Why I, As an Artist, Left Miami

Edward Villella.  A name any dancer should know.  He founded Miami City Ballet, among other amazing achievements and made me, as a devout modern dancer, stop sneering at ballet.  (Well, Eddie and the incomparable Sylvie.)

So, what does this have to do with me leaving Miami for the cold city of Chicago?  A little over a year ago, my husband and I were faced with a choice whether to stay in Miami while he searched for a job or to start fresh in a new community where there were more opportunities for him.  The ultimate choice was up to me because I was gainfully employed and it would be quite a sacrifice for me to leave my company and my teaching.  I decided we would take the chance.

There were many and varied reasons why we chose to move (big city, more museums for him, closer family for both of us, the challenge of a new city, and several more financial reasons) but there is one reason, that as an artist I kept coming back to:  Miami just doesn't get it yet, and my career as a dancer is finite.

All right, all right, simmer down there.  Many artists and choreographers in Miami that ABSOLUTELY DO get it, but they are in the minority and they do not fund companies and seasons.  Board members and the general public steer that ship.  And, I'm sorry (not sorry), but Miami, you have some growing up to do.  Stay crazy, young and fun, but please take down those awful plastic-surgery-for-moms-and-teens and www.whocanisue.com billboards, and grow and artistic soul.

Edward Villella GOT IT.  He did.  He got it and then he founded Miami City Ballet.  People came, saw, and then a few more people were able to "get it" too.  Then Miami just had to stamp it's little 8-inch, platform stripper-heels all over it.  If you aren't familiar with the story of Villella's premature departure from MCB, read all about it in the Miami Herald's tell-all with there many helpful links to emails and subscriber letters.

I was reminded all about this in this month's Dance Teacher Magazine article with Eddie's first major interview since the whole rotten deal went down. Mr. Vallella has this fabulous quote that typifies his struggle with Miami:
"I came from knowledge and awareness, so when I was asked to start a ballet in Miami ... [w]hat I fully didn’t realize is there’s a New York manner and a Florida manner. So for over a quarter of a century I have been trying to educate and bring Miami up to or near the level of cultural understanding of a city such as New York. It’s not an easy thing to do.
... [B]ut when you are dealing with a community that doesn’t fully have enough exposure, interest and support, it’s a little exasperating, and you feel like you have not fully done what you started out to do."

And then after being asked what he'll do next, he just kills me with this one:
"What I want to do first of all is to return to a place where they speak my language. Miami does not speak my language."

Honey, I hear you and my bags are packed.

Dancing Through the Holidays

My favorite way to stay happy and healthy over the holidays is to keep dancing.  That's why I am so happy that my favorite place to dance in Chicago, Visceral Dance Center, is open almost every day.  Merry Christmas!

I used to go home to Minneapolis, MN for break and get so disappointed that I couldn't take advantage of the teachers at my favorite Minneapolis studios while I was home because all of the studios were closed.  Yes, teachers need a break, but a lot still need a paycheck.

Anyhoo, get your butt into class (especially my students who have to look fabulous in my piece on January 24th at UWM) and have a happy New Year!

Student Evaluations

This is the time of year where the faculty of my University sit in a room while the students file in one by one and hear the details of their semester from the mouths of their professors in one 15 minute time-slot.

It's intense, exhausting, and an inescapable dose of reality for many students. As faculty, it's incredibly valuable to hear how each person approaches a particular strength or deficit in the student. It's also helpful to hear that you aren't out in left field all alone when a student is having a difficulty in your class. Chances are if a student has trouble with, say, active participation in your class, they're having the same issue in other classes. It really makes you feel a bit more sane.

I'm human. I set up many checks and balances in my syllabi to make sure I'm being fair, challenging and engaging, but I still have a more than healthy dose of self-doubt. "Am I doing enough?"

Which brings me to my point. As exhausting as this process is, it's just as valuable to the faculty as it is for the students. As much as I've learned about my colleagues, how they problem solve and interact with their charges, I've learned even more about my students and their passions. This continued investment to discovery and digging deeper is why I teach.

One last thing: I love the candor. Ahhhh.

Tragedy in Connecticut

Janet Gillespie (my undergrad dance prof) once told us that she believed if more people learned to dance, there would be less violence because you learn respect for your body and for each other. 

Today is my reminder that although I cannot control the actions of others, I can choose my own. Hopefully my actions will perpetuate respect for the wonder that is our lives and our miraculous bodies.

Peace

More about Ek's Casi-Casa

More about Ek's piece Casi-Casa set on Hubbard Street.

Let me tell you more about Casi-Casa.  Or rather let me tell you about what it did for Hubbard Street, because it seems to me that is what I'm mostly jazzed about.  Viewing dance is all about context.  Who that viewer is, what they've seen before, what they are expecting, what they see in that moment and how it relates to what came directly before and after it.  Dance criticism is a whole different animal and I'm not going there.  I could, I have skills, I'm just more interested in telling you about why a modern dancer from the midwest with my background might see things the way she does.

Jumping to my expectations (you can look up my who and what on my website): Before I moved to Florida for 3 years, I had a number of conversations with different dancers about many companies including Hubbard Street.  They're the big modern game in town, so they come up quite a bit.  This is the number one sentiment I heard from people: "Don't get me wrong, they've got lovely dancers, but their choreography..."  And it trails off in various ways after that.  Talking about "lovely dancers" is dance world speak for "don't waste your money".  I use it constantly.  After all, the buck stops at the Artistic Director.  You've got the talent, don't waste it.  But, what has happened in the last few years since I left and came back? New Artistic Director Glenn Edgerton is what.  Same thing that happened to Luna Negra and others.  Their direction is what makes me excited about American modern dance again.  Them and the Cuban influx.  It's about time we had a revitalization!

So how does this fit in to my viewing experience?  I was expecting lovely dancers and I was questioning how they might handle Ek's work.  I mean, what could possibly compare to Sylvie Guillem in Ek's Wet Woman?  I must admit, my excitement was mostly about Ek's work and not about Hubbard Street, so when they did a fair job of it, I was very excited, especially considering the previous three pieces in the program (Untouched by Azure Barton and 2 others from Alejandro Cerrudo) which were more in Hubbard's zone of comfort.  How these previous three pieces played out, so strong in technical prowess, drama, and the highlighting of the human body (yes even Cerrudo's minimal Blanco was all about the body's prowess), really set the stage for Ek's focus on human interaction and his strength for moving bodies around the stage to reveal a landscape or a mood.

It was much less about the dancers' technical abilities as it was about how they could relax into the difficult movement tasks given to them and reveal what is at the heart of it.  Quinn Wharton's opening and closing solos weren't as grounded as I wanted them to be, although I've seen him in rehearsals (the plus-side of Hubbard Street's rehearsals often being next door to their open classes) for other works display the ease needed to sink into a work like Ek's.  The gravitas needed to really pin down a role like that just hasn't made its way into this particular performance yet.  It's all about that delicate line between doing and being, showing and revealing.  Don't hate me Quinn - you're so pretty and I like your shoulder-girdle mobility.  I told someone that loudly within earshot of someone else who I thought might pass the info along to the powers-that-be, so you're welcome.

Another moment I have a question about was the militant housewives with the dragging vacuum cleaners.  A hilarious section complete with bagpiping music (all the more funny given their implements of cleanliness) and dancing that gave a little send-up to traditional step dancing was overdone by angry outbursts from the women.  By itself, the section is brilliant, but all previous verbal outburst we at the top of the emotion spectrum as well, so this one played overwrought.  That being said, the housewife of this section, whose name eludes me (Anna?), was spot on.  Holy crap.  Her emotional depth in this role was certainly equal to that of Meredith Dincolo's striking opening solo in Azure Barton's Untouched.  Everyone else paled in comparison to her bound-up Housewife, and I wanted it that way.  A little salt on my meal, thank you.

A couple of words about the empty stage, caution tape, and blaring music:  You tease. I liked it, music might read... on the annoying side of startling, nice placement, and thank the good lord of dance it didn't come after the baby-oven scene.

I described, with zeal, this piece to my college students who were not impressed and made faces at my descriptions.  Ha!  I guess this means this work isn't for everyone, but I like to think it is for people who are especially interested in the messy and often banal intricacies of life.

The end.

Dancing beyond college

So yesterday I had the final rehearsal for the piece I'm setting on UW-Milwaukee dancers before they go off on a long winter break, come back, tech and to the show.  So it was an important one.  What did I do instead of running the piece 8 times?  I spent a good amount of time (an hour!!!) talking to my dancers about what it's like out there in the real world of dance.  I told them about how hard auditions are, the realities of Artistic Directors, the realities of pay, how much class and technique they actually need, and shady situations to avoid.  They were like, "do you have any happy stories?".  

I couldn't think of any.  But I know I have a ton!  They just didn't come to mind.  But I did say I love what I do, couldn't imagine doing anything else, and if you love it, it's all worth it.  

I did pass on what has helped me stay "real" about auditioning: 
Becoming what you want to be - read the dancer bios of the companies you like.  Do what their dancers did.  
Filtering out "total embarrassment"  auditions - Again, read the bios of the dancers before you audition for a company.  If your background aligns with theirs, go for it.  On the other hand, if your total dance background is 4 years taking Somatic-based modern as a BA at a small private liberal-arts college, don't buy a $500 plane ticket to audition  for a company whose dancers all went to conservatory program for ballet and have at least one ballet company on their bio.  Some companies are super helpful and cues like "bring your pointe shoes" on the audition notice (which would weed out those of us who don't use the damn things), and some do not.  Do your research.

As it happens, I got turned on to another blog that has more dancer stories of the real world (probably happier than some of the ones I told them ;-). This shall be my way of balancing out the slightly dark stories with some good neutral to hopeful ones. Check it out and pass it on!

http://www.dancingwords.typepad.com/life_as_a_modern_dancer/

Holiday ballet hair

Doesn't come out during pirouettes and reminds me of the Swedish dolls my Grandma put out at Christmas.