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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!

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

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.

Jacob’s Pillow Dance – Looking Forward To Summer 2014

June 4, 2014 by 4dancers

by Christopher Duggan

Every June, my wife, dance videographer Nel Shelby, and I move back into our cabin in the Berkshires to spend the summer filming and photographing the incredible artists who perform at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. The Pillow’s 10-week run includes 2 new mainstage dance performances and 4 free outdoor performances on Inside/Out stage every week. We keep very busy and have a blast.

This summer, I’m excited to photograph some familiar dance companies – Doug Elkins, Dance Theatre of Harlem, LeeSaar, Mark Morris Dance Group, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Dance Heginbotham, Yin Yue Dance Company, Dorrance Dance, Trey McIntyre Project, Reggie Wilson, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet…I’ve had the pleasure of photographing all of these dance artists at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in past seasons, and they are all coming back to the Pillow this summer.

My dance photography for Jacob’s Pillow is meant to preserve these performances for years to come. The Pillow has a rich history and I love that I get to be a part of capturing it. I love photographing the artists at the Pillow so much that I started a passion project two summers ago. My Natural Light Studio is an outdoor studio where I collaborate with the dancers at the Pillow and make portraits.

I write a blog post every Friday with photos from the week’s dance performances and sneak peeks at new portraits in my Natural Light Studio. I’d love to share my photos from these 10 weeks with you. Sign up for my dance emails and you’ll get a photo and a note from me every Friday, June through August.

Here’s a look at photos we’ve made together before. I can’t wait to capture more this season.

Contributor Christopher Duggan is a wedding and dance photographer in New York City, the Berkshires and beyond. Duggan has been the Festival Photographer for Jacob’s Pillow Dance since 2006. In this capacity, and as a respected New York-based dance photographer, he has worked with renowned choreographers and performers of international acclaim as well as upstarts in the city’s diverse performance scene.

Christopher Duggan, Photo by Julia Newman

He photographs dancers in the studio and in performance, for promotional materials, portraits and press, and he often collaborates with his wife, Nel Shelby, and her Manhattan-based dance film and video editing company Nel Shelby Productions (nelshelby.com). Together, they have documented dance at performances from New York City to Vail International Dance Festival.

Christopher Duggan Photography also covers the finest wedding venues in the Metropolitan and Tri-State areas, in Massachusetts and the Berkshires, and frequently travels to destination weddings.

His photographs appear in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Knot, Destination I Do, Photo District News, Boston Globe, Financial Times, Dance Magazine, and Munaluchi Bridal, among other esteemed publications and popular dance and wedding blogs. One of his images of Bruce Springsteen was added to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and his dance photography has been exhibited at The National Museum of Dance and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.

His Natural Light Studio (http://www.christopherduggan.com/portfolio/natural-light-studio-jacobs-pillow-photography/) at Jacob’s Pillow is his most ambitious photography project to date – check out his blog to see more portraits of dance artists in his pop-up photo studio on the Pillow grounds.

Digging Deep: Dancer Katherine Crockett On Her Role In “Fall To Rise”

May 29, 2014 by 4dancers

Aeric Meredith-Goujon, photo by Aeric Meredith-Goujon — Katherine Crockett, photo by Aeric Meredith-Goujon

The other day we reviewed “Fall To Rise” and posted the preview for this dance-themed movie on the site. Today we have dancer/actress Katherine Crockett with us to talk a little bit about her role in the movie…

Even though your role in Fall To Rise is that of a dancer, it is really an acting role. Can you talk a little about the differences and similarities in preparing for a performance in dance as compared to getting ready to play a character in a movie?

In many ways it is very similar, in that you need to be able to let go and become the character you are playing, you must do research on your character and rehearse whether it’s rehearsing movement or words it is the same, the goal is to integrate the form so deeply and find the instinct behind the form (the movement or words) that will give you a personal connection and meaning when you perform it for an audience of the camera or the theater.

The action, whether acting or dancing, should feel organic and come from a place of intimate truth from within, that can only be arrived at through deep study of the character and the material (script/choreography) you wish to bring to life. Coming from Martha Graham’s world which has been my main background, her work demands that you dig into your own being and the character beyond what is even happening on stage. She said, “when dancing Medea, I knew her so well I even know what she had for breakfast!” When you walk onstage you don’t just walk onstage, you must know where you are walking in from, and carry that history with every step you take.

In acting it is the same, you have your own inner subtext, you have personal connections and associations with very specific details of your character and these may or may not be revealed through the action or script, but serve as an inner life that fills the action and even the stillness that one carries forth. So the preparation involves exploring every avenue to embody this character you are about to inhabit, you must become possessed by her, again to quote Martha Graham, “There is a moment when you look in the mirror and she looks back at you and recognizes herself in you.” You must find this connection first by looking at yourself, and how you can connect to this character on the deepest most primal level, and I believe some of the smallest details hold a particular link to finding these connections. Being a dancer, I’m highly sensitive to my body and know how to use the power of nonverbal communication, so my challenge was how to have that same organic flow and ease with words.

For me, the preparation for this role was a similar process to my preparations for other dance roles. What was more of a difference was how your character comes into play with the other characters during the process of shooting or performing. It is not just about acting, but for me, almost more about reacting to your fellow actors. Like in life, you don’t now what is going to happen next, so there needs to be the same unknowing, for me that meant really listening, really being in the moment, and then letting my reactions and my words come from that impulse, even though the words themselves are of course scripted and rehearsed.

Performing a dance has this same quality of reacting and responding to your fellow dancers, but the difference I felt was that in shooting, because there were several takes of a scene, I could try several different ways of communicating the same lines, or actions, and my co-stars would do the same which would then necessitate my own actions/reactions to change on the spot. It really puts you in the moment, you are not performing any virtuosic, spectacle, you are being present, you are being open and vulnerable, you can’t worry about how you look, because that will take you away from your emotional connection of the moment. Sometimes, we had to shoot an emotionally difficult scene over and over, and you really have to keep yourself connected to your character and the moment, or you will have nothing. There is a sensitivity to subtlety in your expression that is really important. The camera catches every detail, so unlike the stage where some things have to be exaggerated, in film, much of the power comes in the subtle movements and expressions.

Are any of your character’s struggles things that you have had to deal with in your own dance career?

Well, I don’t have a child, so that major struggle that my character is dealing with, I don’t have. But what I relate to and every dancer understands, is how after living a life as a professional dancer for a significant amount of years, your identity is absolutely linked to that. I’ve struggled with injuries that put me out for a year twice in my career, and I felt so lost, and depressed during that time. Dance, for me, is the heightened sensation of life moving through me, performing is an adrenaline rush, and the years of practice and dedication to your craft can finally be the means to which you can express your soul. Without that, you feel empty. It exists only in the moment, there is no product, nothing to hold or show after, it only exits the moment that it is lived. And by it’s very nature, of the instrument being the human body itself, it is a career, that has an early death.

Martha Graham said ” A dancer dies 2 deaths, the first one is when she can no longer dance.” I’ve been at this career my whole life, and my body has been through a lot, and I am terrified for the day that I can’t dance as fully as I want. I see things that already have shifted. Aging as a dancer is painful, emotionally and physically as well. The dance world is a ageist world, where youth is glorified, the extreme exaggeration of what our culture already does to women in particular. I feel this pressure, and though I’m still at my prime, I know that there will be a time when it will become more difficult.

Martha Graham broke this stereotype in her own life and choreographed and performed her major peak life works in her 50’s and continued to perform into her 70’s on stage.* I admire artists like Mikhail Baryshnikov, who continue to transform and evolve reaching out to new territories, and redefining themselves.

I think my character, Lauren Drake, has tried to give up dance and replace it with motherhood, which she had hoped would make her feel whole, and she is trying to live a different life, the life that society says should make her happy. She misses her art. She doesn’t know how to be a mom, and she doesn’t have the one thing she knew she was good at. She feels lost.

That for me was something I connected with, through having to be out with injuries. And also, the need to have someone understand her, which she is looking to her husband for, and he doesn’t get her–which is why her friendship with Sheila becomes such a huge moment for her. Though I’m happily married now, I was engaged to another man before I met my current husband, and I went through a very similar experience as my character Lauren. It was so painful, he didn’t understand my need to dance, and wanted me to fit into the traditional wife role, and I was tying to please him but was losing myself. He was jealous of my dancing, and took it out by cheating on me. So that scene in our film Fall to Rise, was really tough and deep for me. It triggered a lot of painful memories. I think a lot of women, even non dancers will relate to this feeling.

What was your greatest challenge in playing this character?

Not only was this my first leading role in a feature film, but I had to do most of my scenes with a screaming baby, which was a huge challenge, especially in scenes where she was supposed to be quiet. She was only 4 months old and did not like being in a strange woman’s arms, so it was really hard to focus on acting and her, but maybe that made my character’s uncomfortability with being a mom come through stronger. I felt so bad for her, especially when I had to change her diapers, it was not pretty, and I know she could tell, I didn’t have a clue how to change them!

What did you enjoy the most about the process of making this film?

These amazing artists, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Tamara Tunie, Desomond Richardson, Kohl Suddoth, Kate White and more, were such a pleasure to collaborate with. I felt so much openness, and respect from the entire cast. I really learned from everyone and had special moments with each one. Especially working with my director Jayce Bartok, I felt such encouragement and trust. He gave me permission to try things and I felt safe and supported to dig in and go for it. And of course, working with Daphne Rubin-Vega was a highlight, I learned so much on the spot by working with her. She pushed me, yet made me feel comfortable enough to just try things as crazy as they might be.

To have such a connection and chemistry with someone is really important, because it reflects on screen, and it definitely keeps the intense shooting schedule from killing you off. I adore Desmond Richardson, and to get to dance with him onscreen or off is a dream, so this was certainly a highlight, absolutely I loved our scenes together. And then I must say, the process of collaborating with our DP Kate Phelan was incredible. It was definitely a dance duet between she and I, and because she has a background as a dancer herself, she understood how to film my movement and to anticipate where my body would go, to capture the essence and flow as well as the emotion and depth. We developed a truly a special connection that made the process of creating each scene a really beautiful experience.

What would you say is this film’s greatest strength?

The vulnerable way it shares with us the journeys of these two women who both have lost themselves and find themselves again by finding each other for this moment in time.

Do you think that non-dancers could related to the movie? Why or why not?

Yes, because it isn’t just a film about dance or a dancer, it is a film about friendship, and about following one’ s heart. It is about being able to be a parent and also have your own career and how to balance this. It is the journey of losing oneself and coming to find oneself in a deeper and more whole way.

What is coming up next for you?

I’m currently starring as The Queen in the Off-Broadway immersive theater hit production of Queen of the Night, by the producers of Sleep No More and The Box. We opened on Dec. 31st 2013, and up indefinitely. I love immersive theater and am interested in continuing to work on this and other such projects in the future.I also, would love to collaborate with a few choreographers I like to create a full evening show to perform in NY and tour.

*edited at author’s request 5/29

Thoughts On Starting A Dance Screening Program

May 27, 2014 by 4dancers

by Jan Dunn, MS

As summer starts, and many schools / companies take a break until fall (or have “summer intensives”), it made me realize that now is a good time for directors to think about possibly implementing a dance screening program, to begin as things gear up in August -i.e, there’s time to think and learn about it / gather your resources together…Hence this article….

I’ve had the good fortune to be able to start a dance screening protocol at two university dance programs where I was working–one at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles (LMU), in 2006, and the other at the University of Colorado-Boulder (UC-B), in 2010. I had known about screenings for many years, from conferences / articles /and listening to dance colleagues about how they worked at their school or company. But my LMU and UC-B initiatives gave me valuable knowledge and personal experience on how to implement such a tool for a dance program with limited resources. This article is written from my own experiences with those programs, and suggestions on how to move forward to implement something similar in your own school / company.

First, what IS a “dance screening”?

It is looking at the dancer in several ways: [Read more…]

Student Spotlight: Melo Ludwig

May 23, 2014 by 4dancers

Today for our Student Spotlight we have a pre-professional student from The School at Steps. Meet Melo Ludwig!

When did you start dancing?

I started dancing when I was two years old. I took a “Mommy and Me” ballet and tap class and it was lots of fun! I continued taking ballet and tap each year and, as I got older, I started taking jazz too. After moving to New York City last year, I immediately signed up for classes at The School at Steps and was invited to audition for their Pre-Professional Program. I am just finishing up my first year in the program and absolutely love it!

Did you like it right away or did it take a little time?

I loved dancing right from the very start! I have always been the kind of girl who dances everywhere; at home, in grocery stores! The first time I danced on a stage was at my first recital when I was three years old. My mom was waiting in the wings and, when I came running back to her after my performance, I flew into her arms and squealed, “I love dancing under all those lights!”

What do you like the best about dance?

This is such a hard question, I’m not sure I can pick just one thing! I love how dance makes me feel like I can do anything! My body feels strong, powerful, and happy. I love going to class and look forward to all my classes each week. Most people don’t like Mondays but they’re actually my favorite day of the week because I get to go back to ballet class after a long weekend with no classes. Performing is another thing I like best about dancing. I love to be on stage in front of an audience!

What do you think is hard about dance?

It’s hard to watch older dancers doing certain steps that I can’t do yet because my body isn’t ready for them. I’m really excited to one day go on pointe, but it’s so difficult to be patient and wait for that time to come.

What do you think is easy about dance?

Staying focused in class is easy for me because I love dancing so much. I also find it easy to learn and remember combinations, probably because they are so much fun. My secret to remembering them is that I practice all the time!

What does it feel like when you are moving to the music?

It makes me feel alive, happy and free! Sometimes I close my eyes to feel the music and I feel like it flows through me. I make up my own moves to songs and let the music take me to another world. I listen to music as I go to sleep but, sometimes, I literally have to get out of bed and start dancing around my room. It’s hard to listen to music without dancing!

How do your teachers help you dance better?

My teachers are the best! They explain things really well and give me good corrections to help me become a better dancer. They are incredible dancers themselves and to watch them dance inspires me! They also teach great combinations that I love to go home and practice.

Do you think you will dance for a long time? Why or why not?

I think I will dance forever! A dream of mine is to dance professionally and I can only hope it will come true one day! I can’t imagine my life without dance.

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