HELP! How Do I Get Back Into Dance Classes?

December 27, 2014 by Katie Sopoci Drake

Photo courtesy of KCBalletMedia at https://www.flickr.com/photos/67555847@N06/

by Katie C. Sopoci Drake

Hey there. It has been a while, hasn’t it? Teaching, the day-job, kids, or just plain old life got in the way. Although you may have been showing others how to dance, practicing yoga, and even performing here and there, it’s not the same as taking class, so now you’re nervous as heck. Now, you don’t have any grand illusions of running off to audition for a national tour (been there, done that), but you wouldn’t mind brushing up on your technique, and making sure you can jump into the odd performance without tearing anything.

But here come the doubts. I don’t know where to go. All of my dance clothes are long gone. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up. I don’t even know what level I am anymore. I really don’t want to be in an “adult” class with 12-year-olds.

Before I give you the pep talk, first things first… [Read more…]

Book Review: STORY/TIME: The Life of an Idea by Bill T. Jones

October 7, 2014 by Katie Sopoci Drake

by Katie C. Sopoci Drake

STORY/TIME is a three-part book that also serves as a companion piece to the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company’s live production of Story/Time that will appear at New York Live Arts on November 4-8, 11-15 at 7:30pm. More information: http:www.newyorklivearts.org

After the lengthy acknowledgements to many honored academics, distinguished artists, and an impressive list of foundations and trusts, the first thing to strike the reader soundly across the brain is a preface that warns you that what you are about to experience is really a structured event, “a performance yearning to be a document, a book” that serves as a “record of a needy, angry, and confused man” with a need “for a tradition, an intellectual home”. After a description of the book’s layout, a hint at how you might best take in the information (an “invitation to play” or “reorder if you will”), and properly braced with what contradictions may present themselves, you delve into the first of three sections of the book.

This first section, titled “Past Time” plunges you into Jones’ experience within the 1970‘s dance scene. You witness him meeting with the ideas of John Cage, the growing importance of his ideas on Jones’ own artistic inquiries, and are confronted with random stories and images that evoke place and history. Jones’ feelings of exclusion from the intellectual community of scholars and artists of the time surfaces within the narrative providing fire behind Jones’ evidently voracious appetite for inquiry and the contradiction within himself between “comfort” and “provocation” within his own methods of creating live performance that “reveal the most personal aspects” of himself.

The second section, “Story/Time”, “a response to John Cage’s 1958 Indeterminacy,” is laid out like a score with dashes and brackets marking the time and random order (with the help of www.random.org) of 60 one-minute stories. These nuggets of prose, with words that are nudged and pulled apart on the paper to mark the passage of time, span the range of Jones’ own history and memories. Some having to do with art, some with family, some with characters from his life, certain stories swim back to the surface after their initial appearance in the first section of the book “Past Time”. Here they are washed clean of their previous context, and elevated to the status of art. STORY/TIME: The Life of an Idea

“Story/Time” begs to be read out loud. At the end of the previous section, “Past Time”, Jones gives us hints at his approach in performance which certainly invites the reader to try one or all stories in their own tongue. 17 unsentimental performance images accompany this leg of the journey giving the viewer a setting for the stories and reminds us of Jones’ questioning of his own interpretation of Cage’s theories assigning “a higher priority to the author’s intent or choices of presentation than to the audience’s capacity to interpret that intent.”

In “With Time”, the final section of the book, you read Jones’ thoughts on the direction of dance as an art-form with the benefit of having read about both his own journey towards this end and experiencing a sample of what his deep artistic inquiry has rendered. In it, he offers yet another twist in his journey in the form of praise he received from his niece in 1999 after a performance of We Set Out Early… Visibility Was Poor. Jones reveals that at that moment, she had represented another “community I had — justifiably or not — felt estranged from.” This revelation brackets a series of “provocations” that keep circling back around within the book: detachment from emotion in art, exclusion from intellectual society, estrangement from community, the class context of searching for identity versus the search for meaning, the role of history and personal experience in experimental art.

In a final interview with Laura Kuhn, Executive Director of the John Cage Trust, John Cage, Jones’ “icon of modernism”, is partially laid bare. Kuhn relates a story of Cage being so detached from society that he didn’t realize Jesse Jackson was black. The story doesn’t seek to embarrass the man, but to reveal a consequence of a philosophy that separates the artist from society. Directly after the interview, Jones identifies his desire to reconcile the community he grew up in with the artistic community he is immersed in and the contradiction of “choosing to engage seriously with such a socially ‘unengaged’ artist who seems to hard back to an era when the only artists who mattered where male and white. And yet engage with John Cage I must.”

As a written document, this book is clearly organized, quickly read, and dense with musings that can be dissected by dancers and non-dancers alike. As a piece of art, it is both process and product in one. The engagement and participation of audience member might be enhanced if the book is read and discussed in a group setting which makes me curious to see how it will fit with the live performance and how many people will pair the two. The experiment in creation, design and performance certainly poses many questions that, identifying as a dance artist, I found myself musing in the context of own work. Likewise, as an academic, I found I was concurrently dissecting the book for use in a future class. I found the “provocation” of personal context and its link to the audience’s experience of art particularly poignant when my thoughts swung back around to a quotation of Michel Auder which was, perhaps, not so randomly selected to end “Story/Time”: “’You motherfucker! You were thinking about yourself while watching my work!’”.

STORY/TIME: The Life of an Idea

By Bill T. Jones

Performing Arts, Dance, Memoir

108 pp. Princeton University Press. $24.95

Katie Sopoci Drake Photo by Scott Pakudaitis — Katie Sopoci Drake
Photo by Scott Pakudaitis

Contributor Katie C. Sopoci Drake, MFA, GL-CMA, is a Washington D.C. based professional dancer, choreographer and teacher specializing in Laban-based contemporary dance. Holding an MFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a Graduate Certification in Laban Movement Analysis from Columbia College – Chicago, and a BA in Theatre/Dance with a minor in Vocal Performance from Luther College, Sopoci Drake continues to take classes in as many techniques and practices as she can handle to inform her work and life as a curious mover.

Katie has been on faculty at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Nova Southeastern University, Miami Dade College-Wolfson, Miami Dade College-Kendall, Carthage College, and Lawrence University. She currently guest teaches and gives masterclasses around the D.C. area and wherever her travels take her.

As a performer, Sopoci is described as a “sinuous, animal presence of great power; watching her dance is a visceral experience.” (Third Coast Digest). Company credits include Mordine and Company Dance Theater of Chicago, Momentum Dance Company of Miami, Wild Space Dance Company of Milwaukee, and Rosy Simas Danse of Minneapolis. Katie has also made appearances an an independent artist with many companies including Brazz Dance, Your Mother Dances, The Florentine Opera, and The Minnesota Opera.

Katie’s choreography, described as “a beautiful marriage between choreography, music and poetry” (On Milwaukee), arises from her fascination with the idiosyncrasies of daily life, and the flights of fancy that arise from ordinary inspirations. Her work has been performed by numerous companies, colleges and studios across the country and her latest collaboration, Telephone Dance Project, will take her to states up and down the East Coast while investigating long-distance creation and connecting far-flung dance communities.

HELP! It’s My First Fringe Show As A Choreographer! What Do I Need To Know?

July 31, 2014 by Katie Sopoci Drake

If you have ever wanted to be a part of a fringe festival, this piece is for you. Get some of the details before you sign on to make the process easier, and hopefully, more enjoyable!

by Katie C. Sopoci Drake

1. Read the fine print

Fringe shows have a lot of rules and fine print. A lot. Some require you to have a website, some require you to have their branding on your advertisement, and all have a lot of very specific deadlines. Read it all and make a checklist. You don’t want to show up at the theater the day of your tech to find out that not only did you have to provide your own lighting designer, but the space is 20×16 and there are no wings.

2. Snazzy Postcards

Everyone has a postcard and you need one too. Here’s the catch, you must make yours stand out without breaking the bank. Funky sizes, color and gloss do this, but they all cost extra. First, figure out what image will instantly scream, “This is the vital essence of my show!” and then pick one of the “extras” that will make your postcard stand out from the others and enhance the message of your advertisement. You will be handing these out like candy, so skip the D.I.Y., “Each of these cards are like a special flower” treatment because people WILL grab them, fold them, shove them in a pocket, or throw them in the trash in front of your eyes.

3. Edit your show description for a non-dance crowd

You know what your piece is about, your dancers get it, but the bad news is that unless you write your title and description to scream, “This is a dance, it is about ____, it the general feel is ____, and it appeals to the ____ crowd!”, then no one but your family and those 3 local die-hard dance fans will come. Stay away from vague and florid language. Keep it short and spell out what the audience will see in as few words as possible.

Here’s a sweet little guide to writing a good Fringe description: http://vicfringeartists.webs.com/apps/blog/entries/show/10703899-fringe-tutorial-1-crafting-a-good-show-description

4. Edit your show for a Fringe audience

Fringe shows are a beast of their own. Fringe audiences are a fun crowd for a reason. They expect a little bit of disaster (intentional or not) with their show-going experience. Because the list of Fringe shows is a mile long, many of your fellow artists will put out their most experimental, bawdy, or hilarious material to get noticed. You will see shows that just don’t fly in a traditional setting here because part of the fun is seeing shows that don’t fit neatly into a regular season. Clowning, one-man/woman shows, and brash political/social commentary all have a welcome home at the Fringe. Knowing what your show will be surrounded by might help you either choose a theme, or a piece from your repertoire that will feel at home too. Comb through show descriptions and reviews from years past to get an idea of what to expect.

5. Shows have 1 or 2 performers for a reason

You read the fine print. Unless you write your own material, dance it yourself, make your own costumes, etc., you will not be able to recoup the price of your rehearsal space rentals in ticket sales. You can’t afford to pay multiple dancers, designers, and rights for text or music. You cannot. So keep it simple, everyone else is too.

Side note: if you are traveling, most Fringe performers stay with friends or local artists near their venue and go grocery shopping for their food. Keep those costs down and get some good friend-time in, but warn your hosts that Fringe-ing will mean late nights and sleeping in.

6. Time your show down to the minute and practice your load in and load out

[Read more…]

Help! My Choreography Doesn’t Fit The Dancers!

June 5, 2014 by Katie Sopoci Drake

by Katie Sopoci Drake

Oh! What to do when you’ve been hired to set a piece on a company, school, department, etc. and when you show up, BAM! It hits you like a ton of bricks. You realize, “These dancers are going to F. A. I. L. if I proceed as planned with my choreography.” Whatever the reason (too little technique, the wrong technique, stubborn, etc.) you cannot allow this to happen because it is your job as choreographer to…

Make your dancers look good. Which will, in turn…
Make your choreography look good. Which will ensure that you…
Make your self look good by making the whole process a success. Because you want to be called again to set more work. Perhaps this time for a piece that is more appropriate for the dancers.

It’s a sticky situation that is mostly avoided by directors doing their homework about a choreographer and choreographers doing their homework about companies/schools/etc. But let’s be real; sometimes directors just need someone to fill the spot and sometimes you just need to get a choreography gig. I know all of this too well because, baby, sometimes Momma just needs a new pair of shoes… or to pay the utility bill. How do we turn this around? Here are a couple of lessons I’ve learned from all sorts of gooey, hot, messes:

It’s time to Pivot when: the dancers are trained in a completely different technique from yours and there is no time to teach them enough of the one you’re using in your piece. Yes, “Pivot” is horrible business jargon, but it’s also a fabulous dance move that we all can relate to. To pivot is to efficiently turn in a new direction, which is what you’re going to have to do, and quick, if you’re going to finish the dance in the limited number of rehearsals given. Think, “Is there a way to use their technique to accomplish my dance?”, “Is there another piece in my repertory that might suit them better?”, or, “Is there a more suitable piece in my repertory that I can pull material from to patch rough spots in this one?”. You’ll have to have a conversation with the director about what you’re seeing in the studio and how to proceed.

Going back to the origin of the movement is essential if you decide to forge ahead with the current piece. You’re going to need to adapt it to the dancers in front of you and reacquainting yourself with the roots of your dance is going to help you do it. If your piece has long lines, but the dancers do not, think about why you put those long lines there in the first place. Was it an architectural choice? Was it an emotional choice? Was it about the strengths of the original dancers? Work from the origins of the movement to find an adaptation that will be successful on the dancers you have in front of you.

When I recently reset a piece on a new dancer, I went back to the root of why the phrase/gesture/movement showed up in the first place. One of the repeating motifs was a twisted and tilted arabesque that elongated to create tension, but I knew that wouldn’t work for this soloist. I told the dancer that I needed something that stretched from two ends until it about snapped. Then I sat back and watched her work it out on her body until the new movement jumped out at me within a minute. I said, “that’s it!” and we were free to move on to the next puzzle. No muss, no fuss. Dancers are quick thinkers when you give them freedom to work it out on their own bodies. The part looks completely different now, but as long as the dancer is accomplishing the goal of the movement, that is a sign of success in my book.

Get Help! If the current piece is unsalvageable, you have the time to build something new, but are hitting a wall with the dancers, then in the words of Doris Humphrey, “Listen to qualified advice; don’t be arrogant.” Pull in the director and peers to look at the stages of the dance. Work that hasn’t had time to be performance-tested needs another eye and the dancers are often more willing to try something new if they know the director is involved in the process.

Lastly, Work with what you’re given. Trust in your own ability to create a compelling structure, and only build phrases with material that looks strong on the dancers. Whether you’re someone who has the dancers create the phrases, or if you create each phrase and feed it to the dancers, trust your instincts. You will see what is working and what is not. Be honest with yourself and cut out what is not being accomplished to your highest standards and, above all, “kill your darlings”. Just because you loved it in your previous pieces doesn’t mean it works this time. In the end, this usually means that you are working with less material, but there are plenty of masterworks in every genre that are startling arrangements of simple movements. Repetition will be your friend here.

Now, get out there and make those dancers look fabulous!

Help! I Think I Want To Quit My Company

April 4, 2014 by Katie Sopoci Drake

Dancer: Eliza Larson
Photographer: Bill Watt

Goodbyes with Grace

by Katie C. Sopoci Drake, MFA, GL-CMA

There comes a time in every dancer’s career where they think about moving on to another company or just away from the company they’re currently in. Or to a desert island where they lie on the beach all day and bartend at night… But there are a few things to keep in mind while you are contemplating the shift:

Why do I want to quit? Is it because I’m unhappy with the company, the dancers, or dancing?

What does my contract look like? If not, do I have a verbal agreement or understanding?

And most importantly, what relationships do I want to foster after my departure?

If I only ever gave one piece of advice to my friends it would be, “Don’t burn your bridges”. Then right after that, I’d say, “Take care of yourself”. The two go hand-in-hand and there’s almost always a way to take care of yourself without burning bridges. Believe me, I’ve learned this all by trial and error through many regional modern dance companies (sorry, no union experience, but “read your contract” will apply doubly, and you could probably safely toss in “talk to your representative” in there too), and hopefully my experience will spare you some of the error!

First, why do you want to move on?

Is it the choreography? Then yes, it’s time to move on. Every company has a mission and a vision that they’ve put a lot of blood, sweat and money into. Try writing an artistic statement of your own, forming a company around it, fighting for funding, and then see if you feel differently about their particular vision. If you find that you are not jiving with the company’s direction, that’s probably not something that is going to change until you’re in a new company.

In this case, you should be able to have a conversation with your director about your interests and they may be able to suggest avenues to investigate. Just be careful how you use your words. Make sure you steer the focus onto your interests and away from their choreography. After all, there’s an audience for everyone, and someday you may be facing a young dancer who “isn’t interested” in what you’re creating.

That being said, you did make a commitment to the company and they are putting oodles of time, effort and money into you, so look at your remaining commitments as a time to grow and expand your range of appreciation.

Is it the way you are being cast? That could be your own problem. My first inclination is to suggest sticking it out for a couple of seasons to see if you can’t improve your standing over time. If this is an ongoing problem over many seasons, it’s time to have a conversation with your director about your future in the company. They may not see you in a leading role…ever.

Is it the dancers? Are they just awful to be around? Are any of them planning on moving on? You might outlast them. On the other hand, the dancers ARE the company. Weigh your options carefully, you might consider getting advice from your director, or another person removed from the company dancers. They can help you figure out your options as well as gauge the current company climate against the whole history of the company.

Is it you? Some dancers just need a break. You might be there. Are you finding that you have the same problems no matter what company you are in? Are you consistently unhappy whether you’re dancing for your company or guesting? In rehearsal or in class? You might need to turn your attention to just training, just making work or your own, going back to school, or shifting your focus entirely, even if it is just for a couple of months.

You’ve decided to leave. So, what do you need to do?

Check in with yourself. Have you identified why really want to leave? What does that tell you about your future options? Write down those goals and what people you’ll need to reach out to to accomplish them.

Check your contract. Read it 10 times. Then have a friend read it and tell you what you’re missing. Figure out the minimum and maximum you need to do to fulfill your contract and have it at the ready for your next conversation.

Check in with your Director. Or the level of administration that is directly above your position. Talking with them first, before rumors get around will let them know that they are your first priority and leave the conversation open-ended. Then schedule a follow-up check-in. This is important. You need to let them know that you haven’t made any final decisions before you’ve gotten their opinion and had time to process it. They’re putting their resources into you now (no matter your personal feelings towards them), so the least you can do is show deference.

Assess your options. Get a second opinion from other professionals who can be discreet. Their experience and inside knowledge of the dance community can be invaluable. Every dance company and history is unique. Use that history to help you make a graceful exit.

Talk to your allies. These are the people who you will actively keep in contact with. You may want to dance with them, for them, or work with them in another capacity in the future, but that won’t happen without a little work on your part. We dancers are busy. It’s amazing how much we rely on rehearsal time to be the glue for relationships.

But, don’t talk to them about “that rotten so-and-so.” Here’s where the bad blood may come in. I have committed the sin of talking too much many a time. Don’t you do the same. Focus on the good, and remember, less is best. Tell your family and your trusted bestie about “that rotten so-and-so,” but don’t tell your coworkers.

After you’re gone, thank everyone for their time regardless of your personal feelings. I know, you had a terrible time and feel like a jilted lover. Well, pull up your superhero Underoos, and make sure that people know that you know that you appreciated the resources that were expended for you. The dance world isn’t the corporate world, it’s a family, and every show is Christmas. Don’t make Aunt Mary regret the time she spent knitting that horrid sweater for you. Just send her a freaking thank-you card. It’s just how we do things.