Hometown: Apple Valley, MN
Current city: Lakeville, MN
Age: 38
Attended an arts high school? No, however I was fortunate in that my high school did have a dance program run by a former professional modern dancer. I was able to take a modern class each trimester of high school, and by my senior year I was taking three hours a day, as elective credits.
College and degree: BFA in Modern Dance, 1998, University of Utah
Graduate school and degree: MFA in Modern Dance, 2004, University of Utah
Website: www.facebook.com/jillpattersondance
How you pay the bills: Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance at Gustavus Adolphus College, various guest artist teaching gigs, choreography and master classes
All of the dance hats you wear: teacher K-12 and secondary, choreographer, performer
Non-dance work you have done in the past: I spent a good 10 years waiting tables, and was able to perform and teach for so long because of the supplemental income.
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Describe your dance life…..
5 years post college:
I was living in Salt Lake City the year after I had finished my BFA, and that spring I got a phone call from my former high school dance teacher in MN, saying she was leaving the position and she wondered if I was interested. After teaching a class and an interview, I was offered the position. So in the fall of 1999 my future husband and I moved back to MN, and I started my teaching position at Apple Valley Senior High School, with a Community Expert Licensure (there was not an actual dance license in MN at the time). I taught 6 classes a day, produced one concert a year with 200 students, choreographed 7 pieces at one time for the musical review, and took students to the National High School Dance Festival.
While at the National High School Dance Festival I snuck in (yes, I did actually sneak in– I couldn’t pass up the opportunity!) to a class with Donald McKayle. A representative from Jacob’s Pillow happened to be watching and approached me after class to see if I would come to the Modern Traditions Workshop. At 25, I experienced an amazing week in Massachusetts and knew that I needed something more. My husband and I decided to move back to Salt Lake City the spring of my second year at AVHS so that he could start in IT school. I decided that I’d apply for grad school back at the U of Utah.
In my third year out of my undergrad, I started my graduate work. While I would encourage almost all post-undergrads to wait longer than I did, to go to grad school, I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything. Grad school was amazing. I loved the total immersion in all things dance --- teaching undergrads as a TA, performing, digging into readings, learning scholarly writing, creating works, and having thought provoking conversations with faculty and peers alike. 2004 was my sixth year out of undergrad, and that spring I graduated with my MFA after three years of course work and writing. I also performed at the Kennedy Center in Natosha Washington’s (RawMoves Dance) “House of Timothy," with an amazing partner in Nathan Shaw (formerly of RDT) and was honored as the Dance Magazine/ACDFA National Outstanding Student Performer. I still pinch myself about that!
The week we got back from Washington, DC I started as one of six dancers in Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company. My dream job. Honestly. Imagine spending each day with three strong and funny men and two other women I admire greatly, with a killer Artistic Director. We were contracted for about 48 weeks a year – that is unheard of. We took class every morning from Charlotte Boye-Christensen, an amazing choreographer and AD. We rehearsed pieces all day – just like you would hope to do as a professional dancer. We got a paycheck each week, in addition to health benefits. We had guest choreographers from around the world, and we traveled the country performing and doing lec/dems and teaching.
At the time we were also contracted as the representative for Nikolais Dance Theatre, and toured France and Spain performing Nikolais works for two months. While I never want to wear a unitard again, experiencing daily life in another country while doing what you love was pretty amazing. However, that tour was hard too. We did laundry in our bathtubs; it was challenging to be away from the foods that you are accustomed to eating, especially when you are constantly in unitards! We learned to make meals in our water boilers in each room, had to care for VERY smelly costumes by the end of tour, and spent countless hours playing charades or sleeping in airports, on buses, and on trains. That all being said, I would not trade those experiences for anything either! And, I would do it all over again, any day of the week. It was exactly what you would think performing in a professional company would be like. During this time period I was also dancing with RawMoves Dance, directed by Natosha Washington and Nick Cendese. I would dance with RW M-F 9-4:30, Raw Moves Th/Sat for three hours, and wait tables Friday and Saturday nights.
10 years after college:
I left RW in 2006 after only two years, as my husband had taken a job offer in CA my first year in the company. After a year and a half apart for work, we were ready to be living in the same house again! My first daughter was born less than a year after leaving the company. We lived in Washington state, and I spent those two years trying to get to class when I could. In 2008, 10 years post undergrad, I hunted down a teaching job at a high school back in MN, and was offered the part-time position. I was at that position for a year, and then interviewed for a position at a new arts high school that was opening. I helped open Envision Academy of the Performing Arts, along with two colleagues in Theatre and Strings. Unfortunately, the school was not planned for sustainability and the school district closed the program with budget cuts after two years. During this time I was also performing with Christopher Watson Dance Company, a small group that rehearsed each Saturday for three hours and presented a few concerts each year in smaller venues. My last concert with CWDC was when I was almost 8 months pregnant – THAT was a once in a lifetime experience and one I was determined I was going to accomplish!
15 years:
After the CWDC concert I emailed the Chair of Gustavus Adophus College to see if she was looking for anyone to teach spring semester, as I’d be on maternity leave that fall. She said yes! I am now in my third year teaching at Gustavus, and I love just about every moment I am at the college, working to inspire my students while they continuously inspire me.
How has being a dancer shifted/changed since becoming a parent as well?
That is the million-dollar question. Fortunately, I am very passionate about teaching, and teaching offers a more stable income and a consistent time commitment. I honestly think the idea of “having it all” is a bit off. When I am with my children for a long stretch I think I should be doing more professionally. And, when I am busy at the college or away from home more than usual, I yearn to be home with my children. I usually have the sense that I am not doing enough professionally and that I am certainly not doing enough as a mother! It is a constant push and pull that I was not prepared for in any way. I have talked with close friends in the field who have children and I know I am not alone in my feelings, and I think it is imperative that families, and mothers in particular, talk about it more. Again, that all being said, I couldn’t imagine doing one and not the other!
Do you still perform? Choreograph?
I have not performed consistently since my second daughter was born, almost two and a half years ago. However, I am fairly certain that I am performing in some fashion every time I teach class. I would love to perform more, and will again at some point I am sure. Right now however, I pick and choose my time away from my young children. I do choreograph when the opportunity presents itself, a couple of pieces a year, usually as a guest artist.
What is the role of teaching in your career? Can talk about your work over the years and teaching a variety of age groups?
Teaching is THE role. Teaching has allowed me to continue in my role as dancer, and it ensures that dance will live on as an art form, and that we will have audience members to witness what choreographers and performers want to share, I believe. I absolutely love teaching; it fuels me in many of the same ways that performing does. I lose myself in the classroom, forgetting the rest of the world for a few short hours, immersing myself in my students, wondering how I can relate the information to them more clearly, watching them struggle and then so obviously succeeding when they never thought their body would allow them to do what was asked. I work with both majors and non-majors and enjoy both experiences for completely different reasons. In the past I have earned a living teaching at three different high schools, over the course of five years of my career. I find high school engaging as well, but there is so much drama in high school! And while I was grateful for those experiences, I often found myself saying, “I just want to teach dance!” ---- meaning there were so many other challenges to face in a public high school setting. However, I still keep in touch with many of my students from over the years. I have also also spent many a day teaching creative movement – THE HARDEST JOB in my book, by far! Teaching creative movement in the public schools is a huge component of what Ririe-Woodbury does, and I spent many weeks in the schools while with the company.
How have you grown as a dancer in recent years?
I have found that when it comes down to the heart of the matter, I simply want to be moved when watching dance, and I want to move those watching my movement/choreography. I have become more interested in the performance practice. While still utilizing a strong technical base, I find that I am most concerned with seeing and experiencing a “real” sense of performing that invites the audience in.
Current dance training and non-dance practices:
I fell in love with Pilates during my MFA work, and miss the use of free reformer and box equipment! I still do some mat-work on my own; I feel it works in such close tandem with my needs as a dancer. I have also recently found Barre3, and do some online classes that they offer. And in reality I find running to be the most beneficial. However, I am not suggesting that I do any of these every day or even every week!
Current passions and curiosities:
I have been thinking for years that I would like to get my certification in Pilates, or perhaps a barre practice, or a somatic practice similar to Body-Mind Centering or experiential anatomy. So many things I’d love to continue learning about and apply to my classroom work.
What is on your plate/on your calendar for the next year’s time?
I am teaching Fundamentals of Modern Dance, a sought after class offered to non-majors to fulfill an arts credit. I absolutely love teaching this course, watching the non-dancers from ALL walks of life realize that they are indeed dancers! I will also teach the Advanced Modern class, which is always engaging. I look forward to taking a piece I set on the seniors this fall, to be adjudicated at ACDFA in Milwaukee this spring. I will teach a few master classes here and there, and start to look for a summer project. Since my girls are home all summer long I try to embrace that time with them and take on only one intensive teaching position.
How would you describe the dance scene in Minnesota?
Visit www.dancemn.org to get a sense of what is happening in the MN dance scene each week. The scene here is big and small. There are many performance, choreographic, and teaching opportunities in the Twin Cities and outlying areas. There are always classes ongoing at TU Dance and at Zenon, among others. International and national touring companies are always coming through town; one could be busy going to see dance just about every weekend here. There are many, MANY, small performance venues, in addition to a really fantastic and affordable fringe festival each year. While there are a few modern and ballet companies that employ dancers consistently, there is a TON of pick-up work to do, and I would suggest to anyone that this would be a great place to make a go of it.
Final advice to young dancers:
Take ballet – GOOD ballet, whenever it is offered to you. Take ballet! Go for it – the ACDFA honor I received was only because I threw myself into a movement style I’d never been asked to do before, and was willing to explore the amazing work of Ms. Natosha Washington. I also got to do partnering work that I’d never experienced, being a tall and muscular female dancer, and I simply had to trust my partner and his ability. Trust your ability to do more than you ever thought capable. Don’t give up – it took me four auditions before I got in to RW. Use your connections; never pass up an opportunity to meet someone new. The dance world is SO small; chances are you have a common connection with whomever you are speaking with! ASK for the job. You simply have to put yourself out there, in a professional and respectful way, of course. Do what you love.
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Wonderful! Well done, Jill Patterson. How well I remember that ACDFA. The morning after the performance when you were honored as outstanding student performer we went to breakfast with the incoming president of the University of Utah at his private club...do you remember. So proud of you.
Posted by: Phyllis Haskell Tims | 04/06/2015 at 07:51 PM
Oh Phyllis, you are too kind. Your words mean the world to me - thank you for taking the time to comment. While I only vaguely recall breakfast with the incoming president (actually I am amazed that we did that!), the experience as a whole is one I will never ever forget.
Thank you...
Posted by: Jill Patterson | 04/10/2015 at 08:52 PM