Stephen Acrobat

Millbrook, NY - August 2020 - The Erick Hawkins Dance Company and Erick Hawkins Dance Foundation have been part of my life in so many dimensions at this point. I’ve trained in the technique, performed with the company, supported and coordinated events for them, coached through social media, collaborated with director Katherine Duke, and now filmed an excerpt of a work (Circa 1950) they are breathing new life into. It feels good to be part of this legacy.

Tannhauser Opera Project

Hudson Athens Lighthouse, NY - August 2020 - Live Opera? Not my expertise. Live opera with a former student responsible for the choreography? I’ll bite. For the second time this summer, I dove in as a film director. A role quite new to me, but it fits rather like a glove. This performance is optimistic about a live show in October 2021, but have been thoughtful all the way through about navigating a pandemic. I felt grateful to be able to work, and to be able to work in a covid-conscious way.

Choreography on the Edge 2020

Woodstock, NY - August 2020 - The Choreography on the Edge Showcase is older than I am. I first participated as a young dancer, and have been producing it for the last several years. When Covid-19 struck, it became evident that our tiny Byrdcliffe Theater wouldn’t afford safe conditions to continue. We set out to shoot and edit every choreographer’s work individually, and then present it digitally. The in-theater setting created such a dynamic and intimate experience for viewers, I dare say we’re all the better for it.

Muddy Voodoo

New Orleans, LA - June, July 2020 - When I board the plane three times a year to head south to The Big Easy, my shoulders get just a little looser. I breathe just a little deeper, and when I exit the airport on the other side, I’m almost instantly wet from humidity. This summer, Covid kept my friends in New Orleans from presenting their Summer Gala, and they asked me to help. We filmed 23 site specific pieces in 7 days, and I cut and edited those works together to create a virtual showcase. For them, a big creative pivot was a no brainer. That’s just how it goes in a city that values their arts and culture.

Before You Go Before Man

Millbrook, NY - June 2020 - At the end of last year, Eliza and I created a piece with her as soloist. The piece felt sleepy yet crisp, like wet linens drying out on the line in the summer breeze. For her “senior film”, in an effort to find a sort of closure in place of what would have been a “senior solo” performed live, we used the same music - but acoustic. Eliza had never danced before working with me over the last few years. Here at the end of our time together, she is one of the most soulful movers I’ve worked with to date.

Lex

Millbrook, NY - June 2020 - Lexi and I captured what became her “senior film”, following her solitary move out of her dorm. She had been away from campus for three months, and permitted back to the boarding school she called home only briefly to pack up and leave. After saying goodbye to her dorm, she and I wandered off to a big field, where we happened upon a bench. I started by asking her to move the way it felt to mourn. I ended by asking her to move the way it felt to be starting the rest of her life. It felt right to offer this gift to Lexi not just as a source of closure to the years she spent in my studio, but as a gift in celebration of what is to come.

Rapid Hope

Millbrook, NY - June 2020 -  I’ve spent the last three years working with Hope as her dance teacher, her advisor (and frankly, her cheerleader), and the last two years working with her as one of my four dance captains. This young woman has strong maternal instincts and holds other humans with immense care. It was with her that I hoped to try an idea for bringing some sort of “senior film” to life, in lieu of what would have been her senior solo - and significant closure as she graduates High School.

Sweet Jane

Rhinebeck, NY - June 2020 - Jane has had a tumultuous training history. She’s not the kid who spent 12 years training at the same studio before she graduated. She had studios close on her, teachers hurt her, you name it. This kid has had to navigate a great deal during her training years. She’s had to fight for experiences, seek new educators, and really push the needle herself to get the education she wanted. Then of course, enter pandemic. When Jane and I met up to craft this “senior film” together, she had a clear vision of wanting to start in the parking lot - where she essentially started. She wanted to move in front of the door to the studio where it all began for her. Then, she wanted to end on a dirt road, to signify that so much more was ahead of her. Challenge accepted, Jane!

The Big Easy

Improvising

Twice a year I travel to New Orleans to work with students at The Studio School of Dance & NOLA Dance Project. The first trip is to set solos on students who will be competing, auditioning for summer dance intensives, or applying to colleges or companies. The second trip is to be part of the studio’s summer dance intensives.

This March, I also travelled to New Orleans, lovingly known as “The Big Easy”, to set a new work on these students. We culminated our time together with a film shoot in a big green field. I asked these young students to improvise, and gave them some prompt work to do so.

Improvisation is not simple. There are several methods & practices. While there is enough material to teach an entire year long (or longer!) course, it is imperative that it be taught with proper credit and historical context. Give the students something to hold onto!

My ultimate favorite form of improvisation to teach young improvisers is from the Cunningham method - called “Field Dance”. How appropriate, then, to have finished our time in a big green field!

Dripping

“Do you need a prompt from me?”

“No, thanks”. They were just fine using their imaginations for improvising - rivaled in size only by the massive trees surrounding us, dripping reliably toward the earth while simultaneously reaching eternally to the sky. I had the opportunity of shooting some footage with movers from ELLEvate Dance Company, based in New Orleans, LA. I only asked them to move in response to the breeze.

I so enjoy filming movers and creating footage that provides viewers a perspective they can’t otherwise access. It’s great for capturing dance works, behind-the-scenes footage, or the depth and ability of individual movers. This sort of footage makes the content stand out, it is striking. It captures you and invites you into the fold.

We could all use a bit more of that in our lives.

Systole

Dual-Purpose Trip

I travelled to Austin, TX for a dual-purpose trip. The main goal was to be the original cast member of a resetting of Alluvial Bed, a work by Katherine Duke on Texas State University dance faculty. There’s a moment on stage in this piece when I feel more myself than ever before.

The second goal of the trip was to act as videographer for the production. What a joy to be recognized, amidst all my toil & play in video, as someone who could accurately capture a production.

Please click here for a sample of a little something I put together. You should note, the dancers weren’t in costume and several cast members are missing.

Jane Carney

Jane & Grace

Jane & Grace have a unique bond. There’s alot of history there. There’s a lot of water under their bridge. It’s a sturdy bridge.

Jane is a budding choreographer, and both humans move magically together. When they asked if I’d film a new duet for them, it was a pleasure to oblige. They have both been students of mine before Grace went off to study dance at Marymount Manhattan. Jane will follow and start her collegiate dance studies next year.

Sharing space with them, even if behind the camera, makes me feel a little more full than I was before.

If you’d like to see the full video, you can click here.

Berkshire Pulse

It’s About Sensation

Every summer I have the distinct opportunity of working with any number of dance studios on their summer intensives and summer dance camps! Sometimes, I even help studios design their programming, putting them in touch with the right artists and curating the themes, key take-aways, and final products.

Last summer I worked with Berkshire Pulse students for 2 weeks, and taught contemporary technique. We culminated the intensive with a film shoot after building a piece based on sensation.

I love teaching students how to feel things while they’re moving. It’s important to me as a performer and choreographer that the audience have a memorable experience, and that starts with the mover. If you don’t feel something - neither will they!