10 Questions With…

10 Questions With…Hannah Renegar

July 9, 2012 by Ashley David

Today we have 10 Questions With… Hannah Renegar from the USA International Ballet Competition…

1. What is your background in dance?

I graduated from the University of Florida in 2007 with a BFA in Dance Performance. Prior to and during my college career, I studied both classical and contemporary forms of dance and had the opportunity to perform with several pre-professional groups.

2. What are you currently doing in the field?

I am currently working as the Artistic Administrator for the USA International Ballet Competition. My main focus at the moment is preparing for the 2012 Reunion Gala that will take place in July of 2012 in Jackson, MS.

3. How did you first become involved with USA IBC?

Brooke Wyatt, the Artistic Administrator for the 2006 and 2010 competitions, contacted me about interviewing for the Assistant Artistic Administrator position for the 2010 competition. I was offered the position and was thrilled to be able to accept it.

4. What was it like to serve as the Assistant Artistic Administrator?

Serving as the Assistant Artistic Administrator allowed me to experience the administrative side of the arts first hand. I had the opportunity to be involved in the final stages of planning for this event.

I thoroughly enjoyed being involved with competitor and coach communication as dancers from around the world worked through the application process and prepared for their arrival in Jackson.

5. Has it been a big change to work in your new role as the Artistic Administrator? Why or why not?

While I have only been in the Artistic Administrator role since October of 2011, I do feel like I have assumed more responsibility and have been more involved in the decision making process as we prepare for the 2012 Gala. Working as the Assistant Artistic Administrator definitely helped me to prepare for this new role.

6. What are the duties of this position? [Read more…]

10 Questions With…Allan Greene

June 5, 2012 by 4dancers

Today on 10 Questions With… we have Allan Greene, a pianist that works in the dance world…

We would also like to welcome Allan to our contributing writer staff here at 4dancers. He’ll be writing a new monthly column appropriately titled, “Music Notes”…

1. How did you get started in music?

I started composing on my own when I was eight years old after I tired of copying songs from our third grade songbooks. The next year I began studying the cello at my elementary school, and the next year I began studying piano with the wife of one of my father’s electronic engineer colleagues. Things moved rapidly from there.

The cantor at my family’s synagogue recommended me to a Viennese choir-master who passed me on to an eccentric Juilliard-trained pianist. The intensity of the Juilliard training was too much for me and conflicted with Boy Scouts and after-school basketball. I moved on to a retired violinist / pianist who devoted his Saturdays to me, and presented me in recital several months before my 16^th birthday.

All the while I was composing on my own. At the age of twelve I was composing suites of atonal works, for various chamber music combinations as well as solo piano. My high school choir performed a setting I created of a poem by James Joyce. Stylistically, I was heading out the trajectory blazed by Charles Ives, inventing what I called “stream-of-consciousness music” analogous to Joyce’s literary technique: I created a musical narrative out of musical objets trouvés, using juxtaposition of styles and recognizable snippets to shape the drama. A generation later, due to the invention of sampling synthesizers, personal computers and audio production software, some of my ideas were independently showing up as common compositional tools in film and television scores.

2. What brought you into the dance world?

Accompanying ballet and modern dance classes was a work-study contract gig available at Carleton College (Northfield, Minnesota) in my freshman year. After a term washing dishes at one of the college’s cafeterias, it was a god-send. I found it easy, delightful to watch and participate in, and, importantly, made being a musician both quotidian and artistic. I’ve never liked having the spotlight trained on me, so this allowed me to participate and observe simultaneously. Accompanying dance became a laboratory for me to study the effect on collaborating artists of all kinds of music and all sorts of harmonies, melodies, rhythms and textures. It still is.

3. Where has your career taken you in terms of playing for dancers? [Read more…]

10 Questions With…Kristie Kahns

May 21, 2012 by Ashley David

Today on 10 Questions With… we have dance photographer Kristie Kahns…

1. What is your dance background?

I grew up in Grand Rapids MI, and began dancing at age 6. I studied ballet, jazz, and tap, and participated in my studio’s competition teams. But I began to love ballet the most, so I also studied at the School of Grand Rapids Ballet for about 5 years, before moving to Chicago.

I moved to Chicago to attend Columbia College, with an intention to major in photography and possibly dance as well. I did take some dance classes at Columbia, but photography consumed my schedule. Living in Chicago, I was exposed to hip hop culture, and became infatuated. I began to take hip hop classes at Lou Conte Dance Studio, and hung around with a lot of b-boys, even apprenticed with Culture Shock Chicago. Learning about the history of breakdancing led me to capoeira, and eventually I became a member of Gingarte Capoeira Chicago, with whom I trained for 7 years. Currently, though, I have devoted myself to my Ashtanga yoga practice, and am training for my teacher certification at Moksha Yoga. So I have a lot of body movement experience and knowledge.

2. How did you get started in dance photography?

During my first couple years at Columbia, I definitely missed dancing everyday and wanted to stay connected to dancers. My first studio lighting class was taught by Bill Frederking (a notable Chicago dance photographer), and I became inspired by his work to photograph dancers in a studio setting. I really couldn’t imagine photographing anything else, so I reached out to dancers that I would meet and began collaborating. My passion for dance and knowledge of technique came through in the photos, so I focused on that throughout my time at Columbia. After I graduated, I began to photograph for some Chicago dance companies that were new on the scene at the time – Instruments of Movement, Luna Negra Dance Theater, and Chicago Tap Theatre. And just kept going with it.

3. What do you think is the biggest challenge in dance photography?

This is a good question. Dance photography is a bit of a paradox: dance is the movement of bodies through space, and photography is a fraction of a moment, producing a frozen and forever still image. The challenge for the photographer then is to make a still image that appears to move, or seem as though it is about to move. That challenge can actually become a means of making a stylistic choice. How do I want to depict the movement or the dancer? Do I want to show the blur of motion or crisply freeze the movement? How can I show the impetus of the movement? I’ve experimented with many different ways of shooting, but I particularly like the work I’ve done which combines strobe lighting and long shutter speeds, which portrays a crisp moment of a movement with the blur of motion in or out of the movement too. But the style that was made so popular by Lois Greenfield, freezing moving bodies in mid-air or in the midst of a dramatic movement, is fun to play with too. Ultimately, the photographer needs to have a great sense of timing and intuition into the movement, because timing is everything when you’re shooting bodies in motion.

4. What has been the most exciting moment for you in your dance photography career thus far?

A few highlights come to mind. My first cover for Dance Magazine was a big deal for me – I photographed Meredith Dincolo and Kellie Epperheimer of HSDC for DM’s Body Issue, July 2008. Since I grew up admiring the photos in Dance Magazine, it was amazing to photograph the cover and feature article. Another great experience was photographing for Cirque du Soleil’s Banana Shpeel show, which did its preview run here at the Chicago Theater in late 2009. The show had a lot of dancing and acrobatic acts, and the lighting and costumes made for a lot of great performance shots. Those performers were incredible!

5. Can you describe what you do to get ready to shoot a dance performance?

If possible, I like to watch the choreography first so I can see the movement and staging of the dancers. Sometimes I can do this at a tech rehearsal, other times in the studio. This helps me know if there may be a better side of the stage to be on when shooting. It does help to see the dance and the lighting first, and I discuss details with the director about choreography and positioning myself in the theater. But I’ve done plenty of performance shooting without ever seeing the dance beforehand.

6. Where do you set up to photograph live dance?

It depends on the situation. Sometimes, I’m able to photograph a full dress rehearsal, which is obviously preferable – no audience to disturb and I can move around in the house and get close to the stage to get the best angle. If shooting during an actual performance, it’s tricky. I need to be close to the stage but usually off to the side, away from the audience as much as possible so I won’t disturb their experience. Every theater is different, so I just have to find the best spot where I won’t be a distraction from the performance.

7. Is there a particular dancer or company that you would love to photograph? If so, who, and why?

So many! I would love to photograph Misty Copeland and Drew Jacoby, both very hot in the dance world right now. Both of them are gorgeous and have incredible technique and very athletic bodies. I actually did get a chance to shoot Drew Jacoby when she performed with Complexions at the Chicago Dancing Festival many years ago – she is simply stunning! I’d also love to photograph Maria Kowroski one day. She is a principal with NYCB, and she is from Grand Rapids as well. I saw her perform with Grand Rapids Ballet for many years before she moved to NYC, and she was quite an inspiration to myself and many young dancers at the School of Grand Rapids Ballet. Neguin, a b-boy from Brazil and winner of the Red Bull BC One in 2010, is also on the top of my list of favorite dancers. His style and talent make him so much more than a b-boy, he’s truly amazing to watch.

As far as a company, I would love to photograph Nederlands Dans Theater, because they are simply the most amazing dance company I’ve ever seen. I’d also love to work with Antics Performance, a fantastic hip hop company based in Los Angeles.

8. What camera/lenses do you shoot with for this type of photography?

My digital camera is a Canon 5D Mark II, and I have a variety of lenses I use depending on the situation. For performances, I use a long lens – I have an 80-200mm f2.8 which I like for performances. For personal projects, I still love to shoot medium format film with my Hasselblad. I don’t get to use it very often anymore, but there’s nothing like that camera! The optics are fantastic and I love the square format.

9. What was the most challenging assignment you ever had?

A recent instance that comes to mind is when I photographed the Yoga Journal Conference last summer. I documented some of the classes and activities at the conference, which were held in very poorly lit and pretty unattractive hotel ballrooms and conference rooms. It was a challenge to make good images in an environment like that.

Basically, any scenario on location or on stage where there is poor lighting is a challenge.

10. What is next for you?

I’m focusing on building my portfolio of yoga photography right now. Currently, I am working on a book project with one of my yoga teachers, the beautiful and amazing Alexia Bauer. We’re collaborating to make a photography book of the Primary Series postures of Ashtanga yoga. I’m really excited about it. I’m going to make a Kickstarter fund to promote and sell advance copies of it. I’m also planning some shoots with dancers for personal projects that I’ll work on over the summer. Other than that, I’d really like to do some traveling soon, it’s been awhile since I spent time outside of Chicago!

Bio: Kristie Kahns is an accomplished photographer based in Chicago, specializing in capturing dance and creating dance-inspired portraits. Growing up in Grand Rapids, MI, Kristie was an avid young dancer, participating in many competitive dance companies and studying at the School of Grand Rapids Ballet. But a photography course in high school sparked her interest, and in 1998, she moved to Chicago to attend Columbia College, where she received a Bachelors degree in Photography. Remaining close to her original passion, collaborating with dancers seemed inevitable; thus, she has spent the past several years becoming a part of the Chicago dance community through her camera. She has worked as a freelance photographer for Cirque du Soleil, Diavolo Dance Theater, Dance/USA, Luna Negra Dance Theater, Chicago Tap Theatre, River North Chicago Dance Company, Chicago Human Rhythm Project, and many other dance organizations in Chicago. Her work has been published in Dance Magazine, Dance Spirit Magazine, Dance Teacher Magazine, Pointe Magazine, Time Out Chicago, and has been used for various marketing materials for dance performances and performing arts organizations nationwide.

She was a recipient of a Community Arts Assistance Program Grant through the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs in 2007 and 2009, and received an Illinois Arts Council Professional Development Grant in 2010.

She enjoys continuing to explore the many manifestations of the dance medium in our world, from capoeira in Brazil, to the traditional dances at Native American powwows in New Mexico, to b-boy battles in Chicago. Through her camera, she pushes for new ways to express her admiration for movement artists of all kinds, and continues to allow her passion for photography and movement to evolve.

All photos courtesy of Kristie Kahns

10 Questions With…Erin Carlisle Norton

May 1, 2012 by Ashley David

Today we have 10 questions with…Erin Carlisle Norton, Artistic Director of The Moving Architects…

1. What is your background in dance?

I’m originally from upstate New York and spent my growing up years in Pittsburgh, PA training at the Civic Light Opera Academy before attending VA Commonwealth University to study dance, and graduating from The Ohio State University (OSU) with a BFA in Dance. I’ve had formal training in ballet, jazz, modern, postmodern, and improvisational dance techniques, finding my home in choreography while an undergraduate student. After moving to Chicago after graduation in 2003, I continued to make work while attaining my Pilates Certification and Graduate Laban Certificate in Movement Analysis from Columbia College Chicago. The most influential tools for developing my choreographic ‘style’ and vision as a choreographer developed during this time through the studies of Rudolf Laban and choreographic workshops with Susan Rethorst and Jeanine Durning. I formed my nonprofit dance company The Moving Architects in 2007 when I felt ready to create a more stable framework and formal presence as a choreographer.

SECTOR_Laura_Angela_72 — "The Groove" Andrew Rodderick with dancers Angela Luem and Laure Vinci de Vanegas

2. What are you currently doing?

I am currently Artistic Director of The Moving Architects, choreographing, performing, and teaching nationally and internationally, while also a graduate student pursuing my MFA in Dance at OSU. I have my hands in many projects. I am continuing to collaborate with my longtime musician Ian Hatcher and filmmaker Andrea Slavik while working with dancers in Columbus and Chicago on short-term and long-term dance projects. My choreographic research is taking me around the world in the coming months as I engage in contemporary and traditional global dance practices from the research perspective of dance instructor, choreographer, and film documentarian, teaching and performing in Guatemala with the Tercer Festival Internacional de Danze Antigua and in Morocco with Action Danse 5 Festival. I’m asking questions such as how can contemporary modern dance be shared internationally? How can cross-cultural dance experiences be translated into creative choreographic processes? This year I’ve also had the valuable opportunity to be graduate assistant to choreographer and Professor Bebe Miller.

3. What is your chorographic process typically like? [Read more…]

10 Questions With…Emily Zager

April 25, 2012 by Ashley David

Today’s 10 Questions With… features Emily Zager….

1. What is your background in dance?

I grew up studying ballet, tap and jazz since I was 2. In high school, I was an active performer in our dance department and competed on our poms squad for 3 years I spent a year performing on Loyola’s athletic dance team, then decided to obtain a minor degree in dance. I studied jazz and modern as well as the art of choreography. My senior year, I performed an original piece at Danceworks Chicago – a defining moment in my dance career. I’ve been a performer for Walt Disney World and taught ballroom to middle schools around the Milwaukee area.

2. What are you currently doing in dance?

In a professional sense, I am on a dance hiatus. I’ve been focusing on work and a few other things but am currently looking to take classes and am playing with the idea of starting up a small dance group as an outlet for choreography and discussion.

3. Do you have any favorite dancers or dance companies? If so, why are they your favorites?

Danceworks stands out to me because they are a community-oriented organization. They present amazing shows and give the opportunity for local dancers to showcase their works. My favorite dance companies also include Alvin Ailey and Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago. I love jazz.

4. What is the best advice you have ever received from a teacher or mentor?

I studied dance in college with a professor who radiated positivity. Even if I was having a bad day, I felt transformed after taking her class. Every time we’d gather on the floor to begin, she would instruct us to leave whatever happened or was happening to us that day at the door. It cleared the mind and brought a sense of focus and resolve to what we were set to accomplish. Great advice that’s applicable outside the classroom as well.

5. What do you enjoy most about dance?

Dance is mentally, emotionally and spiritually freeing. It clears the mind and opens the heart. I love the sheer energy it demands, the challenge of it and how it’s danced can channel virtually any sensation.

6. Where do you think the dance field is headed?

People are becoming more comfortable exploring different styles of dance. I also enjoy the exposure dance has been getting through media and entertainment. Dance will continue to be integrated as a valuable fabric of our culture. Witnessing performers challenge themselves on TV or in local competitions is just another way to get performers of all ages and levels to unite and continue exploring the field!

7. What do you think of the online dance community?

The online dance community is amazing. Blogs, Twitter and message boards have become incredible vehicles for advice, suggestions and motivation. I’ve utilized digital media for tips on choreography, music ideas, questions about injuries and more. It’s a very supportive and passionate environment.

8. Do you follow any dance blogs on a regular basis?

I follow 4dancers as well as Kiner Enterprises on a regular basis. I like “The Dance Buzz” for the fun, helpful tips, musical ideas and monthly challenges.

9. In terms of your time in the dance field, is there a moment that stands out for you?

There are many moments in my dance career that I cherish. One particular moment stands out to me while I was filming a media event for Disney. In the moments before my performance was slated to begin, I glanced over the crowd of 70,000 people, and made eye contact with two excited little girls in the crowd. I pointed them out, got them to giggle, and their parents grinned and mouthed “thank you.” I knew in that moment I was exactly where I was supposed to be – so much energy, fun, joy and purpose in that moment.

10. What is next for you in the world of dance?

I would love to continue teaching dance, and aim to continue cultivating a profession out of it. One of my goals is to someday open a studio of my own. I am always searching for an outlet to practice and perform, and hope to study the tango next!

Personal Bio:

I am a 24-year-old dancer and account executive currently living in Milwaukee, WI. I graduated from Loyola University Chicago and am creative, ambitious and adventurous. I’ve trained in dance for over 20 years (ballet to ballroom) and there is nothing that brings me more joy than the art of performing. I thrive off connecting with the world around me, whether in a face-to-face conversation or through social media. Besides dance, my favorite things include traveling, sports, and spending time with my friends and family.

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