Hometown: Topeka, KS
Current city: Iowa City, IA
Age: 32
College and degree: BFA Dance from the University of Kansas
Graduate school and degree: MFA Dance Performance from the University of Iowa (age 23-25)
Website: http://stonedepotdancelab.com
How you pay the bills: Teaching as an adjunct at the University, choreographic commissions and part-time performing gigs
Non-dance work you have done in the past: I have worked at a Kids Gym, in a preschool, in an afterschool program and at a summer camp (all as a dance teacher, but with many other responsibilities). I have also always been a baby-sitter (can’t seem to get away from that one) and a dog-sitter.
-----------------------
What is on your calendar for 2015?
I am making a solo dance performance called Ladies of the Lake for Drift & Drag: Reflections on Water, an art installation curated by Marguerite Perret. I just finished shooting a dance film with Tori Lawrence that will be a part of the entire exhibition, and I will perform during the First Friday Artwalk. The Washburn Dance Team, the Dancing Blues, will lead the audience into the performance … I have never been on a dance team, or worked with one, and it will be fun to see them doing some more post-modern moves! I have also been commissioned to create a new version of “Peter and the Wolf” to be performed at the Lawrence Arts Center with the KU Symphony. I am taking this amazing opportunity to work with a classic narrative, and approach a piece that so many choreographers have worked with in a new way. I have a cast of seven professional dancers, including one of my professors from undergrad, and feel honored to be working with an awesome textile artist on the costumes and set design. The other thing I am really excited about is returning to Byblos, Lebanon (if the political climate permits) for the International Dance Day Festival. I will teach ballet, which they call “technique classique” and look forward to learning more Arabic and reconnecting with the Lebanese dancers I taught and worked with last year.
Current passions and curiosities:
Alchemy and transformation, the work of Irene Dowd, baking cookies that are soft and not crispy
Can you talk about the pros/cons and positives/drawbacks of being a freelance artist?
As a freelancer, I have found that I really have to be my own secretary. So much of my time and energy is put into just lining up the work that will pay the bills … then changing hats and becoming the artist who does the work. The other particular challenge is continuing to find time to train my own body and work on technique/hone skills that are of interest to me. The positive side is that I have met so many different artists and have learned immense amounts about effective communication and collaborations in art as well as in business.
What is your relationship with ballet – within your training, performing, and teaching?
I grew up doing primarily ballet and feel very lucky to have gone to a school, Ballet Midwest, that performed classical repertory (often in its original form, I got to do the Petipa version of several ballets!). I also feel lucky to have gone to an undergrad program that valued modern and ballet equally … in the US it is very hard to get away from the ballet/modern split and I often find that it is not healthy for dancers to have to turn their backs on one or the other.
I spent last semester as a sabbatical cover in ballet and pointe and found it really satisfying to flex those particular muscles, both mental and physical, again. At UI there is daily ballet class at 10 am M-F and it was a welcome challenge to keep up the interest and energy for myself, and the students, throughout the week.
It is simply part of my trajectory as a dancer and teacher that I have not been able to give up ballet even as I move further into modern and contemporary dance. Sometimes I have tried to get away from it, but have accepted that it is a part of me and embraced the opportunity to teach it well in relation to the larger dance world and with a sound anatomical base.
In recent years, you have traveled a bunch and worked in a wide variety of dance communities. Can you share a little – give us a pulse – on what you are seeing around the US right now in terms of modern dance performance and training?
I see that dancers really are being asked to be more and more versatile. Sometimes young dancers are being asked to learn and synthesize a huge variety of styles and material without even knowing where it is came from. Dancers are being asked to use text, be open to performing in alternative spaces, and to perform for the camera. All of these are specific skills that take experience, and I see that dancers succeed when they are willing to jump right in even if they are initially uncomfortable.
What does “teaching artist” mean to you?
Teaching is an art! Teaching technique class (especially to beginning dancers or in community workshops) has always informed the rest of my dance life … especially as a performer. Technique class truly is about techniques for efficiency, ease and qualitative range and teaching a particular technique (and having to explain it and demonstrate over and over) always ends up helping me to dig deeper into my own understanding … I always have many ah-ha moments of my own while teaching class!
Training and care for the body, even when traveling:
There are many exercises that I have picked up through the years from friends that I can do even while waiting in an airport (many of them are from the Franklin Method and from Irene Dowd). I also always do yoga when I am on the road … even twenty minutes of yoga with full breath can turn a rough day around! I also never go to bed without doing a pigeon...
Final advice for young dancers:
Keep showing up, maintain your curiosity, and quest for what inspires you!
Dance is a community practice, and there is so much to be learned from the dancers and teachers around you. Keep being in the moment, living your dance … if you do it will keep you busy (and happy) for the rest of your life.
-------------------------------------
Ellie,
It is a joy to follow your career, just as it was special to work with you. Keep me informed when you are in town. Hugs. Candi
Posted by: Candi Baker | 02/02/2015 at 12:36 AM
Ellie, you are a talented artist and a beautiful human being. Keep creating art!!!!!
Posted by: Suzanne Ryan | 02/02/2015 at 03:00 PM