BY KATHRYN ROSZAK

Note: This essay was first published in Stance on Dance’s fall/winter 2022 print issue. To learn more, visit stanceondance.com/print-publication.

In Swan Lake, a woman is trapped in a swan’s body by a male sorcerer, and she can only be freed by uniting with a prince in death. In The Sleeping Beauty, a young princess grows up and must choose a suitor, only to be pricked by a spindle and sent to sleep for 100 years, from which she can only be awoken by the kiss of a prince. These are the fairy tales of ballet: women who are trained to perfection must sacrifice themselves. Now the myths and fairytales are being rewritten as more women take leadership roles in dance.

We take a look at three women leaders today. Wendy Whelan, the highly individual dancer from New York City Ballet who danced for Balanchine and is now Associate Artistic Director of NYCB, has changed the culture by bringing in women and artists of color. Janet Eilber, who was chosen by Martha Graham to dance in Graham’s company, is now ensuring the company is not a museum but a place to make new dances. Lia Cirio, a ballerina with Boston Ballet and who is equally at home in classical and contemporary repertoire, is now a promising choreographer. They discuss their experiences navigating the upper echelons of the dance world where it is more common for men to be leaders than women. They also share how COVID has affected the field, and what their outlooks are moving forward as women at the top of dance.

Wendy Whelan

Wendy Whelan was featured in the film Restless Creature. She danced for NYCB under Peter Martins, a renowned dancer who was bequeathed the directorship of the company by George Balanchine, and whose own directorship became mired in scandalous #MeToo eruptions.

Whelan feels that the culture of the company is very much changed from when she danced there: “As a dancer in my generation, I felt pigeonholed. The message was, ‘You are one thing.’ I didn’t believe I could dance and teach at the same time. I didn’t feel the capacity or that I had the experience to do that, the mental side of structuring a class, or leadership, not in the way I’d practiced my ballet technique. I’d have dreams where I would be on the top of the hill looking down at a rehearsal, looking down at the part and somebody filled in for me. ‘But that’s my part,’ I’d cry out. So there is that feeling of so many women vying for a leading ballerina position. It haunted me.

I felt once I got something I should hang on to it and cultivate it or I’d lose it. It was a message I received from the culture. It’s changing quite a bit. We have so many college graduates now. Some principal ballerinas are getting their MBAs and are mothers. You can do it all!

I’m the Associate Artistic Director. It’s a different position from being the leader. I work as part of a team with Jonathan Stafford and Justin Peck. We really go into our leadership as a trio. So, I’m creating the position. I’ve seen women leaders and artistic directors but not necessarily women in my position who are part of a team. When I was going for this job, I was told, ‘Don’t be a diva.’ I’m not a diva. It was hard for me to figure out that balance: my voice, my tone, my wording. I wanted to just be myself.

In the team we are finding a balance of trust of our individual voices. We are looking at the pieces of the pie, all aspects of society, to find those voices, find that union forward.

Out of seven recent commissions, three works were by women, and one is our first ever choreographer of color. I have chills; the thought of letting different artists from the spectrum of our art form have a voice. That’s an aspect I take very seriously. We have our first full-time faculty member of color at School of American Ballet. That’s powerful for our institution. We pride ourselves at NYCB for innovation, progress, and having the future in mind. I also want to support the females leaving the company. There is an imbalance of men being considered for leadership roles. I feel it, see it. I step in whenever I can to help women see more aspects of themselves. I think for women, it’s a little bit tougher in that way.”

Wendy Whelan, Kathryn Roszak, Sidra Bell, and Andrea Miller at Danse Lumiere’s Women Directors, Choreographers, and Composers award ceremony, NYC, 2021, Photo by Steven Pisano

Janet Eilber

Janet Eilber is a highly intelligent former Graham dancer: “During my tenure as artistic director we have experimented with a great range of programming designed to give our audience more points of access to the masterworks of modern dance. These include offering a spoken introduction at all our performances to contextualize programming, the use of media and narration onstage, unexpected partnerships, rich and varied education opportunities, online competitions, and – most importantly – the commissioning of new works by today’s top artists that resonate with the Graham classics and reveal their timeless interaction with current conversations.

The shift in the dance world to hire more women leaders is a long time coming and has been accelerated in the past few years by the #MeToo movement and other shifts in cultural awareness. The recent Supreme Court decision stripping women of equal rights and the many other issues dividing this country have created new awareness and activism around equity. Organizations are asking what they can do to provide more opportunities to those who have been left out of the conversation for too long – not only women. And in the arts, funders are demanding this kind of due diligence from nonprofit organizations. It’s inspiring to see that this heightened awareness is showing tangible results.

We have been women led since inception, of course, and the great majority of our staff and faculty are women. But we continue to focus on how we can mentor or support women – on what opportunities we can offer them. And more and more when we commission new work, we turn to women artists – not only for choreography, but also music, costume, and lighting design. Men in the Graham organization are quite outnumbered!

Working with and supporting women and other underserved communities, frankly, is always at the center of our planning. Martha Graham believed in the empowerment of the individual – regardless of gender, race, or creed. That belief remains at the heart of our work throughout the organization.

Our 100th anniversary is coming up and we are reaching out to artistic directors around the world asking them to take inspiration from Martha Graham – to perform a Graham work or use her legacy in some creative way.

Of course, Martha Graham mentored me in an approach to dance, to creativity, and to living life, but I have to say that she built on a solid foundation given to me by my mother, Carol Brown Eilber, who was part of the feminist wave of the 1960s. She gave me a subscription to Ms. Magazine for my 21st birthday and taught me that I deserved equal opportunities in everything I did.

The arts in general are grappling with recovering from the pandemic. It’s not just about returning to the ‘normal’ we all knew. It’s asking, ‘What is the new normal?’ I think we have to take a page from Martha Graham and other great artists who welcomed and embraced change. Martha was always anticipating change and thinking about how she could use it to create something even more astonishing. That’s our challenge now: How to welcome the change we are faced with and make something new, exciting, and meaningful.”

Janet Eilber, Photo by Melissa Sherwood

Lia Cirio

Lia Cirio is the striking dancer/choreographer at Boston Ballet: “Some of my challenges include a lack of confidence or self-esteem, shying away from certain steps. I felt a lot of pressure when I was a young professional. In my second year as a principal, everything began to scare me, and I lost much of my confidence because of casting reasons or failures (in my own eyes). The feeling is that if you don’t do well, you could get fired or injured. Now I let the live art take me. It’s tough for women because we are so many. You always need to have bigger extensions, faster turns. Now I feel more the idea of being unique. Working with choreographer Bill Forsythe helped as he encouraged me to embrace my uniqueness and not be afraid to look or dance in a different way. It’s not about perfect technique but who you are as a person.

COVID changed our culture. People now ask how you’re doing, whereas there wasn’t so much of that before. We also have an emphasis on social justice, including Black Lives Matter, Stop Asian Hate, and #MeToo. These issues were not really spoken about before. We are all required to have sexual harassment training and diversity, equity, and inclusion training. Before, the culture in the ballet world stayed the same. Now we are cultivating a healthy change. Artistic directors are looking at a broader picture which includes more dancers of color and nonbinary dancers.

It was pure happiness to be back in the studio after COVID. This past summer, I worked with the company I founded with my brother, Jeffrey Cirio, called Cirio Collective, a company of about 10 dancers. We have been lucky to have eight seasons of our company with residencies and shows in places such as Vineyard Arts Project, Cape Dance Festival, the Joyce Theater, and Despertares in Guadalajara, Mexico. We continue to work towards growing and want to share our art with the world. We hope to get more festivals and bigger theater spaces to perform in.

It was a big year of choreography for me, including world premieres with Festival Ballet of Providence, Boston Ballet, and Cirio Collective. My brother is a huge inspiration, mentor, and friend. Bill Forsythe is another mentor and choreographer I look up to, and Margaret Tracey is a wonderful coach, mentor, and friend.

When I first started dancing under male leaders, the idea about women was to shut them up and not listen. Now everyone’s eyes are open; there’s listening and there’s respect.

The next generation will have more confidence, dance the way they want to dance, speak their minds, not be afraid, and we’ll see women’s stories on stage.”

Tyson Clark and Lia Cirio in Jeffrey Cirio’s “There is Beauty in the Dark”, Photo by Ryan Smith

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Wendy Whelan’s quotes are from a recorded interview with Danse Lumiere. It is available to watch at www.dlkdance.com/women-ballet-choreographers-residen.

Kathryn Roszak is a choreographer, filmmaker, educator, and activist. She danced with San Francisco Opera Ballet and acted with Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Her choreography has been presented by La Mama ETC, 92nd Street Y in New York City, and on the West Coast and abroad. She is artistic director of Danse Lumiere, which has been recognized for collaborations with dance and literature. She taught at UC Berkeley and founded the Women Directors, Choreographers, and Composers Residency. Kathryn is currently working on a film that explores the themes of this article. www.dlkdance.com

Watch Kathryn’s interview with Janet Eilber at Graham Gathering’s Living the Change: Revolution/Evolution of Women Leaders in Dance.

Note: This essay was first published in Stance on Dance’s fall/winter 2022 print issue. To learn more, visit stanceondance.com/print-publication.

The post Women at the Top: Leaders in Dance appeared first on Stance on Dance.

I’m excited to announce the release of Stance on Dance’s second issue! In case you haven’t heard, Stance on Dance launched a twice-a-year print publication this past summer. Each issue features 6-8 dance writers from across the country and globe who share their stories and perspectives. I’m excited to send a copy of each issue to folks who donate at least $25 a year to support Stance on Dance’s arts journalism nonprofit. I also send free copies to college dance programs and other dance learning spaces. And because Stance on Dance is devoted to ensuring access, all the articles in the print publication will be published on stanceondance.com over the next couple months.

In this upcoming fall 2022 issue, there are several informative and thoughtful articles in store: Snowflake Calvert’s edifying essay on pretendians in dance, Michelle Chaviano’s vulnerable essay about her road to loving her body, Shebana Coelho’s musings and encounters while studying flamenco in Spain, Sarah Groth’s whimsical and other-worldly illustrations, Aiano Nakagawa’s story of overcoming her teenage body image demons, Kathryn Roszak’s profile of Wendy Whelan, Janet Eilber, and Lia Cirio, all women leaders in the dance field, Mary Trunk’s meditative essay on her process making a film about aging in dance, and Nikita Winkler’s profile of traditional Namibian dance artist West Uarije. Also included are interviews I conducted with Ralph Buck, Head of Dance Studies at the University of Auckland and UNESCO’s first Co-Chair on Dance and Social Inclusion, and Yashoda Thakore, a Kuchipudi dancer and scholar in India whose current research focuses on women temple dancers. I’m excited to include so many voices and perspectives in this issue, and to give these dance writers a platform to practice and share their craft!

Cover art by Sarah Groth

In addition to covering dance artists and supporting dance writers, another integral part of Stance on Dance’s mission is distributing dance journalism to the next generation of dance artists. That’s why we have given away more than 80 free copies of our print publication to several college dance programs and other dance learning spaces, including California State University East Bay, Florida International University, University of San Francisco, University of Richmond, University of Florida, University of Silicon Andhra, Old Dominion University, Texas Christian University, Antioch University New England, Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, and Ohio State University. My hope is that students pick up a copy of Stance on Dance, learn about the vast and myriad ways there are to be a dance artist, and perhaps even get excited about dance journalism.

If you work with a college dance program or other dance learning space and would like to learn more about this program, please reach out to me at emmaly@stanceondance.com. And if you’re reading this and thinking, “I would love to write about dance!” then of course get in touch! My goal is to elevate dance journalism by making it accessible for anyone who has a stance on dance.

Even Doozle is reading Stance on Dance!

The post Working to Fulfill Stance on Dance’s Mission appeared first on Stance on Dance.

I hope dancers the world over are finding the resources they need to get through this, as well as the strength to draw from it. -Emmaly

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Kathryn Roszak in Sausalito, CA

How has the coronavirus personally affected your dance practice?

My Women Ballet Choreographers Residency is on hold. This is our fifth-year anniversary and we have national participants such as Victoria Morgan (artistic director of Cincinnati Ballet) and Wendy Whelan (associate artistic director of New York City Ballet) planning to participate. Funders are poised, we have dancers from San Francisco Ballet and Lines Ballet dancing, and we have the possibility of a major theater in San Francisco to present our work. All of this was swept away and is jeopardized.

How are you creatively coping?

I am communicating with the dancers who now are in different states. I am making dances outdoors to feel some freedom from quarantine and am incorporating this experience into my work. I am documenting what is happening to dancers, women, and single people, as I am one.

What are you most worried about financially?

I felt I was reaching the fruition of my life’s work and it is rare to have such an alignment. It’s already challenging for women to be visible and funded and I think it will be harder for women to recover, so special support is needed.

What’s giving you strength or keeping you grounded these days?

I live in the small town of Sausalito, CA, and it’s like being quarantined in paradise. It’s a town known for being social and there are many singles here and we all are suffering from confinement. I am dancing outdoors to counteract the lack of studios.

Kathryn is the director of Dance Lumiere. You can watch her work here. 

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Rachelle Woods in Santa Fe, NM

How has the coronavirus personally affected your dance practice?

Our weekly contact improv jams are canceled.

How are you creatively coping?

Not feeling creative. I’m also a poet. Writing a little bit. I’m directing less and following my body more in my qi gong practice.

What are you most worried about financially?

Friends who live paycheck to paycheck, or whose work has been canceled.

What’s giving you strength or keeping you grounded these days?

I have the good fortune to share a home with a spouse. Hugging is hugely helpful. Dancing together too. Living alone sounds hard to me right now. I have a big yard. I’m tidying up the plants I didn’t get around to in the fall. A local nursery is still open, and we bought some seedlings a few days ago.

Eating garlic greens and fall planted parsley. Pruning the pear tree. Spreading some of our beautiful compost. Gardening is good.

I wanted to walk in big trees, my feet on ground. We’d heard lots of people were out on trails, which are often narrow, no easy way to be six feet, or more, apart. So, we had a picnic in a cemetery – beautiful trees and grass. Only a few other people, far away.

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Angela Mazziotta in Portland, OR

How has the coronavirus personally affected your dance practice?

In many ways, my dance practice has grown deeper and more meaningful since the spread of coronavirus. I am now without a job and the days often feel aimless while I contemplate and struggle with the many known and unknown impacts of this challenging time. Dance and being in and with my body has become my automatic self-soothe technique. In mid-April, I was part of a small group of choreographers who were showing work to be paired with wine for a fun evening at Chapel Theatre in Milwaukie, Oregon. This would have been my first performance appearance since moving to Portland in August from San Francisco. We are hoping to reschedule the event for a later, safer date!

How are you creatively coping?

I’ve started The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron and have been enjoying a daily writing practice along with completing the given assignments. Surprising myself, I’ve participated in a number of live-streamed classes via ZOOM and Instagram Live Stories. Daily yoga was an existing part of my physical and mental fitness, but it seems to carry me further still during these times.

What are you most worried about financially?

I’ve lost my job at a restaurant and am hoping it will survive this and be a place I can return to. We were all laid off in the hopes that we could begin collecting unemployment as soon as possible. So far, I haven’t heard back about the status of my application and I know there has been a surge in applications, so it might be a while. Because we took home cash tips (a pooled house so all tips were claimed for taxes), I have been hesitant to deposit my cash into a bank account in case it will be better to have cash at some point. At the same time, handling cash for necessary purchases feels a little strange…dirty almost, like I’m wanting to get consent from the person working the register that they are willing to handle cash! Other worries: rent, utility bills, student loans, how will this set me back in my financial goals. I worry a LOT about others in more dire financial situations… wanting to help but worrying about the sustainability of that and meeting my own basic needs.

What’s giving you strength or keeping you grounded these days?

Coming out of my first winter (having grown up in Florida and then spending more than nine years in San Francisco), spring is particularly dazzling; I’ve enjoyed many walks and bike rides, noticing and learning about the trees and plants around me. I’m grateful to have a wonderful companion in my home through this. Together, we are diving into cooking adventures – making sourdough, tempeh, cooking multiple meals a day! We have a sweet little yard; pulling weeds and preparing the outdoor spaces for warmer weather has been meditative and fulfilling. Reading a bunch more than I used to have time for and catching up on movies, music and podcasts.

Any other thoughts, resources or worries you’d like to share?

https://www.rosasdanstrosas.be/home/

https://www.detourdance.com/jukebox

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Lauren Valerie Coons in Albuquerque, NM

How has the coronavirus personally affected your dance practice?

I had just begun teaching a new contemporary dance class. The first class was on March 7^th and I haven’t been able to hold another class since. It is frustrating because it is challenging as it is to build interest in a new class and the students in the first class seemed like they may be the beginning of a really great core group. I did have one cancelled performance. I think the most frustrating part of all of it (that I try not to think about) is that it has been an extremely challenging time in my personal life and to put in the work and the hours to prepare the dance class and the performances, to attend rehearsals and build choreography, was really a stretch to pull off, so to have it basically dissolve and not result in anything (yet) is very disappointing. Not that any time spent dancing is wasted time, but the stress of trying to pull things together was not good for me.

How are you creatively coping?

My philosophy and practice of composition is centered around the idea that creativity is born from limitations and disruptions in our regular patterns, so this situation has been very creatively fruitful for me. From designing new recipes that make use of the miscellaneous food items in my pantry to creating collaborative movement and sound scores with others that highlight the strange nature of our collective confinement, I have more projects and ideas for projects than I have had in the past few months, all of which “lean in” to the current reality. In terms of my movement practice, I have always been a kitchen dancer. I’ve enjoyed finding ways to get a worthwhile workout and get creative by moving in different spaces. I am incredibly lucky to live in a place that has had beautiful warm weather, where there is a lot of distance between people and dwellings, and where I am a two-minute walk from open space and hiking and walking trails. I have been moving outdoors a great deal either in the backyard with the chickens or in little private spaces in the wilderness. I do, however, greatly miss the energy of moving in a group or a class and the benefits of in-person instruction from someone other than myself.

What are you most worried about financially?

The nature of my current work is such that my own personal finances have not been immediately impacted. I’m certain, however, there will be a ripple effect that will eventually reach me as individual artists no longer have the funds to commission new work from me and granting organizations use funds to support performing artists currently. As of right now, my concern is mainly for those who are feeling an immediate impact.

What’s giving you strength or keeping you grounded these days?

Nature is always a great source of strength and peace. And the fact that things have slowed down (at least for me) and that the usual expectations of day-to-day life have taken a backseat. I feel like I actually have time to focus on things, to spend two or three hours outside moving and playing instead of squeezing in 30 minutes between gigs, and to get to take the time to evaluate the work I have been doing and what I would like to change going forward.

Any other thoughts, resources or worries you’d like to share?

I just think it is important for us as artists to remember how important the work we create is in telling the story of humans on earth and that what we do now, what we create now, and how we create it is significant. We have the unique gift of seeing challenge as opportunity for creative growth and positive change, and that is a gift that we can share with the whole world right now.

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Delphine Hsini Mei in Taipei, Taiwan

How has the coronavirus personally affected your dance practice?

All classes are canceled, and performances are either rescheduled or in the process of being re-discussed, collaborators gone and/or new collaborators appear. In general, everything seems to be postponed or on hold.

How are you creatively coping?

I still do my own personal stretches and daily physical practices with myself to keep things going. I usually take lots of time to research so this has been no change for me. Also, I see this time as a resting, reflecting time. I’m re-grouping my thoughts concerning creating and seeing performances, especially in what roles I want to put myself and what effects I want to have. Sort of taking out what was probably not needed and enhancing or adding those which our society really needs. I think the shift from personal ego to collective wellbeing is key and what’s needed in dance or other practices.

What are you most worried about financially?

In general, I live very minimally, even before the outbreak. And few years ago, I made the decision to move back home to live with my family because I had spent many years paying huge amounts of money in rent. I questioned whether this really brought me the freedom I wanted or just looked like I was free, but I spent lots of time worrying or trying to pay the rent. So, I also began another practice/business in another field, also relating to the body. As I didn’t want to have pressure to commercialize my dance and art, I figured the best way for me was to have an extra more stable income which also fulfilled my other interests and stimulated my creativity. If one didn’t work out so well, there was always another one. I am a believer of plan A plus plan B and Z, mainly because I think in life the only constant is change, so stability is always changing too.

What’s giving you strength or keeping you grounded these days?

My mind-body-spirit practice.

Any other thoughts, resources or worries you’d like to share?

A photo of me doing a cleansing healing wish ritual for a friend to wish us all well.

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Tonya Rivera in Albuquerque, NM

How has the coronavirus personally affected your dance practice?

This has affected my life by not knowing when I will be able to rehearse again. Also, as I write this, VSA (Very Special Arts) is closed until April 6th and it might be closed longer if needed. Because of this, I don’t know if my fellow dancers and I will be performing at the end of May as scheduled.

How are you creatively coping?

I have been thinking about what the opening of my art show fundraiser event is going to look like this summer.

What are you most worried about financially?

The thing that I am most worried about is if this virus doesn’t go away by June when our fundraiser is scheduled. Right now, I don’t know if we can get any kind of funding for my organization, Every Ability Plays Project, during this time. That is going to put us way behind on the projects that we are supposed to be working on.

What’s giving you strength or keeping you grounded these days?

Praying the Rosary every day. And, after this awful storm, I know I will be getting together with my friends.

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The post The Effects of Social Distancing on Our Dance Practices appeared first on Stance on Dance.

BY DEBORAH ENELOW; PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRUNA GILL

Deborah Enelow is a retired educator who supports women in the arts, especially women choreographers. Here, she shares her impressions after attending the Women Ballet Choreographers and Composers Residency at Djerassi in Woodside, California this past June 15, 2019.

Calvin Thomas and Julia Rowe in Marika Brussel’s Myth of Calypso

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The 4th annual Women Ballet Choreographers and Composers’ Residency brought energy and inspiration. Choreographer, dancer and dance advocate Kathryn Roszak is the creator and host of the event wherein women artists exchange creative work and share reflections with the public on their challenges.

The afternoon began with Ms. Roszak bringing us together for a friendly lunch. The 30 of us in attendance chatted about what brought us to the occasion. We were then ushered into a dance studio where Roszak articulated her mission to encourage and support women in the arts. She described the dismal representation of women in the choreographing of ballets, in the writing of operas, in the directing of films, and in leading major art organizations. She invited us all to be part of the movement to promote women’s careers in the arts. To that end, she invited an array of women to share their new works.

The presentations began with Roszak’s own Impression Tango, which portrayed the power exchange in a couple beautifully danced by Nelie Sithong and Linnea Snyderman to music by French composer Graciane Finzi. Marika Brussel’s Myth of Calypso came next with Julia Rowe playing the goddess Calypso from the Odyssey. Danced en pointe as if in water, she seduced Odysseus, danced by Calvin Thomas. The music, composed by Mary Ellen Childs, sounded like the voices of dolphins and waterfowl skimming over the sea. Roszak’s modern take on the minuet came next. The two dancers, Nelie Sithong and Linnea Snyderman, did a precise and controlled minuet based on steps by Louis XIV, but reformulated to allow for more freedom of expression.

Nelie Sithong and Linnea Snyderman on Roszak’s Impression Tango

We next went into the composer’s studio where Erica Felsch of Smuin Ballet shared a film of her ballet based on the pictures of Edgar Degas. She presented a delicate and exacting rendering of a classical ballet that would have been seen by Degas. The opera composer and librettist Carla Lucero then showed us excerpts of a film of a site-specific ballet that she composed music for. Done in the fountain of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, the ballet, called Liquid Assets, depicted the breakdown of modern capitalism. Afterwards, we were treated to arias from her new opera Juana, based on the life of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, which will premiere at UCLA this fall. The music was hauntingly beautiful and seemed to come out of a medieval Spanish epic.

The third stop was the main room of the Artists’ Barn at Djerassi, where we heard the artists talk about their challenges and their visions in response to Roszak’s questions. Felsch was clear that women had to be beyond excellent to get a foot in the door. She explained that rejections can be overwhelming, so she puts on “an armor of confidence.” Brussel lamented that women have 40 auditions before acceptance versus men’s four. Lucero said that she needed to prove herself constantly while male composers get commissions for much less work and effort. Carol Liu, who is working in virtual reality, is faced with (male) engineers asking her if she really understands the technology.

In response to the question of how women’s roles are different than men’s in their fields, there were a variety of responses. Liu mentioned that she works in a collaborative mode quite different than her male counterparts. Felsch feels she brings to her choreography the inner experience of what it feels like to be a female dancer. For Brussel, her big question is: What can women do en pointe that is different than what men can imagine? Lucero expressed that women happily take on a mentorship role.

When the question of future projects was asked, I was excited to hear the political nature of the plans. Felsch was planning on choreographing to famous speeches and monologues, including a Martin Luther King speech. Brussel had a piece on climate change on her docket. Lucero is ready to turn opera on its head by reframing women’s roles from victim to hero; her next opera is going to be about Helen Keller. Liu wants to tell the stories of women from a woman’s perspective, correcting what have become common place beliefs unmoored in facts. There is a possible collaboration between Liu and Roszak whose focus now is on film which can be a great platform for women.

Roszak working on virtual reality filming demo at Djerassi

Our afternoon ended with Liu’s presentation of her work on a virtual reality film about Marie Antoinette. We all had the opportunity to sample the immersive experience this new technology offered that seemingly put the viewer into the middle of the drama. Finally, Liu and Roszak showed us how they work together by setting up Liu’s camera in the dance studio and doing a virtual reality film of the modern minuet dance. Ms. Liu is working to complete this project, having already secured permission from the Palace of Versailles to shoot scenes onsite.

All in all, the event showed the attendees the vibrancy of women in the arts and especially in ballet as they increasingly move from the periphery into the center of the action.

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To learn more, visit www.dlkdance.com/women-ballet-choreographers-residen.

Note: Every year at the event, the Women Ballet Choreographers and Composers’ Residency presents honors to people/companies who present women or to women choreographers. Cathy Marston was honored this year for her choreography for San Francisco Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet was honored for presenting her work. James Sofranko was honored for presenting women choreographers with SFDanceworks. Betsy Erickson, Ballet Mistress for San Francisco Ballet, accepted the awards.

The post Centering Women’s Voices in Ballet appeared first on Stance on Dance.

Kathryn’s staunch opinions and forthright realism about the schema of women in the dance world were strong and well-founded. She spoke with authority. But when she danced, what began to surface was a beautiful contradiction: she sharply questioned dance, and yet continued to give herself to it. For Kathryn, being critical and generous went hand in hand.

This interview is from the book “Beauty is Experience: Dancing 50 and Beyond.” Click here to learn more about the book, or click here to order your own limited edition copy!

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When did you start dancing and what have been some highlights along the journey?

I started dancing when I was three. I lived in the Bay Area and my mother was a dance critic, so I was regularly going to the opera house and seeing legendary dancers and companies. I started training through the San Francisco Ballet School. My father was a writer and went to London for work, so I trained in London as well.

When I was older, I trained in New York at Balanchine’s School of American Ballet, but I ended up spending the majority of my career in the Bay Area dancing with the San Francisco Opera Ballet. The theater, drama and production aspects were always what appealed to me.

From an early age, I was interested in choreography, but was told I needed to work on technique and being in a straight line before I could choreograph. There were no opportunities to choreograph as part of my training. In my early 20s, I started to seek out those opportunities for myself, gathering fellow dancers and presenting small shows in art galleries.

I developed the practice of giving myself ballet class in my 40s and 50s. I did a number of residencies, including at the Djerassi Resident Artist Program. It was a two-month residency in a rural setting, and I had to give myself class and create work on myself. It was a real challenge; I learned to use myself as my own resource.

Later, I lived rurally in West Marin for two years by a little town called Marshall near Point Reyes National Seashore. I would walk down the road to the old post office and sweep out the crushed oyster shells before giving myself class. I had long periods on my own where I was giving myself class and working. It was rather intense. Eventually, I brought other dancers up to the space and choreographed on them, and we’d give shows and eat oysters. It was really great.

I’ve been able to dance longer because I had to build my own dance practice and invite the community to come. It made me able to weather challenging circumstances.

What does your current dance practice look like?

I seek out ballet class regularly. I always do the barre, but sometimes the center work is challenging for me now. I also teach, which keeps me in shape.

How has your motivation to dance evolved over time?

It’s hard – people don’t see the hours of work behind dance. If you’re a poet you can just sit under a tree and write, but to make a dance you have to organize dancers, book rehearsal and performance space. It takes me a year or more to make a piece, especially being a single parent.

Aligning my work with other powerful artists keeps me going. I need overarching themes; for me, motivation goes way beyond just getting into a studio regularly. The overarching themes guide me and help me rise to the occasion. Some of these themes include working with war veterans or penetrating the psyche of Emily Dickinson through dance.

Do you feel you’ve achieved some measure of success?

I’ve done as much as I possibly could with the cards I’ve been dealt. I don’t feel limited; I feel like I’m operating in a limited world. I feel successful but I don’t know if my success has been recognized. I think that’s true of many women. I have to fight to feel successful, because I know what I do is powerful and impacts people.

What do you perceive is your legacy?

Throughout my life, I’ve had a particular challenge: I was discouraged heavily from going into choreography and being a creative artist in the world of ballet. That has always been a glass ceiling. When I became a single parent, I felt the glass ceiling even more so.

As we speak, I’m gathering together a group of women to create a residency for women ballet choreographers at Djerassi. Women are not encouraged to be creative in ballet. Ballet is a female-dominated profession, but the men have the power. Choreographers and artistic directors are more commonly men and they’re further up the chain.

We hear about Misty Copeland becoming a principal dancer and other instances of minorities progressing in ballet. That wasn’t the case before. But in terms of women having real jobs in ballet after being in a company, it’s a really old paradigm. If you’re a beautiful ballerina, what are you supposed to do when you’re done dancing in a company? The opportunities to choreograph or lead just don’t exist, so I’m trying in my own way to change that.

It goes back to my daughter. When my daughter first showed interest in dance, I could not encourage her to go into the field, and I asked myself why. I had such ambivalent feelings because my life experience had taught me ballet was not a great field for women. It’s an environment permeated with sexism.

Is there a circumstance that would cause you to stop dancing?

I get mad at the dance world and want to walk away, but I can never stop being a dancer. Even if I couldn’t move, I would still be a dancer inside because I’ve spent my entire life doing this.

Some of the times I’ve been gladdest to be a dancer have been surprising. A dear friend of mine was dying, but I could simply hold his hand and feel a communication with him because of my dancer body and mind.

What advice would you give to a younger generation of dancers?

Use technology carefully. Don’t be distracted by all the new gadgets. Dance is ancient; there’s a truth in the body and in being human that machines can never outdo.

Any other thoughts?

I’m saddened how, in the ballet world, the trend is younger and younger. In my era, we had fantastic mature women dancers, but we don’t have those examples as much anymore. The era we’re in now is about how much, how fast, how far, how extreme, etcetera. It mirrors our fascination with technology and the idea that faster is better. We’re narrowing our vision of what dance is and who gets to do dance, and thus losing the richness of the fabric.

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Kathryn Roszak trained at the San Francisco Ballet and the School of American Ballet, and performed with the San Francisco Opera Ballet. Her company Danse Lumiere has collaborated with kabuki master Shozo Sato, choreographer Alonzo King, musicians Mazatl Galindo of Mexico and Ailu Gaup of Norway, composer Gordon Getty, writers Gary Snyder and Maxine Hong Kingston and Swedish Nobelist Tomas Tranströmer. Her choreography has been presented by Cal Performances, Scandinavia House, the 92^nd Street Y, The Smithsonian Institute, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West and the Copenhagen Cultural Festival.

This interview is from the book “Beauty is Experience: Dancing 50 and Beyond.” Click here to learn more about the book, or click here to order your own limited edition copy!

The post Limitless in a Limited World: An Interview with Kathryn Roszak appeared first on Stance on Dance.

BY EMMALY WIEDERHOLT

Kathryn Roszak is a ballet choreographer based in the Bay Area. This past year, she spearheaded the inaugural women ballet choreographers residency through the Djerassi Resident Artists Program. She shared with me her perspective on the trials women in ballet face in the pursuit of choreography.

Kathryn Roszak observes rehearsal (Photo by Bari Lee)

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As a young dancer, what was your ultimate goal? Did it extend beyond performing?

I would say my goal was expression. Many people gravitate toward dance because they want to be like athletes. They are attracted to the gymnastic physical prowess of it. I gravitated to dance for the theater of it, the expression.

Early on, choreography was also a goal. I was putting on whole ballets in the living room. But when I was training at the San Francisco Ballet School, choreography was not encouraged, so I postponed choreographing for a long time.

I think a large part of why girls don’t gravitate toward choreography is partly because it would be a distraction from the technical perfection demanded from a female ballet dancer. This is a big dilemma, because when men end up being a principal dancer, they often go on to think about choreography.

That addresses my next question: did it seem like your male colleagues were more encouraged to have aspirations beyond performance careers?

I don’t know if they were more encouraged to be choreographers, but they were more encouraged in general. There were fewer of them and they moved up the levels quickly. Most of them could count on having a professional career. It was uncertain whether female ballet dancers would have that opportunity. There was always a perilous feeling for girls that we were going to fall by the wayside and not make it. If you got injured or didn’t get moved to the next level, your future was uncertain, and there was a lot of competition.

You also have to realize that in ballet, women have to perform excellently on pointe, so that’s a whole other aspect of technique that most men are exempt from. Yes, they have to master partnering and special jumps, but women have to master partnering and certain steps as well. And there’s the sense for women that there are a thousand dancers who could replace them; that’s just not true for men. In big ballet companies, they try to make both men and women feel replaceable, but if you’re a man, just look around.

Do you believe the reasons why men routinely hold positions in power in the dance world are coincidental or endemic?

Absolutely endemic. Though when I host panels on the topic, some women will maintain there’s no problem and they never experience a glass ceiling or discrimination. But I feel that, in general, we’re not supposed to focus on inequities or problems, but success. People tend not to emphasize these inequities if they’ve experienced them because they sound like sour grapes; it’s still very much a world where men hold positions of power and, if you want to move up in that world, you don’t want to rock the boat too much. You want to navigate it, so you can’t reject the world if you want to be accepted and work within it.

One of the reasons why we have the Djerassi Resident Artists Program for women ballet choreographers is because hopefully, since it’s not happening under the umbrella of a big ballet company but independently, we can have conversations where women can be more open about their goals and fears.

In Europe, Akram Khan made a statement along the lines of that we shouldn’t have women choreographers just for the sake of having women choreographers; talented women will rise to the top. There was a huge outcry about this. Khan’s statement is an attitude encountered a lot in the world at large, in the dance world, and particularly in the ballet world. But talent isn’t what opens doors. What opens doors are connections and perceptions. Essentially what happens is that if a man says he wants to choreograph, it’s taken much more seriously than if a woman says she wants to choreograph. It’s harder for women to even bring it up. And then if they get the chance to choreograph, it’s often not for the mainstage, but for something on the side.

Talent is very subjective. There are a lot of women out there who are choreographing, but most of them are working for smaller companies or managing their own companies. When you look at where there is money, the women choreographers are not there. Women are usually involved in much smaller ventures. One woman involved in the Djerassi Resident Artists Program said she’s been working for over a decade and still hasn’t been commissioned to do a full-length ballet anywhere. That would not be the case with a male ballet choreographer who’s worked equally long. There’s a real difference in opportunities. Some people believe talent is opportunity and can only be made or given with opportunity. And if you don’t have the opportunity to develop as a choreographer, you’re only going to go so far.

Brennan Wall of New Ballet School, San Jose (Dalia Rawson, Executive Director) participating in Women Ballet Choreographer’s Residency  at Djerassi, Woodside. Ca. (Photo by Bari Lee; Sculpture by Derek Jackson 2002)

I also think men are allowed to take more risks and fail. It doesn’t have as big of an impact on their careers. A man who is establishing himself as a choreographer – and we’ve all seen it – might be hit or miss. Sometimes they’re wonderful, other times not, and their careers can ride it. But if a woman is less than excellent even once, she goes down. I can’t name names in this interview, but I’ve seen it. These are the things that can’t always be talked about.

There aren’t a lot of statistics about women in ballet leadership either. When I was writing about it, the last survey I could find was from over a decade ago. The survey I was using, “Who Has the Power in Dance?”, was from 2002, and I believe was done by Dance USA.

There are rarely images of women in positions of power either. When Julie Kent was on the cover of Dance Magazine after being named artistic director of Washington Ballet, she was portrayed as beautiful and ethereal, not as powerful. It’s subliminal.

Sometimes companies will present a celebration of women, but it will only be for one festival or program, and often it’s men doing the picking. Why are women legitimized because men picked them?

What might help more female dancers become interested in directing and choreographing?

We have to have examples. There are women who spend their entire careers as dancers and never work with a female choreographer. It’s similar with Misty Copeland at American Ballet Theater; if you never see African American dancers, it might not occur to you to aspire toward that. We need to see examples on a leadership level.

It’s good that there are more improvisation and choreography classes in dance schools now, but I’m concerned when women don’t move forward with opportunities. Giving opportunities alone is not enough; it has to be combined with examples. If you are a talented ballet dancer and you work with women choreographers, you might think, “When I’m done dancing, I’m going to choreograph.” It takes a special individual to not need an example. I think the women who are choreographing ballets today are just that, and they need more support than ever, both monetarily and in terms of opportunity. You need to have the ability to experiment and grow with your dancers.

I feel as a woman that I can never fail. The degree of excellence has to be so high. I think every woman feels that way; even Hillary Clinton must feel that way. You have to speak, look and behave a certain way to even get your foot in the door.

Another thing that might lure more women into choreography are statistics on pay. I want to know that I will be paid the same as a man for my work. I want to have the same opportunities to grow, develop, succeed, fail, and get paid as men have. Why should that be a ridiculous dream in this day and age?

I couldn’t even encourage my daughter to go into dance because, despite being populated by women, I think it’s a horrible field for women to pursue. They’re not making any money, and they’re fighting for opportunities. Or, even more frightening, they’re not fighting for opportunities because they don’t even think to ask for them.

Any other thoughts?

When I’m interviewed on this topic, there’s part of me that wishes I was a principal dancer at a major ballet company, because I know how much more weight my words would carry. I want that woman to come forward and speak. I want to know there’s a principal dancer who wants to go on to choreograph and will come forward and speak about this issue. I’m speaking about it, but I will only be heard by so many because of the pedigree inherent in the ballet world. It goes back to who gets to have a voice.

Kathryn Roszak’s Danse Lumiere presents the inaugural Women Ballet Choreographers Residency at Djerassi Resident Artists Program (Pictured: Hannah Varga, Photo by Bari Lee)

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Kathryn Roszak trained at the San Francisco Ballet and the School of American Ballet, and performed with the San Francisco Opera Ballet. Her company, Danse Lumiere, has collaborated with Kabuki master Shozo Sato, choreographer Alonzo King, musicians Mazatl Galindo of Mexico and Ailu Gaup of Norway, composer Gordon Getty, writers Gary Snyder and Maxine Hong Kingston, and Swedish Nobelist Tomas Tranströmer. Her choreography has been presented by Cal Performances, Scandinavia House, the 92nd Street Y, The Smithsonian Institute, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West, the Copenhagen Cultural Festival, and next year she is invited to represent North America in “5 Women, 5 Continents” in Dijon, France. She is invited to participate in “Moving Forward: Women Ballet Choreographers East and West” at the 92nd Street Y in New York City in April 2016, and she will reconvene the Women Ballet Choreographers Residency next May 6th and 7th at Djerassi, Woodside, Ca.  She is also producing a new dance film: www.dlkdance.com.

The post Who Gets to Have a Voice? appeared first on Stance on Dance.

In a 14-day whirlwind filled with little sleep and lots of caffeine, I travelled with photographer Gregory Bartning from Los Angeles up the coast to Seattle, interviewing 25 dancers and hosting five public events to finish and promote our Dancing Over 50 Project, a series of interviews and photographs with over 50 dancers over age 50 along the West Coast. This project has been in the works for over two years, and by next summer we hope to turn this puppy into a signed, sealed and delivered book!

The previously finished interviews are available in full here, but I want to share a sneak peek of some words of wisdom collected on our recent journey. Over the past two weeks, I have been sharing a favorite quote and photo from each of the newest interviewees. In other words, read on!

Nancy Davis and Jim Lane

On opening their school together:

Nancy: “We just love the ballet art form. For us to still get to work together is huge. After Los Angeles Ballet we tried different jobs, but to still be in this together is pretty special. My life is full. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Jim: “We’re doing it for the right reasons. Neither one of us ever got into this for the money.”

Jamie McHugh

On legacy:

“It’s a burden and a calling. Our work is how we leave our footprints in the sand. I feel called to do things that push me out of my comfortable rural life. But then once I see people’s responses to the form, I ask myself, ‘How could I not?’ The question is how to balance maintaining the quiet life I have with how I’m called to be socially and politically involved.”

Jayanthi Raman

On continuing:

“I will not stop dancing because I’m old; I’ll become old when I stop dancing.”

*Jayanthi is our youngest participant, just shy of 50.

Kathryn Roszak

On success:

“I feel successful in that I have done as much as I possibly could do with the cards I’ve been dealt. I feel like I’m operating in a limited world, but I don’t feel limited.”

Tara Stepenberg

On motivation:

“Dance is my wisdom practice. It’s similar to a meditation. It’s necessary in how I experience myself.”

Deborah Wolf

On success:

“I didn’t even question if I was going to be successful. I was very optimistic and naïve, but I had a lot of desire and willpower. I like to do things I’m afraid of. I’ve put myself in those places where each experience is a challenge.”

The post Footprints in the Sand appeared first on Stance on Dance.

Purchase your copy of Beauty is Experience: Dancing 50 and Beyond!

Available on Amazon, or directly through PayPal!

Beauty is Experience: Dancing 50 and Beyond is a book celebrating dance at every age. A collaboration between dancer/Stance on Dance editor Emmaly Wiederholt and photographer Gregory Bartning, the book includes more than 50 interviews with dancers ranging in age from 50 to 95, and spanning up and down the West Coast. The result is a compilation of voices reveling in the many ways there are to practice dance throughout one’s life.

There are less than 100 copies left of this limited edition, so get yours now!

Details: 9×12, hard cover, 210 pages, full color photography

Authored by Emmaly Wiederholt, photographs by Gregory Bartning, design by Lieve Maas, edited by Zoë Bird

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The dancers interviewed:

Alito Alessi: A Wisdom that Needs to be Experienced

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Linda Austin: The Willingness to Keep Going

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Valerie Baadh Garrett: Balance Is Not A Still Point

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Susan Banyas: Part of the Protest

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Mike Barber: Beyond the Expected

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Gregg Bielemeier: To the Point

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Emery Blackwell: Communicating More Than Movement

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Rubina Carmona: Digging Deep

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Deborah Cohen: From a Place of Generosity

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Nancy Davis and Jim Lane: Still In It Together

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Ann DiFruscia: Moving Beyond Loss

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Naomi Gedo Diouf and Zakariya Diouf : Life’s Music in the Body

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Heidi Duckler: Finding Places to Dance

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Tracey Durbin: Just Put it into Movement

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Laura Elaine Ellis: Standing on Shoulders

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Kim Epifano: Openness to Imagination

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Nancy Evans Doede: What Does the World Call Better?

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Patrick Gracewood: Still Playing

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Nina Haft: Stitching a Complex Tapestry

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Mark Haim: The Articulation of Expression

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Anna Halprin: A Way of Life

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Jamey Hampton: And Why Not?

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Donald Hewitt: Appreciating the Passing

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Mira Katz: Connection and Community

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Hae Kyung Lee: How Can You Fake Dance?

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Shirley Jenkins: Despite all Odds

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Enrico Labayen: Transferring Knowledge and Tradition

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Laurel and Gene Leverton: The Science of Subtlety

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Bonnie Lewkowicz: Finding a Way to Make it Happen

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Carla Luna: Unraveling Legacy

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Wade Madsen: Cultivating Appreciation

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Carla Mann: Ready for Anything

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Tere Mathern: Persistent and Willful

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Stella Matsuda: Giving and Receiving

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Virginia Matthews: Moving Beyond the Present Moment

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Karen McDonald: Understanding the Journey

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Jim McGinn: The Kinetic Thrill

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Jamie McHugh: Footprints in the Sand

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Josie Moseley: I Trust Dance

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Randee Paufve: Right Now, This Year, I’m Growing

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Jayanthi Raman: A Living Tradition

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Anandha Ray: Of Body and Mind

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Lizz Roman: Staying Honest

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Kathryn Roszak: Limitless in a Limited World

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Frank Shawl: How Things Fell Into Place

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Eric Skinner: Following a Passion

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Deborah Slater: Stubborn and Strong

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Melissa St. Clair: The Gesture of Life

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Tara Stepenberg: A Wisdom Practice

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Carolyn Stuart: Sharing a Connection

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Christian Swenson: Thoughtfully Playful

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Iris Tansman: Sharing Joy

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Cynthia Winton-Henry: Making an Offering

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Deborah Wolf: Desire and Willpower

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The post Dancing Over 50 Book appeared first on Stance on Dance.

Meet our director and editor:

Emmaly Wiederholt is a dance artist and arts journalist based in Albuquerque, NM. She founded Stance on Dance in 2012. Emmaly earned her MA in Arts Journalism from the University of Southern California and her BFA in Ballet and BS in Political Science from the University of Utah. She further trained at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance and performed extensively around the Bay Area. Her first book, Beauty is Experience: Dancing 50 and Beyond, was published in 2017, and her second book, Breadth of Bodies: Discussing Disability in Dance, was published in 2022. Emmaly is also a master DanceAbility instructor and facilitates movement groups at the UNM Hospital adult psychiatric ward, as well as is a founding member of the dance advocacy nonprofit ABQ Dance Connect. She continues to perform throughout the Southwest.

Photo by Allen Winston

Our contributors have included:

Snowflake Arizmendi-Calvert, a performance artist and organizer in the Bay Area.

Gregory Bartning, a photographer in Portland, OR.

Liz Duran Boubion, the director of the Festival of Latin American Contemporary Choreographers in the Bay Area.

Liz Brent-Maldonado, an artist, writer, educator, and producer in San Francisco, CA.

Michelle Chaviano, a ballet dancer with Ballet North Texas.

Bradford Chin, a disabled dance artist and accessibility consultant in Chicago, IL, and San Francisco, CA.

Shebana Coelho, a writer and performer currently studying flamenco in Spain.

breana connor, an interdisciplinary artist, facilitator + healer in Albuquerque, NM.

Lauren Coons, an interdisciplinary artist, performer, healer and educator in Albuquerque, NM.

Julia Cost, a painter, textile designer, sewist, and dancer in Maui, HI.

Sophia Diehl, a dancer in New York City.

Bonnie Eissner, a writer in New York City.

Katie Flashner, a.k.a. The Girl with the Tree Tattoo, a World Champion ballroom dancer and author in ME.

Micaela Gardner, a dancer and choreographer in Baja, Mexico.

Sarah Groth, an interdisciplinary artist from Albuquerque, NM.

Cherie Hill, a dance educator and choreographer based in the Bay Area.

Lorie House, a dancer, choreographer, and lawyer in NM.

Silva Laukkanen, a dance educator and disability advocate in Austin, TX.

Mary Elizabeth Lenahan, the director of Dance Express in Fort Collins, CO.

Shannon Leypoldt, a dance artist, teacher, and sports massage therapist in Berlin.

Erin Malley, a dance artist and tango teacher based in West Michigan.

Julianna Massa, a dance artist in Albuquerque, NM.

Aiano Nakagawa, a dance artist, educator, facilitator, writer, and event producer in the Bay Area.

Jessie Nowak, a dance artist and filmmaker in Portland, OR.

Kevin O’Connor, a multidisciplinary artist in London, Ontario, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bhumi B Patel, an artist/activist based in the Bay Area.

Stephanie Potreck, a sports nutritionist and health advocate who currently resides in Germany.

Jill Randall, artistic director of Shawl-Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley, CA.

Kathryn Roszak, a choreographer, filmmaker, educator, and activist in the Bay Area.

Donna Schoenherr, director of Ballet4Life and Move into Wellbeing in London, UK.

Maggie Stack, a dancer and teacher in Reno, NV.

Camille Taft, a CO front range-based mover and visual artist.

Mary Trunk, a filmmaker, choreographer, and multimedia artist in Altadena, CA.

Diana Turner-Forte, a teaching artist, healing arts coach, and writer in NC.

Ana Vrbaski, a body music practitioner in Serbia.

Nikhita Winkler, a dancer, choreographer, and teacher from Namibia who currently resides in Spain.

Erica Pisarchuk Wilson, a dance artist, visual artist and poet in Albuquerque, NM.

Rebecca Zeh, an interdisciplinary artist in Sarasota Springs, NY.

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Our board:

Snowflake Arizmendi-Calvert

Cathy Intemann

Alana Isiguen

Courtney King

Malinda LaVelle

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