Artist Profile #5: Rachael McClellan Leonard (Port Orange, FL)

Hometown: Greenfield, Massachusetts 

Current city: Port Orange, Florida 

Age: 36 

When you first took a modern dance class: 12yrs 

College and degree: University of Utah, BFA Modern Dance

Graduate school and degree: Currently completing my MFA in 

Choreography as the Howard Gilman Fellow at Jacksonville University's new low-residency MFA 

program 

Website: surfscapedance.org

How you pay the bills: Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Surfscape Contemporary 

Dance Theatre; Group Exercise/Yoga/Pilates Instructor and Instructor Evaluator 

All of the dance hats you wear: choreographer, teacher, administrator, grant writer, marketing, advocacy, (everything!)  

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Can you write a little about your career within fitness. What is the relationship between your fitness work and your dance work? What do you enjoy most in your work? How do you care for your body?

 Fitness began as a great way for me to keep moving when I really needed an emotional and mental break from dance, but I did not want to abort the idea of caring for my body and being active. It has since become an extremely important complement to my dance life as I age and evolve and seek new paths of movement discovery. I believe that the cardiovascular fitness, functional strength, proficiency, flexibility, adaptability, awareness, and mind-body connectivity that manifest in bodies that train in somatic practices are all invaluable. I include so much of what I have learned about anatomy, physiology, spirituality, and wellness into my teaching and personal practice. I regularly teach and participate in yoga, Pilates, dance, and fitness myself. It feels as though my body and soul depend on it. 

How is grad school going? What is it like to be a student again, after spending years working and raising a family? What course or project most excites you these days? 

Being back in school as a mid-career professional with three jobs, two kids, and a long-distance husband certainly comes with its share of challenges. But for some strange (and perhaps masochistic) reason, I absolutely love it! For one, I highly recommend attending graduate school after taking some time to exist in your field in some capacities other than as a formal student. My graduate endeavors are so informed by my personal life and creative experiences, and my life and creative endeavors are so enhanced and nourished by my recent discoveries while in school.  Because I am researching and writing my thesis right now, I will claim that the project that “most excites” me is my thesis project. I am investigating the role, impact, and manifestations of non-verbal communication in the choreographic process and am striving to empirically conclude whether and how non-verbal interaction and meta-communication inform and augment the creative experience. Not only is the research I am conducting fascinating, it is so galvanizing as a choreographer to delve so deeply into the philosophical and epistemological realms of my practice.  Graduate school has breathed new life into what I already felt was a very fulfilling artistic career.  

Surfscape Dance. How many years has the company been in existence? What are the goals for this season?

Surfscape is just entering its eighth year. After last year felt attenuated by far too many small venue commitments that each pulled energy and resources away from larger projects, this season the company is streamlining its programming and returning to our previous model of placing the creation of new works at the top of our priority list. With this, we are preparing to take our first tour outside the United States in 2013, so a lot of our focus this year will be on raising money and preparing material for performances and dance festivals in France, Germany, and England.  The company continues to mature and flourish, and we perpetually aspire to make a positive impact in our community while pushing boundaries, exploring new territories, and developing as artists.     

What do you look for in a dancer for the company?

At SCDT, we are emphatic about the idea that we do not just hire dancers, we hire people. Rather than welcoming someone into the company just because of technical expertise, gender, or aesthetics, we really spend time getting to know who the dancer is and how he or she would likely fit into the family we have cultivated. The creative process is such a collaborative effort, so it is essential that each participant bring integrity, respect, ingenuity and positive methods of communication to the endeavor. We are truly fortunate; not only are our dancers talented and creative, but they are also wonderful people. We are all great friends, we share a common love for dance, and we put an immense communal effort into growing as artists and as an organization. 

Talk about how you balance your work, family, and company. 

It’s a constant juggling act to balance career, marriage, motherhood, graduate school and self.  I find that I have to be extremely organized, painfully type A, drastically resilient, and totally accountable. At the same time, I sometimes have to employ my sense of humor and my intermittent ability to know when to stop burning the candle at both ends. Yoga definitely helps. Maintaining some perspective is crucial. And I am fortunate to have surrounded myself with a remarkable band of family and friends. (Oh, and each season I allow myself to watch one really intellectually stimulating TV show and one horribly brainless show that causes me to pass out and take a nap!) 

Future career goals:

I have a great love for what I am doing now, and I make every effort to keep myself challenged and rewarded within each current moment. With that said, I would soon like to teach at the college level.  After receiving a very comprehensive and traditional dance education in undergraduate school, participating in a very progressive and emancipated curriculum in graduate school, accumulating very diverse and practical experience while creating and directing a successful modern dance company, and extending my wealth of information and experience into somatic practice and wellness, I feel especially equipped and eager to share the information I have collected. Having already taught many populations and disciplines for over twenty years, I know that I thrive on guiding others toward facilitating their own personal growth and finding their own authentic path. College is one of the most profound times in the development of dancers and young adults; I would relish the opportunity to stay immersed in academia and the pursuit of active learning. 

Advice to young dancers:

I wish that I had embraced the idea of “being” much earlier in my dance life. Rather than putting effort into doing everything correctly, I so wish that I had adopted the idea of existing within each moment - just being myself, having a real experience. But like anything else, we come to what we know when we are ready to know it. So my only advice, really, is to be okay with who you are and what you can inherently contribute to your own vitality and the world that surrounds you.  

 

 

 

Comments

[Brooke]

I agree with your take on fitness in everyday life. I am currently working on my BFA in dance education as well as a degree in community health science and I am making connections every day between my two majors that will allow my body to dance for a lifetime! It wasn’t until I came to college that I began to explore different types of exercise. Yoga has become a great way for me to recharge my body without worrying about my dance technique; this also goes along with your idea of balancing a busy lifestyle. Between my class schedule, extracurricular groups, rehearsals, and job it is extremely stressful at times to keep going. In a physically draining field such as dance it is essential to balance and prioritize my life. I’ve try to make it a goal of mine to have Sunday as my day to “vegout” and prepare myself for the week. I may have to try your idea of watching a brainless tv show!

Lastly, I want to thank you for your advice to young dancers out there. Your idea of “being” is something that is talked about constantly at my university and no one had put it the way you did. This semester I want to work on living in the moment in all my classes, rehearsals, and performances. Naturally, I am very critical about my dancing and I need to seize the opportunity I have been given to dance in college. Thanks again for the words of wisdom and good luck with grad school!

[Kathryn]

I found your advice and lifestyle to be extremely refreshing and personally motivational. As a current student who just recently began school after taking some time off to just focus on dance, I often get frustrated and find it challenging to adjust to the lifestyle. When you stated that you would "relish the opportunity to stay immersed in academia and the pursuit of active learning", it really made me take a step back and put things back into perspective for myself. Rather than feeling pressured to graduate in a specific time frame, I should embrace the opportunities around me and indulge.
The things you have accomplished at such a young age and are still pursuing, while managing to balance other aspects of your life that keep you grounded, is commendable. I wish you the best of luck with your future plans and appreciate you sharing your story.

[Alex]

I found myself to be completely in tune with many of your perspectives on life. When you mentioned 'the need to take part in yoga, Pilates, dance and fitness because you find that your body and soul depend on it', I realized how much I feel the same way about dance. Whether it’s attending daily class and enjoying every moment of it, or experiencing it vicariously through others, I feel that my body and soul depend on dance. This same ideal goes hand in hand with your advice to young dancers and I feel that I am beginning to find the right balance between “being” in the moments and self-correction during my classes. I think your advice is very important for any dancer to keep in mind, seeing as it is very easy to get caught in the hypo-critical mindset, when looking to perfect one’s technique.
One concept that I will definitely take away from your story is the idea of utilizing yoga to help find balance in my life. I have always enjoyed practicing yoga for recreational purposes but now I look to take this practice as I seek ways to balance the stressful aspects of my life.
Your story was truly inspiring and wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors.

[Michelle]

I like how you said that fitness is a great way to take a break from dance but also keep moving. I enjoy doing Yoga or going to the gym just to relieve stress or any negative emotions that I have. Being a dance student can be frustrating at times, so it is nice to have the mental and emotional break from dance.
I also like how instead of just looking for dancers with great technique for your company, you also look at their personalities. I believe that a great dancer also has a great personality. Sometimes being a dance major at a University can be a struggle because sometimes your teachers expect you to be something that you simply cannot be. It's nice to know that there are companies out there that look beyond amazing technique and would like to get to know the dancers. Reading about what you look for in your company gave me hope for my future.
I want to thank you for the advice you gave to young dancers like myself. It has inspired me to be myself and enjoy every experience I have with dance, wether that is in class or outside of the University. With your advice, I don't want to stress or worry anymore, but rather live life to its fullest and just be me.

[Kaitlyn Glenn]

I really enjoyed reading all of your responses to these specific questions. I really paid attention to your response about fitness. As well as having dance classes each day, I try to make it to the gym as much as possible for the same reasons you stated (needing a mental or emotional break from dance). I also enjoyed reading about how you make time for your family, work, and company. It is sometimes difficult to find time to balance everything out. The advice you gave for dancers was inspiring. I put so much effort into my technique that I sometimes forget to just dance. As well as not being okay with certain aspects of myself sometimes gets in the way of just experiencing and enjoying life. Thank you for the advice and for sharing your story, good luck with everything!

[Shianne]

After reading your post on the blog, I feel inspired. You're doing what you love to do, raising a family, and staying organized through it all. Many people would crumble under the stress of being an Artistic Director of a company, staying connected to family, being a graduate student, and having other jobs on the side. When I picture my future, I see it being similar. I work well under pressure and as much as I don’t like stress, I like having more than one priority.
You inspired me with your last statement which was “advice to young dancers”. It states “Rather than putting effort into doing everything correctly, I so wish that I had adopted the idea of existing with each moment- just being myself, having a real experience”. This seems to be an ongoing theme for this semester. In Ballet, my teacher expressed how she wants us to dance in the moment and take risks. That way, we are actually dancing instead of worrying about the technique. I often struggle with technique, so whenever I put great effort into getting all the steps correct, I get nervous and mess up. I want to dance instead of worrying so much about the grade I’m getting in class or how unbalanced my supporting leg is.

[Kendall Cherry]

Your advice is exactly what I am going through. I always focus on how I look and the technique of my dancing instead of actually dancing in the moment. I have a hard time focusing on what I have, and how that can contribute to my dancing. This really opened my eyes to realize that it's not all about what I don't have because nobody is perfect, and of course there is always going to be something I have to work on.

Your story is inspiring and I can't wait to get back in class and apply your advice. I want to thank you so much for sharing and I really appreciate your ability to be so open about everything.