History of the Guild Dancers 

“And everything comes to One.

As we dance on, and on, and on...

-Theodore Roethke-

The Guild was born in January, 1981.  “Modern Dance” was not exactly a household phrase.  Martha Lane Browne, a native of Fitchburg, had been teaching and choreographing on the East Coast, West Coast, and Deep South.  Settled in Lunenburg, and the mother of a newborn, she wished to limit her teaching to a class or two each week.  Her husband, Dr. Fred Browne, renovated a former church space in Lunenburg center.  In hopeful anticipation of just a handful of dancers, “the stage was set.”  Amazingly, thirty-nine students materialized.  By spring, these co-eds of all ages were eager to share their newfound passion with family and friends.  This first “performance” was humble indeed: the space’s occupancy limit was 126; the stage was a tiny platform of rough plywood; mice and mosquitoes far outnumbered the audience…

         During the next four years, The Guild was a gypsy – moving from space to space, and collecting dancers, volunteers, and audiences from many surrounding schools and communities.  Determined to keep a sense of “family,” The Guild decided to limit its company to about seventy-five students.  By the mid-eighties, The Guild was producing three annual performances at the Lunenburg High School Auditorium, and, committed to community outreach, began offering free assemblies throughout the Lunenburg school system.

         In the fall of 1988, The Guild realized two dreams: non-profit status and a home.  Becoming non-profit formally established The Guild’s dedication to its art.  “Home” was a barn, complete with horse, goat, and chickens.  Through the love, sweat, and tears of Dr. Browne and a plethora of community volunteers, “The Barn” (as the students always called it) was transformed into a world of wood, light, and inspiration.  In 1991, Dr. Browne died, but with the enormous support of The Guild family,  his legacy continued.  In 1996, Mrs. Browne married Curt Ahokas, a local artist.  Together they lovingly shared directing, teaching, and choreographing until The Guild danced its final performance in 2009.

         For 29 years, The Guild dedicated itself to the technical and creative growth of its dancers, to performances of professional excellence, and to art in the community.  The vision of The Guild was, and is, that of spirit-sharing – soul to soul – through the art of dance.  More broadly, we embrace the power of all art to enlighten, to impassion, and to connect us as One.