Nancy Karp
In December 2022, I had the opportunity to sit down with Bay Area choreographer Nancy Karp on Zoom. This fall Nancy celebrated a huge milestone - 40 years of Nancy Karp + Dancers.
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Jill Randall (JR): Congrats on this major milestone! I hope you have been savoring it since the performance.
Nancy Karp (NK): I was thinking just this morning about how fast time goes by. I have had my studio (which you see behind me on the Zoom) since 1980. I think about all of the dances made here, and all of the people who have been part of the process of making this work.
JR: To be able to have that imprint, and memories!
NK: The energy is still here! There is always a sense of dancemaking in the space, even if the dancers are not physically present.
In August 1980 I moved into this live/work studio at the Emeryville Artists Cooperative and built the sprung floor, in the hope of being here for a while.
JR: What has kept you inspired and making art year after year? People, spaces, ideas keep percolating…
NK: It is not just one thing. I think for me, looking at art is major, living in our contemporary world and keeping my eyes open is another; being open to new experiences and new people. And, I have this drive. Making dances is what I do best, and what I deeply love.
The dancers and the new possibilities they can bring to the work inspires me. They play an integral and major part of the process. Where a piece starts and where it ends up, is because of the dancers. They are my true loves.
"Kristallnacht," 1993. Dancers Robert Saito (left) and Peter Foster (right). Photo by Marty Sohl.
JR: In recent years, how do you find dancers? What do you look for? What are the qualities?
NK: Often I find them when dancers come to dance company performances, and share, “I like your work. I want to work with you.”
It is also through the dancers who are working with me that I will meet other dancers, and I also see a lot of performances.
I don’t do auditions anymore. I used to do these, but found that they weren’t very effective.
When I am interested in someone, I invite them to the studio for a cup of tea to get to know them as people. There is no room for divas in my work.
JR: What would you say - when you look at the past 40 years - what are some of the biggest changes in modern dance? Aesthetics, process, money…
NK: The character of dance companies has changed. In the past it was a solo figure or choreographer, with a particular aesthetic or style. Now more recently in the past 10 years or so, there is more of a collective spirit. We see different voices within the same ensemble or company.
Also, I see more artists socially connected to the social-political climate. These are major concerns for many artists and have become the thrust of their work.
Thinking about technique - the type of dancing is not just one historic style as in the past - but a true combination - for better or worse. I see brilliant fusions, and I see a lot of things that are arbitrary, undefined and lacking in meaning.
I see a mix of gender and generations in companies which I think is fantastic; bolder and more adventurous than even a decade ago.
JR: What were some key decisions you made over the years that helped you stabilize, sustain, or expand the company?
NK: I have always been deeply involved in the administration of the company, mainly because of financial limitations. From early on, in 1981, I created a nonprofit, the New Arts Foundation, and CA Lawyers for the Arts was a tremendous help. I did this from the onset of the dance company to be eligible for national and statewide funding.
The non-profit started out with 3 board members and gradually expanded to members from the community with different talents. The board has pretty much always been a “working board” with a CPA, an attorney, a digital marketing PR person, and so forth to lend their guidance and expertise.
One thing I decided most recently was to initiate annual board retreats with an organizational consultant, and it has really brought the board together this past year. It has helped us focus on board responsibilities and also the limitations.
For several years, I have had paid administrative interns from local colleges and universities. They have often moved into positions as staff members - most recently with Bhumi Patel. Bhumi has helped with grant writing and concert management. She is now busy pursuing her own artistic work, and I am grateful to have Chelsea Marie Hill working with me now.
JR: I am thinking about Sarah Wilbur’s amazing book Funding Bodies, which is a deep dive into the history of the National Endowment for the Arts. Did you ever receive NEA funding?
NK: I was fortunate, early on in the 1980s to receive NEA funding support. I remember one year being overwhelmed. The dance company received a project grant, I received a choreography fellowship, and we got an Inter Arts grant as well. I think that was 1985. We continued to receive several years of funding until the Jesse Helms disaster; support then started primarily going to the major institutions.
I have always paid my dancers, and remember asking the dancers in the early 1990s…what would happen if I did not receive NEA funding. I clearly remember asking, “If I cannot pay you at the same level, can you still dance with me?” They were amazingly loyal. We found other sources, but did suffer at that point.
Back in the 1980s the head of the NEA came to the Bay Area to talk to the community and to help folks apply. He said, “You deserve a grant just for completing the grant application form.”
JR: On the topic of relevancy. How do you stay relevant in the community, and in the broader field?
NK: Being attentive to the world around me in a global sense, not only in the dance world. My concerns for the world are universal concerns.
Just living in this contemporary world and my response to it through my work; albeit in an abstract aesthetic rather than a narrative linear way of expression.
My work has a lot to do with community. There is something to that - being attentive to the community.
The work ends up being about the dancers. I may come in with some ideas and images, but it is their interconnectedness that I find fascinating and compelling that I want to work with.
"piano piano," 2020. Dancers Sonsherée Giles (left) and Chris Black (right) in the foreground and Nick Brentley, Katie Kruger and Amy Lewis on the stairs. Photo by John Hefti.
JR: What other artists have deeply inspired you in recent years, or over the years?
NK: I am very much moved by music. Contemporary music by living composers draws me in.
And, I recently saw exhibitions of both Lee Krasner and Joan Mitchell. Their lives, their persistence, their style of work, and the way that they worked inspires me.
In terms of choreographers - I am drawn to a lot of European choreographers. Sasha Waltz and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, I find compelling. Trisha Brown over the years, I absolutely loved. That kind of abstract, articulated work I have always been drawn to.
Also, William Kentredge’s work, a South African artist. His work is coming to Cal Performances in March 2023. I appreciate the way he works with dancers and actors. He is a visual artist by background. A few years back, he had an installation at SF MOMA which included a video surrounding you in the room with dancers and actors integrated into his animated footage. I think he is absolutely brilliant. During the pandemic, there were several videos about his multi-layered process of making work.
JR: How do you want to support the next generation of artmakers? Literally, or through things like this interview and posing questions.
NK: I love seeing new work and the next generation making it. Sometimes I am invited into rehearsals to give thoughts and questions. I love participating in that way.
It was wonderful being a part of Margaret Jenkins’ CHIME project early on and being really hands on.
Many of the dancers who work with me are also choreographers. Some of it is learning by doing - seeing the process and all of the questions I ask of myself and of the dancers. I think that is also a way of passing on, a way of thinking, a way of working.
I encourage younger generations to do more questioning. Bring in more people of their generation, to have a look before it is presented. I think quite often a lot of art is put out there without much editing or consideration. I am wondering if a little more rigor in making work would be useful.
I used to do that regularly - to bring in peers to look at the work when I was two-thirds of the way done with a new piece. Of course, you always have to consider the source from the feedback being given!
Nowadays, I videotape everything and scrutinize it endlessly between rehearsals.
JR: My last question. Modesty aside - to take a moment to celebrate your longevity and endurance in the field. What are you most proud of?
NK: I am most proud of the collaborations I have been able to develop; bringing some exceptional artists together and shaping work with me. A lot of these projects were long projects, not just made in a few months. Several were a year or two years in the making. These were the most meaningful to me. Visual artists, composers, and designers….I feel so fortunate to have worked with these people, and that they were willing to work with me.
I have enjoyed taking chances with new collaborators. Most recently I worked with local composer David A. Jaffe. His work was unbelievably gorgeous. It challenged him, and it challenged me.
There is a lot to trust. It’s always a fabulous surprise.
"fly through the night, and land near dawn," 2022. Dancers Calvin Thomas (left) and Anna Greenberg (right). Photo by John Hefti.