#dance interview

How would you define contemporary dance to someone without a background in dance?

“It’s always a tricky question. I recently took a job teaching dance at a public high school. While some of my students are highly trained, others are new to dance. When I explain contemporary dance, I often tell them it’s a dance form that prioritizes expression, but it’s tough to define what it looks like because it can be presented in so many ways. It can be done to any sound score: pop music, spoken word, classical music, silence. There’s a range of performance spaces, from a proscenium to a warehouse, from site specific to film. As far as choreographic creation, contemporary dance can run the gamut. There’s a lot of freedom and variety in the way choreography is generated, more than what is often found in a traditional or classical setting. There’s often a focus on research and improvisation to generate material. What I end up saying to my students is that contemporary dance can look like almost anything, and is largely defined by its intention to be contemporary dance.”

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What do you perceive is your own contribution to the field of contemporary dance?

An Interview with Lucy Vurusic Riner

Rachel Rosenthal was an interdisciplinary artist, a teacher and animal rights activist based in Los Angeles, California.

June 11, 2016 Kate Noonan, the new artistic director answers a few questions, by: Kelsey Amara. 

KA What is your vision for the year?

KN My vision for the year is to expand the number of classes during the fall, to curate a guest artist season

for the company's TOHUBOHU! ensemble performances, and to grow our audience. The overall vision and goal of the company to is honor Rachel Rosenthal's legacy and carry her work forward.

KA What is the Rachel Rosenthall methodology?                                            

KN Not an easy question to answer briefly. Rachel and I wrote a book on her methodolgycalled The DbD Experience (Chance knows what it's doing) Routledge 2009

The methods were developed after a life working in various disciplines, in visual art as a painter and sculptor, as a dancer with Merce Cunningham, and in the theatre. Antonin Artaud's The Theatre and it's Double gave Rachel the desire to combine all the arts in one theatrical form. Her first company was called "Instant Theatre" in 1955, and they performed totally improvised evenings of  theatre.

Our ensemble is the latest iteration of Instant Theatre and is comprised of visual artists -painters, designers, sculptors— as well as dancers, actors, musicians, storytellers and martial artists. Each brings unique talents to the fore in this form.

Totally improvised, spoken text is minimal in our performances. This opens the possibility for multiple points of entry for an audience, and welcomes as many interpretations as there are audience members.

KA How do you work with performers?

KN I teach the Dbd workshops, which is process oriented, and an 8 week class that is more geared toward creating structured pieces. The ensemble meets once a week and we workshop for several hours, improvising and doing exercises to develop new muscles and to identify and break physical habits and habitual ways of being in relationship to one another.

KA What advise would you would give to young artistic directors and choreographers?

KN Don't second guess what an audience wants. Speak with your own voice.

KA How do you use new media and costume design in the show?

Eric Gauthier is the choreographer from Germany. His talent is not to be doubted: there are not so many people who passed the way from a dancer to his own theater as fast as he did. He is very open-minded and his dancers seem to fly over the stage as well. We spoke to Eric during the Context festival in Moscow.

WLD: Eric, does a teacher need to enrich his students with his own experience or is it necessary to see the individual and try to develop it in your students? How important is individuality for a dancer?

E.G.: This is like a special thing still, if it is a workshop you have people of all different levels. So you don’t need to make those who are not so strong feel upset, you make everybody feel good. I always try to support my students with words «Good job», «Nice try», «Try it again». And for the other one I have to say nothing but I will still say «Good» or  «Nice». You need to make them believe that they are doing good because a dancer is a very special artist for me, you need to give him a lot of pampering, a lot of confidence. 

A dancer is very sensitive and just with the wrong word or even a clap it can all go wrong, it is a very special kind of artist. And also it depends on a country. In Germany for example you can be rougher and here I don’t know yet how to treat them so it also depends on the culture of the country where you give lessons.

WLD: And if you are at a workshop but you have a lesson with your company and you already know the dancers, how to empower them with confidence? How to make them feel confident and open his or her individuality?

E.G.: It is a bit the same: being very positive and make them feel they are on a good way. You are doing well but you are not there yet but you are on the way and the person feels «Wow, I am doing better».

WLD: Do you think that a dancer needs to follow the example of great dancers and copy them? Or it shouldn't be done because it ruins your own style?

E.G.: All the dancers need to watch other dancers, this is so important. You always need to look at them to realize that you can do better.  And if you find the right artist like I dance with Diana here. So I told my dancers: if you have time, if you are in the wings – just watch her because you will take something.

WLD: What about the mistakes? What is the right way to show them to your students?

E.G.: If you just say No, It is not like that – a dancer won't understand you. If you want a dog to do a trick you cannot yell at him. He will only do the trick of you explain it to him. A dancer is also an animal, he has to understand. You have to explain everything and tell the dancer what is missing to do it correct.

WLD: Your career from dancer to choreographer was quite quick. And also you have your own dance troupe. Should a dancer be doing everything quite fast or everything comes as it is and to realize it you need to make your own mistakes?

E.G.: I think it depends on an artist. Some dancers discover they want to be choreographer very early so it is good that they start early and have more years. But for the normal person who wants to be a dancer I think this is a good idea at least to try to make a number. You understand things a little bit different. Everybody should try it.

WLD: What will be you major advice to young dance teachers? What is the main thing during the class?

E.G. There are so many, I don’t know. I always say: «It looks so easy what we do but it is so hard». I always say to my dancers: «Nobody said this would be easy, no one ever said dancing is easy». So when my dancers are tired I always say: «Don’t show me that you are tired» and they get it. Don’t give up. Always finish and never give up. And they understand it.