N: Can you tell us about the work you do with ECI on Location? E: Boston Ballet has a really fantastic community initiatives department, and ECI on Location is one of a few programs that they run (in addition to Citydance, Adaptive Dance, community workshops, etc.). We send teaching teams out weekly for the entire school year to 11 community sites in all different Boston neighborhoods, including after-school programs, community centers, and Boys & Girls Clubs. The goal is to make high quality dance education accessible across the city for children who are interested, and using it as a youth development opportunity as well - we balance beginner ballet technique with creative movement and composition, so it's a little bit of everything. I'm lead teaching at 3 sites currently, and it is a constant learning curve as an educator in adapting to different student needs and interests, different spaces, and different goals within the curriculum. I have some amazing students this year that make every single class an adventure, and this year we also have a performance opportunity so getting to make pieces with them has been a really cool process. I come from a strong contemporary, improvisational, and Laban choreological background myself, so finding ways to incorporate those elements and give students those creative tools has been a fun challenge for me as well! My goal is really to get my kids excited about dance, break some assumptions they might have about it, and to show them that building technique and strength is really just to give you more choices and options to express yourself! N: This fall you did an At Home Movement Practice + Journalism Project. Can you tell us a little about what you did and what you felt you got out of it at the end? E: Yes! I was actually a journalism major in college, and have always gravitated towards using text and writing in my choreographic process. I was struggling a bit this fall with an extra-busy teaching/work schedule and wasn't feeling very fulfilled in my own artistic dance practice. I was pretty religiously reading the New York Times and a few other outlets every day though, and had noticed such an uptick in the number of articles and topics I really felt compelled to read and understand (I think a lot of us probably felt that way in this insane past year or so!). So I came up with the idea to just take a few excerpts from what I read each day and to make a short movement response, either improvised or set, based on the words and images. It was a cool way to combine my interests and respond to all the intense things I was reading within my artform; to look at the language being used to capture our world in a slightly more removed way; and to dance a little every day in an attainable way and from a clear inspiration point. I'm actually using this idea to create my NACHMO piece as well! It seemed like an awesome fit for the whole concept of making-a-piece-in-one-month. I'm still in the movement generation portion of the process, and will be figuring out how best to weave things together/analyzing what kind of themes emerge (or none! it may end up being more a chain of vignettes). N: What are you most excited about for this year’s National Choreography Month?
E: This will be my first solo performance since 2014! So I'm pretty excited to take the plunge of being onstage by myself within my own work. It's such a different process than choreographing with other movers, and I'm definitely a little nervous but also looking forward to the experience. There are also a bunch of artists in the NACHMO lineup whose work I haven't seen before, so I'm really excited to check out their pieces and see what's going on in the Boston scene! N: Who are some of your favorite choreographers? E: My current list is all choreographers whose work I've actually gotten to see live in the last couple years, so am still just geeking out about. Hofesh Shechter (Hofesh Shechter Company), Andrea Miller (Gallim Dance), Pina Bausch (Tanztheater Wuppertal), Crystal Pite (Kidd Pivot), and Michael Keegan Dolan (Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre). They all combine crazy, beautiful, pure physicality with theatricality and narrative in such an incredible way, and all these performances felt like full on emotional experiences.
0 Comments
Want to be part of National Choreography Month? Take the #MonkeyhouseNACHMOChallege. Every day we will be posting a new prompt on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Follow along on social media to get the prompts and see some incredible dances! Share your own videos (no previous choreographic experience required!) using the #MonkeyhouseNACHMOChallenge hashtag in order to be featured! Finally, don't miss the NACHMO Boston Concerts at the Dance Complex on Friday, February 9th and Saturday, February 10th!
In addition to our own show, we participated in several festivals and performances. One of them was the Southern Vermont Dance Festival, which was our first performance opportunity outside of Massachusetts. We were proud to be featured in their Friday night gala and their Social Justice Walk. Finally, last year we formed a partnership with the Big Sisters Association! We are now in the middle of our second workshop series. These workshops invite girls, ages 9-13, to explore movement themes like positive body image and strong female friendships with the support of their Big Sisters. We are now a company of thirteen talented, powerful ladies, and we cannot wait to see what happens next! N: The story of where you got your name is pretty amazing. Can you share it? G: Of course! In 2012, Natalie Schiera and Gracie Novikoff were alumni choreographers for Dance Theatre Group at Boston University. They were lucky to create works with inspiring, empowered women, who weren’t afraid to convey stories through athletic, raw, grounded movement. After graduating, they wanted to bring this movement quality and message to the Boston dance community by creating their own company, but without what to name it. They researched synonyms for “empowered” or “strong” woman, but they found many had a negative connotation. One that stood out was Amazonian, which they decided to quite literally “flip the term on its head” - with that, ‘Nozama’ was born. N: It is very clear in reading about your company that powerful women are important to you. How have events in the last year like the Women’s March and #metoo impacted the work you make? G: The political climate of 2017 refined and redefined our message as a company. We have always been a collective of women, about women, who aim to create a safe space for women to share their stories. In 2017, this became even more important as our liberties as women felt threatened. At the same time, we were beyond excited and empowered by the Women’s March, the #metoo campaign, and other initiatives where female voices were heard. This is the time to stand up and speak out, and confidently share those raw and powerful stories that make us vulnerable, but strengthen and empower us in the process. In 2017, our choreography shifted to highlight our reaction to what was happening in the world around us. In particular, our piece “Bodies and Choices” (2017), represented female empowerment in this tumultuous time. Our dances in this 2018 season will continue to portray empowered, emotional, badass women who are coming into their own and ready to speak out in a time where others may not want us to. Our pieces will include a great deal of partnering, as we believe now, more than ever, women must empower one another in times of struggle, and celebrate one another in times of triumph. We are stronger and more powerful as a collective.
N: What advice do you have for emerging choreographers?
G: Experiment! Don’t be afraid to say whatever it is you want to say through dance - more likely than not, someone else is feeling the same way, but cannot figure out how to express it. If you have a concept in mind, try coming up with short phrases that convey the theme. Or try throwing on some music that evokes that specific emotion and see how your body moves to it. More often than not, our dances begin with a rough concept and a piece of music that we love. The music inspires the movement and often influences and refines the concept. We also always recommend that emerging choreographers find a mentor or established choreographer in the area to help get his or her feet off the ground. It is inspiring to work alongside other artists, and we have been so lucky to create some wonderful projects with other companies and choreographers in the area
Finally, don't miss the NACHMO Boston Concerts at the Dance Complex on Friday, February 9th and Saturday, February 10th! You can catch Kristin's performance on Saturday! N: You put together the incredible Tiny and Short concerts at the Dance Complex. How did you get involved with that? What is a piece you saw there that really impacted you? K: As a Project Lead at The Dance Complex, I regularly have the opportunity to coordinate a number of interesting creative programs on behalf of the organization. Tiny & Short in particular was the brain child of myself and Executive Artistic Director, Peter DiMuro. When meeting about another program, Peter looked at the calendar and said he didn't like how empty February was looking. I made a joke that I would plan him a show... and then that joke became a reality. I noted that I wanted to do a concert of all short pieces, and he noted that he wanted to bring Ten Tiny Dances back to The Dance Complex: thus, Tiny & Short was born, and after its success in February, The Dance Complex decided to produce it again this past fall. I really appreciated that in this second production, people really embraced the spirit of the show. In particular, I loved the piece that Rebecca McGowan presented in collaboration with Veronica Barron and Julia Friend. All of the Tiny dances were restricted to a 4X4ft platform stage, but these artists took the constraints a step further and squeezed an entire set design on the stage, complete with live music and an additional platform on which Rebecca performed beautiful Irish step dancing. They also lit their own piece, playing with different types of lights and shadows to produce a truly beautiful performance.
N: What changes in your process to build a piece in such a short time span (one month)? How long do you usually take to create work? K: I think the number one thing that the time constraint changes about my process is that it removes the ability to censor myself. I feel like most of the work I have made, whether at studios, in college, or professionally, takes FOREVER to create because I am constantly changing my mind, throwing ideas away, or second guessing my artistic intuition. The first time that I participated in NACHMO, I didn't end up building a piece at all. I felt so paralyzed with anxiety over the limited time to create, that every time I was in the studio, I threw out the entire piece I had created the rehearsal previously. I ended up improvising for the performance, and felt that I had totally wasted the opportunity. I pushed myself to participate again the following year, and was able to create a piece, but I was working off of an old framework so I felt like I was breaking the rules. This year, with Tony's help, I have decided to let go of all the self-judgment, and just go with impulse. I have found it to be very freeing, and honestly, what Tony and I created in one rehearsal is already far more interesting to me than many of the pieces I have created over months and months of rehearsal.
N: Can you tell us about ...that’s what she said?
K: ...that's what she said is a dance theater production and social media project dedicated to providing a platform for women to share their stories. The performance itself features 9 local female choreographers in various stages of their careers who are all making work that speaks to the female experience. The social media project is related, in that it shares stories and images of women in an effort to bring to center stage a picture of life from the female perspective. I started thinking about and planning ...that's what she said about a year ago. I had been thinking of all the shared concerts I have been a part of, and how often times, you come in, perform, and don't really talk to any of the other performers. I just thought it was so unfortunate that so many of these showcases don't directly support and facilitate connection amongst the performers. I wanted to create a show that would build a community, and because of my personal interests and passions, I specifically wanted to create a show that would build a community of women. My favorite piece of my own choreography is Pillow Talk, which I created in 2014. The dancers whispered throughout the entire performance, and a great deal of feedback I received was in response to this whispering: what were they saying? why couldn't we hear them? And so when thinking about my show, I realized that the best way to build community while intriguing audience and inspiring discussion was to incorporate story telling into the theme of the production. We recently launched an IndieGoGo campaign to cover all production costs for the show, and I am proud to say that we managed to raise 100% of our goal in under two weeks. I am in the process of setting a stretch goal of $5000, so that we can provide choreography stipends that more accurately reflect the worth of the work being created. I am also in the process of gathering more stories from women of all backgrounds for my social media campaign. Ideally, it would be great to have enough participants that I could create a corresponding movement piece which would feature a diverse cast of dozens of women... but we'll see! Anyone interested in participating can email me at kristincooperwagner@gmail.com for more information. Additionally, if anyone is interested in following the project or learning more, please follow us on Facebook and Instagram (@followwhatshesaid), check out our IndieGoGo, or visit our website! AC: What first drew you to dance? What was your path to becoming a professional dancer?
SK: My mum is a dance teacher, and I always followed her in her class when I was young. I really started dance when I met Hip Hop culture in Paris. The music, the movements the style and energy inspired me from the beginning. AC: How did you and Hind begin working together? SK: Hind invited me to participate in the creative project Identity and we started to work from 22000km apart. I'm living in New Caledonia, so we started to create the collaboration by internet relations and work in different ways. Personally, I've created with my own company another work linked to calligraphy (what i was already working on) and this was my way to participate and add my brick to the wall. Then I invited Hind to New Caledonia and kept working and exchanging together. We kept the link and talking by Skype almost everyday and intensive working and documents sharing and writing. AC: Have you encountered resistance to your work? SK: The distance was my most important resistance/difficulty during this process...and the short time I had for the creative process due to my other company schedule and projects already. AC: How has your attitude toward dance and performance changed over time? SK: I was very anxious about my first work in Morocco. Representing my culture was a pleasure but at the same time brought back to me memories and struggle that I had had in the past, like [the idea that] dance is not a job. In our culture it is important to have a "real job". So [my attitude] slowly changed by accepting my own culture inside this way. Creating this work with Hind and Mohcine as my friends and family more than just random artists. This piece is a real part me, of my struggle, of my memory, my village in casablanca and all the ceremonies and weddings, all the music songs and songs that I've been hearing during all my childhood. I'm now fully accepting all this past as a present and as my present lifetime dancing and performing this piece and dancing with my heart, giving all who I am. AC: Have you found your style or process influenced by those you work with? SK: Yes, I am always influenced by the person who I'm collaborating with. As artists we are working with our souls and heart. We are sharing pieces of cultures, arts, way of thinking, living. So I feel like I've taken a small part from every artists I have collaborated with, every culture, every art form, universe. AC: As primarily solo artists, what kinds of challenges do you face in creating and performing? Do you find that collaborative work erases some of those challenges, or provide new ones? SK: I think solo is a really difficult way to work and to process because you are deeply facing yourself and this is the most difficult thing for me. I'm now also artistic director and choreographer of my own company, dancing in every piece I'm making, and this is truly bringing difficulty and at same erasing some. Performing solo is sometimes sad because you're not sharing the pleasure to have been performing, and being on stage, or sharing the hard moments with someone. Collaborating with other artists you have to face their own personality and character, desires and anxiousness, strength and sometimes everything doesn't go in the way you would like to or expect to, if you have expectations. But sometimes it brings more than you could ever expect. AC: What have you enjoyed most about working on Identity/Identite? What were your expectations verses outcomes? SK: Discovering my culture through the artistic universe of Hind and Mohcine, their stories, and sharing the beauty, good things and also the struggles with people. Second, creating a new work being pushed again till the limit, and push myself to accept the challenge and discover their artistic world and stories. AC: In the states, we often talk about the dance community and connecting performers with the audience. Can you talk about experiences you've had trying to engage with your audience, and with connecting dancers and performers to each other? SK: We had such beautiful experiences sharing our work by Q&A, and sharing people's thoughts about what they felt by watch us performing. It's a such great opportunity to be able to receive the audience's feeling and understand the impact your work has had on them, and feeling how powerful art can impact people's life. To be honest, to be able to feel how much some simple things like a one hour art piece can change the perception of hundred of people, and open their minds. Just have to be responsible about what you are sharing with them. Thank you for listening some bits of my story!
Be sure to take some time to read Josh's conversation with Sarah the Intern and pick up a copy of Dance Magazine! (It's the choreography issue and there are several articles that we enjoyed!) Then get your tickets to see Josh's choreography in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory opening at the end of the month! Originally posted on 11/23/2011. Check it out here! As you know, this year we kicked off our C2C Intern program. (You've been hearing from our Bloggers-In-Residence Ryan Casey and Sarah Friswell for a few months now!) Here is the first interview done by Sarah Grace, a high school senior and student of mine in the Natick High School Drama program. Sarah has a strong interest in dance and theatre so when I heard that Josh was once again doing fabulous things I asked if he could take time out of his busy schedule to chat with Sarah. After you read about her conversation (and enjoy the day of the turkey!) head on over to Natick High School to see Sarah and the rest of the wonderful cast of Remember '11 as they take the stage to pay tribute to the NHS auditorium this weekend. Enjoy! -Nicole
SG: Do you have any favorite styles of dance, to perform, or to choreograph? Are there any particular dancers or choreographers that have inspired you?
JB: I love so many styles of dance. I don’t really have a favorite. I have some that I’m more proficient in or better trained in, such as jazz or theater. Some of my inspirations: Robbins, Fosse, Astaire, Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, Jack Cole, Balanchine, Hermes Pan,Michael Kidd. SG: How did you first get into the professional dance world? JB: My first professional job was a national tour of West Side Story. I played BabyJohn and was the Dance Captain. SG: Since West Side Story, what was your favorite project? JB: One of my favorite projects was being in the original cast of Hairspray on Broadway. I was a swing which is a great way to learn the inner workings of the show. It wasn’t bad to be in such a hit show either. SG: Do you have any advice for aspiring dancers? JB: My advice for dancers is to study all styles, learn to sing, find out what you’re good at and market it. SG: And aspiring choreographers? JB: My advice to young choreographers is to choreograph as often as possible and get your work out there... it’s no use if nobody sees it! Currently, Josh is serving as the choreographer for NBC’s new television series, “Smash.” This fictional series revolves around the creation of a Broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe, and is set to premier in February, 2012! SG: How did you get involved with Smash? JB: I became involved with Smash through Michael Mayer, the director of the pilot and episodes 2 & 3, as well as one of the creative consultants for the series. Michael and I worked together years ago in the out of town tryout of Thoroughly Modern Millie (he directed, I was ensemble/dance captain). SG: You've done a lot of work on stage, so what are some of the challenges of choreographing for a camera instead of an audience? JB: Smash is true to the theater world it's set in, so there aren't many obstacles in choreographing for the camera, more like bonuses. My assignment is to choreograph great numbers that stand on their own on stage, then we film them beautifully and make them multidimensional. I think the biggest challenge would be working with the schedules of all the different departments, not to mention shooting an episode at the same time that you're prepping another episode. SG: Do you have any other projects besides Smash going on right now? Where do you see yourself in a year, in ten years? JB: I do have other projects that I’m prepping for in the future, but Smash is taking 99% of my time right now. In 10 years, I’d like to see myself relaxing on a beach in the Caribbean islands, or maybe Hawaii! Thanks, Josh!
N: What is your affiliation with Endicott College? EL: I am a Junior at Endicott currently in the undergraduate program.
N: What is your favorite performance you've been part of? EL: Getting to perform in the opening number at the Arts in Motion Invitational in New York City was pretty spectacular. Performing in New York gives you this crazy adrenaline like no other.
N: What is your goal as the "choreographic guru"? kK: I just want to be able to offer another set of eyes and ears for the choreographers. Having participated as a choreographer in Choreofest, I understand how overwhelming the process can be and know that sometimes all a person needs is a friendly voice to say, "This looks amazing." My early experiences as a pee wee cheerleader in Nashville and Atlanta are great assets over the course of the night. However, if somebody needs more, I am happy to help sort through tangled up moments too. I think it is important, however to respect the each choreographer's creative process and not to impose my own onto them.
N: Why is mentoring so important to you?
kK: I have been really fortunate to have found many wonderful mentors in my life several of whom have since passed away. Can you imagine what quagmires I would still be stuck in without them? More importantly, my mentors did not try to mold me to be like them or to create the same way that they did. They nudged, cajoled, and sometimes kicked my toukas but they let me discover my own voice, own weird way of wrestling with ideas. Passing on their ways of guiding people and sharing their advice is my way of keeping their legacy alive.
N: This is your third ChoreoFest but the first as choreographer. What are you most nervous about regarding this year's ChoreoFest? AC: I'm always pretty anxious about setting my work on other people. When I'm the one performing, when I'm inside my own work, I'm not nearly as self concious about how the movement and ideas read. When I'm putting on the director's hat, I get so much more critical of my ideas. I'm definitely nervous that I'll trip myself up. N: What's your favorite memory of a previous ChoreoFest? AC: Oh my gosh that moment when the yarn ball hit Sam in the head during dress rehearsal my first year. It was too perfect. There was no way to reproduce it, so we sort of accepted it as a one time perfect moment. N: ChoreoFest is a controlled situation to create work in in terms of time and topic. What the first thing you hope to do once you get your dancers in the studio? AC: Get comfortable. Really though, I'm going to be focusing on getting everyone comfortable with each other and with me. The parameters of the festival make it so that the more comfortable we are and the more trust we have in each other, the faster we can get things done.
N: Karen Krolak will be on hand as "choreographic guru" for the entire festival. How have you incorporated outside voices/mentoring in the creation of new work in the past? What's a question you often have about your work for someone outside of the creation process?
AC: Karen has given me constant feedback in the time we've been working together, but coming off the Pilobolus workshop I think the thing I'm going to ask the most is "What do you see?" In the past I've been very precious with my work, and I'm hoping Pilobolus has broken me of the habit. I want to ask about the moments that stand out and and build on them, and it will be interesting to see whether what I think is interesting and what Karen thinks is interesting matches up or diverges. N: If you could pick any performer from any time to set a piece on who would it be and why? AC: I'm reinterpreting this question because what I actually want is for Martha Graham to set a piece on Pilobolus (any iteration, really, they're all pretty spectacular). Her dancing has such an intensely sculptural element; even though they're vastly different schools I feel like they would have made amazing choreography together. So I guess I'm saying I want to set a piece on Pilobolus, but as Martha Graham. #lifegoals N: Who are your mentors? AC: Karen Krolak and Nicole Harris have been such driving forces in my life, I don't think I would ever have done ChoreoFest as a choreographer if they hadn't asked. To be fair, Karen and Nicole are less "you can do this" coaches than "can you do this by friday" coaches. They know you can do it, or they wouldn't ask. N: What's something that you feel you learned from them that you want to pass on to people you mentor? AC: Perfection is boring. If your choices are perfect or unique, pick unique. There are no mistakes. They're usually the best part of a dance. N: Where can people learn more about you and your work? AC: Monkeyhouse can be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as well as here at MonkeyhouseLovesMe.com. I can be found on Instagram and Twitter as well as on my Dance Every Day YouTube channel! In celebration of Laura Neese's birthday here's the interview we did with her back in 2014 I have met some incredibly interesting people in the process of these interviews and Laura Neese doesn't disappoint! You can catch her work at the CoolNY 2014 Dance Festival on Friday, February 7th at 9:00pm & Sunday, February 9th at 6:00pm. All performances are held at the WHITE WAVE John Ryan Theatre, 25 Jay St., Brooklyn, NY and are FREE! -Nicole N: The piece you'll be performing at the CoolNY Dance Festival involves "shoe-less" tap dancing combined with modern vocabulary. As both a modern and tap dancer myself I am always excited to see work that combines the two! I also saw that you have a background in Irish dance. Can you talk a little about ways you work to combine these backgrounds as you create new pieces? LN: I find something inherently individually expressive about tap/percussive improvisation. If you ask me to just dance, I’ll spiral my torso and explore spine articulation like a good modern dancer, but my feet will probably start a nonmetred, illegitimate, un-time step… (something to do with the mixed up tap and Irish dance history in my training, and the natural inclination of people to tap their feet to music..) I’ve noticed in processes and improvisations, (& on the ferry) that my feet really want to speak up. For this new work, I wanted to listen and explore this impulse as a part of my creative work. Though it reads differently than the emotionality of shape, audio imagery – the mathematical logic or illogic of rhythm, spontaneity, and the way that reverberates in the body – I think can create an experience just as rich with feeling. Right now I’m experimenting to see how I can incorporate this part of me into my work. My work with Darrah Carr Dance, and guest choreographer Sean Curran, has also been influential in opening me up to the possibility of combining elements of dance forms. Darrah’s work combines traditional Irish and contemporary modern dance, and Curran’s work for the company is always imbued with strong rhythmic sensibility.
We met at Dance New Amsterdam, actually. Without having previously known each other well, we started to make a dance -just to make one- which led to more dances, which snowballed into a regularly meeting company or “collective,” and bringing other dancers in along the way. It has been a remarkable baptism by fire. We all contribute our resources and talents to make it possible to offer each other not only consistent involvement in a rehearsal process as a performer, but also the opportunity to explore choreographic ideas with a company of supportive bodies. We pass the choreographic baton in rotation, and capitalize on our individual skills to keep the organization going- hence our nifty titles… though we each may do a little bit of everything. Claire (our “master schedule machine,” and an arts administrator in her other life) is one of the most detail-oriented people I’ve ever met; Joanna (“mathematician,” our financial manager) has a gift for data and numbers – and a math degree. Katie (“body whisperer”) is a Pilates instructor with remarkable knowledge of the body and intelligent recommendations for various dancerly ailments- a gem in rehearsal. As “wordsmith” I write and edit text for company use… I’m somewhat fastidious about apostrophes. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to work with these remarkable women and for their having fallen into my life, (or I into theirs?) N: We had a very brief conversation about the insular-ness of many dance communities. While struggling to acquire very limited resources it's easy to take on a "me against the world" attitude. What are some ways that you have tried to fight against that mentality for yourself and those around you? What do you see as the benefits of creating a broader, more communicative and sharing dance community? LN: KitchenSink definitely helps ameliorate some of the “me against the world” feelings… though as an outer borough dwelling artist (of that obscure, “pretentious,” modern dance kind of art) the issue can become quite pernicious. However even in Staten Island, the borough most underserved in arts education and venues, I have found a resilient though somewhat fragmented arts community. Knocking on doors, finding out about and participating in creative events (especially those that bleed outside of your own discipline) I have found to be invaluable in a) meeting new, interesting people, with new, interesting perspectives, b) leading to new opportunities, c) finding people really do appreciate your strange art form if they have a reason and chance to see it. d) new reasons to share what you do with other people and to help people share what they do…. And it keeps going. Diving into explorations of other arts- taking workshops in different things- helps me to recognize the continuity of the creative process across mediums, recognize strengths and weaknesses of different modes of working, and to remember to not take myself too seriously (though to take the craft seriously). Some of my most interesting dance related experiences as a performer, choreographer, and otherwise creative conspirator have occurred in non-traditional dance settings: collaborating with musicians, filmmakers, theatre practitioners, photographers, and “normal” community members. I believe it is important to not only keep dialogues going within the dance community, but also to extend the invitation beyond the dance regulars. Face it, we get esoteric, we get stuffy, we get into patterns of what is “in” and “isn’t.” We get stuck in ruts. And we get frustrated when no one shows up. If we individually want to improve our art making – and stay interested & interesting - I believe it is vital to experience many other kinds of art as a spectator or participant. (Maybe art is painting, or storytelling, or a craft, or acting, teaching, computer programming?) If we, individually, invite other people who would or could be interested in dance -if they were exposed to it- into the conversation, would the field not be richer indeed?
Now as an educator myself I function as a mentor at times for specific dance students, (and academic tutees). For these individuals, I usually find myself acting as a confidence coach. Whether they are performing on stage or on an exam I recognize that students need to find the desire and determination within themselves to put in the necessary work, and then trust their own abilities to do it. This sort of consistent engagement with students is a reminder to appreciate process in general.
1. Being in the work prevented me from seeing the overall piece, its structure, spatial
design, cohesiveness….and also from being able to give dancers prompts / feedback for nuanced performance. 2. I sadly realized that although I had a powerful performance presence, my little body had too many anatomical limitations to achieve the look I wanted. I would focus so hard on extensions and pointed feet, thinking I had really done well, and then I would see myself on video and cringe. This is still emotional and deeply personal for me to discuss; in fact, I’m not sure I should be disclosing this fact as I don’t want it plastered all over the web. I chose to work with dancers who had the technical capacity and performance aesthetic that I wanted for my works. NH: What are you most nervous about regarding ChoreoFest? NL: Well, I suppose keeping tensions down as we all become more sleep deprived, especially since I am working with some of my dancers for the first time, and this group is definitely working together for the first time. So I am unfamiliar with their personal triggers and preferred learning styles. Working with new people in a new group is always challenging for optimal communication, and this setting adds much deeper challenges due to its nature. Keeping calm and gentle communication open is key to a successful and enjoyable experience for all. On a humorous but very real note: I am concerned about bringing too much stuff and the horrors of trying to get all the stuff from my little Mazda into The Dance Complex on a traffic filled Friday evening. I’m one of those people who thinks it best to bring something “just in case” rather than to be caught without. NH: Since this is a very controlled creative space (in terms of time and topic) where do you see yourself starting when you get in the space? NL: I will most likely start with some guided improvisation to help all of us get more comfortable with each other. Depending on the topic, I may ask the dancers to engage in a written exploration as a means of movement generation. Writing or no writing, unless I have an extremely strong personal connection to the theme, I would like the initial movement generation to come from each of the dancers. We tend to better remember and most fully execute that movement which naturally emanates from within our own bodies. NH: In creating a new work, what is the relationship between you and your dancers? Do they participate in the creative process? If so, how? NL: Please refer to the information provided in response to the previous question. Additionally, I like to verbally engage with the dancers as to their thoughts and valuable insights about the creation of meaning in the work. Often I will ask the dancers what feels most comfortable or natural when finessing the details of the movement. NH: Knowing that Karen Krolak will be on hand as "choreographic guru", what things do you hope she can help with in the overnight process? NL: Probably technological assistance with computer audio editing. I have a new laptop that I really don’t know how to use with its Windows 8 platform (grrr), and an old laptop that (at best) functions at the speed of a snail trying to get up a molasses covered hill in winter. NH: Who are some of your favorite choreographers? NL: Oh boy…Alvin Ailey, George Balanchine, Mark Morris, Alonzo King, Jill Bahr, Dwight Rhoden, Desmond Richardson, Bill T. Jones, Ulysses S. Dove… is that enough? NH: Who are your mentors? How are you paying forward the things your mentor gave you? NL: Oh my god, I could go on forever here…but first and foremost I must honor the memory of my recently departed mentor and colleague, Dr. Jan Van Dyke of Greensboro, NC. I can’t believe she is gone. She is being honored with a memorial this coming Sunday August 22nd, held at the UNCG Dance Theatre and livestreamed on the web. I can’t say enough about or adequately summarize how much I learned from Jan as a teacher, choreographer, administrator, and woman of dignity in the arts and academe. Last week I was teaching young student choreographers during an intensive at The Dance Academy in Fall River. I gave them the same first day lesson that Jan used in Choreography II, The Craft at UNCG, for which I was twice her TA. We wrote rhythms on the board and discussed time values of different musical notes, and how many beats per measure, and how to vary rhythm and apply it to movement to create new and interesting variations. It’s actually a very difficult concept to grasp for most of us, but invariably successful in the end. The school director was impressed when she saw the material and commented that they were learning so much from me. I told her that it was all Jan, or JVD as we lovingly called her.
Eu me apaixonei quando conheci a Heather. Sua doçura, sua humildade e o jeito com que ela ensina sapateado e música me inspiraram para realizar um curso intensivo de verão em NY. Dois meses antes de viajar, decidi vender meu carro e me mudar para os EUA. E desde então, estou aqui. N: Você cresceu estudando outras modalidades de dança além do sapateado americano. Você continua fazendo essas outras aulas? Você sente que ter estudado outros estilos de dança colaborou com seu sapateado? FG: Eu cresci vendo e dançando samba como a maioria dos brasileiros. Estudei jazz, sapateado, ballet e contemporâneo. Nunca fui um grande bailarino, mas a dança me ajudou a desenvolver habilidades básicas, como os giros e o equilíbrio. Além disso, me ajudou a considerar meu corpo como um todo no sapateado, e não só os pés. N: Recentemente, você me contou a história sobre o seu primeiro par de sapatos e sua primeira aula de sapateado. Você pode dividir essa história com a gente? FG: Claro! Quando eu tinha 14 anos ganhei um dinheiro de presente de aniversário da minha família e decidi comprar meu primeiro sapato. Eu "praticava" em casa e até fiz uma performance na escola, mesmo sem nunca ter feito uma aula. Então, quando eu tinha quinze anos, finalmente encontrei uma escola de dança que tinha sapateado na grade. Eu me lembro que não era muito barato, mas meus pais apoiaram a minha vontade. Quando cheguei na aula a professora me perguntou se eu já havia sapateado antes. Eu disse que sim, e ela me pediu se eu poderia mostrar meu passo favorito. Fiz um estilo único de dança, que até hoje não me lembro o que foi, mas sapateei (risos). Anos depois ela me lembrou deste fato e rimos muito. Seu nome é Valeria Petroni, e ela foi uma excelente professora nos meus primeiros anos de sapateado. Sou muito grato por ter aprendido tanto com ela.
Honestamente, meu inglês ainda não é perfeito, e ainda tenho que aprender bastante. Por exemplo, na aula de hoje, a única maneira que encontrei para explicar o que queria foi dizendo: “Imagine você usando uma fralda”. Depois, eu afirmei: “Hora de colocar a fralda!”. E, claro, no final da aula, eu lembrei: “Não esqueça de trazer sua fralda na próxima aula”. É divertido!
BDT: We are keenly aware that we will be working within a creative space that is controlled by both time and subject matter. Our areas of concern are A) the structure of the choreographic process itself and B) time management. Our work incorporates many artistic mediums (dance, text work, writing, and multimedia), which would normally be layered into a performance piece one by one at comfortable pace. What would normally be a multi day process will now be shaved down to a multi hour process. N: Since this is a very controlled creative space (in terms of time and topic) where do you see yourself starting when you get in the space? BDT: After we pull our prompt we plan to discuss thematic material as a group, using the ideas generated to put everyone to task. The company will then be divided into subgroups of writers, dancers and technicians to begin gathering kernels of material that will provide the foundation of the performance piece.
N: Karen Krolak will be on hand as "choreographic guru" for the entire festival. How have you incorporated outside voices/mentoring in the creation of new work in the past? What's a question you often have about your work for someone outside of the creation process? BDT: We love and respect outside voices! Having a different individual with an informed set of eyes reviewing your work is critical to the process and success of a piece. Typically, we like to receive “blind feedback,” meaning that anyone viewing our rehearsal process for the first time will not be given much, if any, direct information regarding our vision for the piece. This gives the opportunity to truly see the work without pretense, allowing us to find out where we have clear moments, distortion, other potential avenues to utilize, etc…Only after feedback has been given will we divulge our intention for the piece. N: Who are some of your favorite choreographers? BDT: Top 6: Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Bob Fosse, Alvin Ailey, Paula Josa-Jones, Bill T. Jones, Dada Masilo, Lamine Thiam. Ok, we lied…that’s a top 8…and Pilobolus has to be thrown in just for fun!
BDT: Jenn: Alvin Ailey because I admire the strength, grace, athleticism and incredible storytelling experience of this company.
N: Who are your mentors? How are you paying forward the things your mentor gave you? BDT: Jenn: Chuck Brown, Janet Taisy-Craft, Robb Fessler, KJ Hubner, Carolyn Jepsen, Craig North Carolyn: Laurel Browne, Wendy Dwyer, Doug Ingalls, Peggy-Rae Johnson, Bob Lawson, Jenn Webb The people in each of these lists have many common threads connecting them to one another. The overarching theme that we keep returning to as we discuss their work and influence is “Let your passions overwhelm your fears.” We’ve inherited an element of bravery and grit that directly informs our work as performers and teaching artists, and we pass this on to anyone who works with us. Over the years we have been given many lenses to work with, resulting in a fierce passion for the body stories that are capable of scouring the soul for truth. We put that truth in non-linear form within the body, with as much authenticity and transparency as possible. We have been taught to give value to and to hold space for voices and stories that might not otherwise be touched. It is our goal to continue to pass on the tools we have been given to any who find them useful. N: What other events do you have coming up? BDT: We are currently in pre-production for an evening-length work featuring the music and writing of Jim Morrison, to debut in the spring and summer festival circuits in the Greater New England area. We are also currently rehearsing a work featuring emerging youth writers that centers around children who have been caught in the folds of war throughout history, premiering in early 2017. N: Where can people learn more about you and your work? BDT: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook
N: What is your favorite memory from last year's festival?
NL: The Ah-Ha moment of using old TV show themes, namely Peanuts and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood...and having them work when we tried them with the movement! N: What have you been up to in the last year? NL: I have been deeply blessed. The Choreofest kicked off an unprecedented string of opportunities for Freedom Dances that truly re-birthed the company here in RI / Boston. For one, I met a fabulous dancer, the incomparable Whitney Cover, in the mandatory workshop with Peter DiMuro. Not only did she perform with me for the 24 Hour Choreofest, but I have been lucky enough to continue working with her, and to have her dance the lead role in a very emotional and challenging work - in 2 different sets of performances. The work would not be the same without her! We did the Dance Works in Process at AS220 in October 2015. In January 2016, Freedom Dances and Heather Brown Dance co-produced a 3-show concert as part of a Production Residency at AS220 in Providence. In February, 2 of my works were performed in the Boston Regional Youth America Grand Prix. In June we performed "Ruffled" at Dance For World Community in Harvard Square and the Festival of Us, You, We, and Them at the Dance Complex. July was spent re-staging "Verge - Part 1 - Greatness", and "Verge - Part 2 - Despair" for the Providence Fringe Festival in which we performed 2 evenings. I am starting my certification training in the Feldenkrais Method in Newton onAugust 19th - something I have wanted to do for years! N: Where can people see you/your work these days? Any upcoming performances? NL: Adrienne Hawkins invited us to dance in the upcoming Friends and Family shows at the Dance Complex. We will be presenting "Ruffled" on August 19th and 20th. I am honored by the invitation!
Originally Posted 08/15/2013 Earlier this summer I spent some time in New York City working on Tap It Out with the amazing Lynn Schwab and the folks from the American Tap Dance Foundation. While there I had the opportunity to get to know an brilliant young tap dancer and a all around fabulous guy, Felipe Galganni. Since moving to New York from Brazil three years ago Felipe has been busy teaching, choreographing and performing all over the city. While in town I got to see the premiere of his piece "Reverie in Rio", performed by Felipe himself alongside Lynn Schwab and Chikako Iwahori and singer Jackeline Ribas. Here is a little conversation with Felipe about his work, moving to the United States and dancing in a foreign language! Also, Felipe celebrated a birthday last week, so make sure you send your love! N: Who are your favorite choreographers (tap & otherwise)? FG: Chikako Iwahori, Brenda Bufalino, Max Pollak, Lynn Schwab, Michelle Dorrance. I love Bob Fosse. N: I know that meeting Heather Cornell had a big influence on your life. What is it about her work/dancing that speaks to you? FG: I met Heather in January of 2010. I am from São Paulo (BRA), and she was teaching a workshop in Rio, so I flew to take that. São Paulo is not the most tap dancing city in Brazil so every time someone came to the area I tried to go. When I met Heather I instantly felt in love. Her kindness, humbleness and the way she talked about tap dance and music inspired me so much that I decided I wanted to take her summer intensive, here in NY. I think it's a Master thing, this power of inspiring people! Two months before I come I decided to sell my car and move to USA. Here I am since then. N: I know you grew up studying other forms of dance besides tap. Do you still take any of those classes? Do you feel like having studied jazz etc. has had an effect on your tap dancing? FG: I grew up dancing samba like most Brazilians. And academically taking jazz, later tap, ballet and contemporary. I was never a strong ballet dancer but I feel it was very important to develop some basics, like turns and balance. And even to "awake" the upper body as a tapper. N: You recently told me a wonderful story about your first pair of tap shoes and your subsequent first tap class. Can you share that story here? FG: Sure! When I was 14 years old I got some money from my family as a birthday gift. So I decided it was finally my chance to buy a pair of tap shoes. I was always putting them on to "practice" and even to do performances at school. Without having ever taken class at that point. So when I was 15, I finally find a school that I could go by myself and take a tap class. I remember it was not very affordable for my family, but they know I really wanted to do that. So they supported me. When I got in class the teacher came to me and asked: "have you ever tap danced before?" and I said , very confidently "YES!"..."oh, so please show me your favorite step"... And I started my very unique style of tap. Later on she told me that it was the most funny experience she have ever had. Her name is Valeria Petroni, and she was an amazing instructor for those first tap years. I am very thankful of all I learned from her.
N: It has now been three years since you moved from Brazil and in talking to you you would think you'd been speaking English for much of your life. Can you tell me about teaching in the early years in New York when your English was much shakier? What sort of tools did you use to communicate in moments where language failed you?
FG: I remember the fist class I taught here in US. It was for Lynn Schwab at Steps. It's hard when you have to communicate in a foreign language to native people, and explain stuff that you're so use to in your first language. It was a little frustrating, but I had to work on that, not been afraid to say the words wrong, and also asking the students in the class and learning from them. But honestly my English is still pretty shaky, and sometimes language does failed on me. Like in today's class the only way I found to tell my students what I wanted to express was "imagine you're wearing a baby diaper" and then later on I said "put your diapers on"... and of course by the end of the class I reinforced: "Don't forget your diaper for next week". LOL. It's fun! We are so excited to share the first interview with one of the 2016 ChoreoFest choreographers! Gracie Novikoff and Natalie Schiera are the co-directors of Nozama Dance Collective. They took a moment out of their preparations for a show in mid August to talk to Nicole about who they are and their thoughts on ChoreoFest! Interested in learning more about ChoreoFest or purchasing your tickets? Visit LuminariumDance.org!
ND: To begin a new work, we take the concept and the piece of music and ask ourselves how those two make us want to move. We improvise to the music and picture ourselves in the time and place the concept lends itself to, and we build choreography based on the improvisations. Each new piece is a new world. We think about how choreography would naturally fit in this world, and who the dancers are portraying in this world. At times the dancers are humans, and in other worlds they are not. We think about if and how the dancers would interact, and if it makes sense for the dancers to be aware of one another's existence. When all of the elements come together into a cohesive world, we have a piece we are excited about.
ND: In college, Natalie and Gracie were dancers and choreographers with Dance Theatre Group, a contemporary company directed by Micki Taylor Pinney. In choreographing new works for Dance Theatre Group, Micki along with other faculty would give constructive feedback throughout the creative process. We were encouraged to think through the aesthetics of the piece, as well as how the choreography fit and how we could push the movement to be bigger and bolder. We greatly appreciate Micki's assistance during those years, and since the creation of Nozama Dance Collective in 2013, we have asked Micki for her guidance. Natalie and Gracie were the Choreographers in Residence at Green Street Studios in January-February 2015, and during those months we asked Micki to assist us with the creation of our two solos, "Vortex" and "Nightmare". We were encouraged to take a concept and create not just one, but multiple worlds in which that concept could live. We improvised movement, and then built variations of those movements. As a result, we have successfully created four pieces based on the movement created during those residencies. We are ever in debt to Micki's expertise, and we continue to seek her guidance. ND: Whenever we are lucky enough to have a mentor assist with our work, we ask whether or not the movement that we are presenting makes sense with the concept, the music, and the world in general. We want everything to be cohesive and make sense. We don't necessarily want to direct the audience to an exact emotion or an exact instance in time, but we want to create a world that the audience can relate to that can be easily followed. We want to take the audience on a journey that they will enjoy and be excited about. We also ask our mentors, "have you seen work like this already?", because we are consistently striving to create new choreographic experiences.
N: Who are some of your favorite choreographers? If you could pick any choreographer from any time to set a piece on you, who would it be and why? ND: We are both currently obsessed with the work of Jaci Royal, the director and choreographer of Royal Flux based in Los Angeles. Her movement is raw, athletic, bold, daring, and exciting. Her larger group pieces are captivating, and the stage pictures that she creates are incredible. As we create works that portray women empowering one another, choreography like Jaci Royal's is inspiring. We would be honored to have Jaci Royal set a piece on us!! N: What other events do you have coming up? ND: We have our first full-length production, "Pushing Past Impulse" at Green Street Studios on Friday, August 19th at 8pm. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students/children. We are thrilled to produce our best works since our inception! Here is the Eventbrite link for tickets, and our post in the Boston Calendar. N: Where can people learn more about you and your work? ND: Here are our Facebook page, website, and Twitter page. Check out what we are all about!
N: What is your favorite memory from last year's festival?
ODC: There were so many favorite memories from last year. Just the experience of spending that much crazy quality time with my dancers was a real treat. But at one point one of our dancers was teaching us a really complex Bollywood-inspired movement phrase that was a challenge for the rest of us. The moment we all nailed it, we screamed so loud in celebration. It was a high-point of the night! N: What have you been up to in the last year? ODC: We have been up to so much this year! We've wrapped two performance seasons since our last ChoreoFest, expanded our Repertory group, created a Residency program at our studio, and have help hundreds of classes. OnStage is on a roll! N: Where can people see you/your work these days? Any upcoming performances? ODC: We've had a ton of performances over the past few months but our next ones are: The Festival of Us, You, We & Them, The Southern Vermont Dance Festival, The OnStage | Repertory Fall Showcase and the 12th Season of OnStage begins in October. |
Categories
All
Archives
April 2023
|