Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
Current city: Brooklyn, NY
Age: 38
Attended an arts high school? No, I attended Stuyvesant, a math and science HS, but I would take dance classes after school and on weekends (mostly at The Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance where I had a Van Leir Fellowship, and Improvisation and Dance Making with Ellen Robbins at DTW).
College and degree: SUNY Purchase, Dance Conservatory, BFA
Website: www.annasperber.com
How you pay the bills: Grants, stipends, freelance teaching
All of the dance hats you wear: Dancer/performer, choreographer, director, administrator, fundraiser, teacher
Non-dance work you do: In the past I have worked in restaurants (hostess, server), receptionist at health club/ wellness center, temping, and gyrotonic instructor
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What is on your calendar for 2015?
I am currently working on a new piece, Ruptured Horizon, that will premiere at Gibney Dance: Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center, June 3-13. (info: http://www.gibneydance.org/anna-sperber/). I am nearing the end of my second year as an Artist in Residence at Brooklyn Arts Exchange (BAX). In April I have a Dance In Process (DiP) residency at Gibney Dance’s choreographic center. This summer I will be at ADF creating a new work for the Footprints Series. I will begin research and rehearsals for my next project in the fall.
You were one of the founders of classclassclass…..what is this project about? Are you still involved?
Classclassclass started when James Kidd (who is now based in LA, and runs the Pieter Space (pieterpasd.com) approached me about the idea, and we started it together in 2009. The desire was to give artists who were relatively new to teaching the opportunity to explore their own teaching practice in whatever format they chose, and to be compensated fairly for their time. We also wanted to provide affordable classes for students to learn from artists. We were looking at how the culture and dynamic of class shifts with aesthetics and economic shifts in the climate of the city. There were a lot of great people involved that first year and we received an enthusiastic response, but the next year James moved to California, and I had a baby. At that time, I didn’t have time to keep running the organization on top of the administrative work I was doing for my own choreography, so we passed it on. It is now being run by a great group and and there have been a lot of interesting developments happening with classclassclass in the past few years (and continuing to happen now!). Check it out - www.classclassclass.org.
"CLASSCLASSCLASS is a blank slate for movement artists to experiment with their artistic practice in some form of student-teacher relationship. CLASSCLASSCLASS values a willingness to investigate ideas, without the pressure of product. Students, come as you are."
How do you find dancers? What do you look for in a dancer?
I am most often find dancers I’m interested in working with after seeing them perform, and through getting to know people in the dance community. I have also had invited auditions in the past.
I am drawn to working with dancers who have a clear, grounded, and articulate physicality. A sense of vibrancy, a visceral intention of focus, an emotional expression through the experience of the physicality. I look for an openness to risk taking, and unaffected vulnerability in performance. We improvise a lot in my process as well as working with a lot of repetition of set choreography and attention to detail, so working with dancers who enjoy all of those ways of working is important. I value working with dancers who are engaged and curious about the ideas, and who are interested in engaging in dialogue about the work.
What are the skills a modern dancer needs in 2015?
There is so much exciting work that is being made right now. Different artists' work calls for different kinds of dancers and performers, so there isn’t one answer to that question. Look at the work that you want to be a part of. Look at the dancers that are inspiring to you and identify the skills you see in them that makes them powerful dancers and performers. That can inform the skills you want to cultivate.
What does collaboration mean to you in your art making?
Collaboration happens on many levels with different parts of the work. Every rehearsal in the studio is a collaboration with the dancers. Everyone's attention and energy is part of a collaboration. My other collaborations (lighting/visual design/costumes/sound) are all integral to each work. Sometimes the collaboration is integrated into discussions early in the process and sometimes it comes closer to the end - but it’s always exciting to have other artists whose work I love bring new elements to my work - it inevitably changes it and the synthesis of the elements all come together in forming the identity of each piece.
Major influences:
Teachers/artists - to name a few among MANY…Neil Greenberg, Miguel Gutierrez, Juliette Mapp, Tere O'Connor.
How do you find balance having your own company, dancing for others, making work, arts administration, teaching? How do each of these tasks relate and support the other tasks?
I am currently spending the majority of my focus on work with my own company. I love dancing in other people's work and I find that creatively, both really feed me. The administration can take a lot of time and energy, and I have been working with some great people when possible to delegate some of the work.
Three pieces of advice for aspiring choreographers:
- Identify the things that are most valuable to your working process and set up the conditions for yourself to prioritize that. (I know that my process is pretty time intensive, and it's super valuable for me to have a lot of time in the studio to think/move/improvise on my own as well as with other dancers. I ran BRAZIL with an intimate rehearsal and performance studio from 2004-2014, and it provided an invaluable grounded place for me to think, play, improvise and work.)
- Nurture relationships that are inspiring and supportive - teachers, friends, peers, administrators, dancers and other collaborators you work with.
- Possibly obvious, but always worth saying - boldly listen to, and follow your own interests, idiosyncracies, and inspirations.
These days, how do you train and care for your body?
My physical practice is an eclectic and intuitive mix of principles and forms. In addition to dancing in rehearsals, and my own improvisation practice, I draw from Gyrotonic, Iyengar Yoga, Alexander Technique, Body Mind Centering, as well as from different teachers I have studied and danced with (most significantly - Juliette Mapp). I also currently study Gyrotonic and Pilates with Clarice Marshal. I also have been enjoying swimming a lot this year.
Advice to dancers wanting to move to NYC:
There are so many amazing people to meet, learn from, and work with. Reach out to connect with people who are making and involved in work that is exciting to you. There are a lot of ways to connect with people and become part of a community - seeing shows, taking classes, volunteering, interning. A few good places to start include: Movement Research, classclassclass, AUNTS, CATCH, BAX, and Gibney Dance Center.
To read Anna's updated profile from Fall 2017, please click here.
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