeting side of it and dealing with the money. I decided to challenge myself. I did something similar to this work where you had to produce a show at Juilliard so I learned a bit about that, but this is real life!
We know you have an interest in choreographing in general. Tell us about the difference between being a dancer and being a choreographer.
I’ve always been a dancer first. My time at Juilliard gave me a lot of focused time on composition and opportunities to create, and honestly, it surprised me. I really fell in love with it because it's really cool to see yourself in other people – in your mannerisms or what you’re interested in exploring or saying through movement translated in a group of people is just incredibly interesting. I’ve always thought “I’ll dance now and choreograph when my body can’t dance anymore” but I was really pushed by my mentors to just do everything. Like why wait? It teaches me a lot and I love to direct and to teach and to lead a room. It’s so interesting to see my influences growing up in how I teach and how I lead. I’d love to have something of my own someday, too, that can create something and get people together.
What did you enjoy most about your time at The Academy and what do you think you will never forget?
The community and the sense of family that there is here. It’s hard to explain but it’s unlike anywhere else; you feel supported, yet challenged, and really seen for who you are and your potential. Everyone here just wants to get you there and give you what they have to offer to see where you can take it. There’s so many things that I’ve learned that I take with me, but the people here are definitely the best part. It really makes your time worth it. I have so many amazing influences from this place that I’m still in contact with and that I still feel with me, and I know that I’ll have that for the rest of my life.
Photo courtesy of Frank Ishman
I’ve heard horror stories about people who just despised high school and I always laugh because I get to think: “I’m on my way there today and I literally can’t wait!” I get really lucky to feel like that and I know it’s not like that everywhere, so I really try not to take that for granted. It helped that I was in public school growing up, but it’s just so different here. You feel so comfortable, and it is really important to be comfortable in this time in your life, especially when you’re really honing in on a craft and discovering what you want to do. These years are so important, so having a place to support you like The Academy is just beyond special.
What is one piece of advice you’d give to a Dance student?
Something important to keep in mind is that those teaching you and those leading you right now really do know what they’re saying and they’ve been there. We get in our own bubbles sometimes, but everything is here for a reason, so respect all of the guidance you’re given and really observe and listen to the people here at The Academy. Once you graduate, there are not many places like it. Savor the environment you’re in and soak up everything you can get – from the teachers, from the students, from the staff. Everyone has something to offer here, and if I were to do it again, I would just be even more observant. Time moves so fast, and it’s hard to remember to zoom out and see who is around you. Trust who is leading you and that they know what they’re saying; really observe and soak in all of those around you.
Anything else you want to add?
This place rocks. I’m so grateful.
Morgan’s upcoming piece with Hubbard Street Dance, Inside/Out, takes place on Thursday, December 1 at 6:00 p.m. and Friday, December 2 at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets will be available soon. For more information, visit our friends’ at www.hubbardstreetdance.com.
Photo courtesy of Frank Ishman