Photo: Sara Parker
Hometown: Boise, ID
Current city: Salt Lake City, UT
Age: 31
Attended an arts high school? No, in fact my only dance experience prior to college was tap dancing once per week from ages 13-17.
College and degree: A major part of my dance and theatre training was at Boise State University, but I transferred to the University of Utah to finish my BFA in Modern Dance.
Graduate school and degree: MFA in Modern Dance, University of Utah, 2015. Along with real-life overseeing what would be the equivalent of an MBA. I started graduate school at age 28.
Websites: mollyheller.com teagrotto.com
How you pay the bills: Currently this is in flux as I am graduating this week. While in graduate school, I was fortunate enough to be funded by the Department of Modern Dance all three years, and along with my University teaching responsibilities, I co-own a tea shop with my husband, which also provides us with income.
All of the dance hats you wear: Performer, choreographer, teacher, student, writer, advisor and administrator.
Non-dance work you do: I own and operate the Tea Grotto, a loose-leaf tea house in SLC with my husband. This is our fourth year owning the business. I am also certified in Pilates and Reiki (Japanese healing modality) and teach workshops throughout SLC.
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Life after my undergraduate degree:
Following graduation, I spent a summer living, dancing and traveling throughout Europe in the hopes of eventually moving there. I was attracted to the idea of leaving the familiarity of the west and challenging myself with new cultures, geographies and ways of making/perceiving art. I spent most of my time in search of a place that offered a balance between the stimulation of city life and the natural world, but in the end I decided that for me this place did not exist. I returned to Salt Lake City and spent the next year making a lot of dance work, teaching Pilates and guest teaching dance throughout Salt Lake City and Boise, ID.
As I finished producing a show at Sugar Space Studio for the Arts here in SLC, I was offered a performance opportunity in New York City, along with free accommodations for a summer. With some hesitation, but mostly excitement, my husband and I came up with a plan for sustaining a balanced (or somewhat balanced) life in NYC once my first summer there had ended. We decided to have our home base outside of the city itself. New Paltz, a small college town 90 miles north of NYC, housed us as I commuted to the city, living half of the week in the mountains and half of the week in the metropolis. Splitting my life was difficult on many levels, but it challenged me in the best of ways. I helped to support our family (and our two homes) by teaching Pilates and technique classes in the city and I was on faculty at SUNY New Paltz where I taught Jazz with a history emphasis. I took class myself frequently and ushered as many shows as I could fit into my weekly visits – I was busy seeing, experiencing and researching dance.
Alongside performing, I began to show work wherever and whenever possible. I placed myself in situations that demanded a lot from me mentally, physically and creatively. I was never still and learned to embrace the challenges of feeling lost, fearful and overwhelmed. I became self-accountable, learning to be my best teacher and mentor. I was driven and my passion for dance sustained my focused intent. I also gathered energy from the mountains outside of New Paltz where I would hike often.
Now:
I just completed my MFA in Modern Dance (I wrote my thesis on healing trauma through performance). I am also preparing for SaltDanceFest at the beginning of June as a festival coordinator and administrative assistant.
Photo: Ben Mielke
Artistic Influences/Inspirations (a few):
Stephen Koester, Satu Hummasti, Pavel Zustiak, Netta Yerushalmy, James Thierree, Wim Vandekeybus, Southern Utah, books (philosophy, poetry, health and well-being, anthropology), live performance of any kind, and puppetry.
What is on your calendar for 2015?
This is going to be a busy year! I am teaching at two amazing festivals/intensives in SLC this summer: Reiki-based class for SaltDanceFest (University of Utah) and Improvisation/Composition at the Ririe-Woodbury Professional Intensive. In the fall, I am guest teaching and showing work at Middlebury College in Vermont and the same week I am co-producing a show at Gowanus Art + Production in NYC. I am also taking a trip to Italy to walk the Cinque Terre and to visit Florence.
What made you want to go back to graduate school? What has this opportunity offered you - in terms of space, time, inspiration, new learning?
I think my life experiences following my undergraduate education helped to prepare me for the rigor and demands I would encounter. I was ready to dive in head first, to question my beliefs and to simultaneously strengthen my core values. Grad school allowed me to dedicate time to the type of research I have been interested in, and it offered me the resources and connections I needed to deepen that research. I have appreciated the diverse and extensive teaching opportunities and mentorship I received while in school. I have grown a lot as a teacher and I know myself better at the end of these three years. I really love the people here, they are family to me – they really attracted me to the program. I also knew I would have space in this program – space to find my way through the curriculum and space (both literally and artistically) to make a lot of work. Grad school is never perfect, but it has been a gift in many ways.
Photo: Stuart Ruckman, courtesy of Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company
How do you find balance between your artistic work and your business?
It has taken me three years of running the business, to find a level of sustained balance. The first two years of managing the business while going to graduate school were exhausting and highly intensive. I was overly involved in both areas of my life (out of necessity and desire), but this really started to become a problem over time – too much work with little mental and physical rest. My way of finding balance now is to delegate responsibility when I can and to allow some things in my life to be “good enough.” I have learned to not overanalyze all of my emails, to stay organized each day so things don’t pile up quickly and to focus on tomorrow’s tasks instead of future stressing. I also look for the blending of my two worlds, where I can create and design at my business and find where my dance-related strengths can be utilized.
Three pieces of advice for aspiring choreographers:
Engage with diverse audiences and diverse spaces. I believe dance becomes insular and stagnant when we share our work with the same populations and prescribed performance spaces.
Dance is an exchange of energy. It has the potential to be impactful to both the viewer and the creator when energy is shared.
Practice making work (a lot of it), cultivate the courage to submit your work often, and seek out a mentor that you trust to give you honest feedback relating to the type of work you want to make.
"This is your Paradise" Photo: Kylie Lloyd
These days, how do you train and care for your body?
These days it is my goal to care for my body more – I have spent too much time in front of my computer writing and not enough time moving my body. For me, caring for my body simply means moving. This changes for me daily – some days I need to walk around the park or ride my bike, other days I take a yoga class or jam in my living room, but I try to practice some form of breath work everyday. Caring for my body also means stepping away from electronics often and finding ways to be less stimulated throughout the day. I also take supplements such as Turmeric, fish oil and Resveratrol.
Can you talk a little about the dance scene in Salt Lake?
Salt Lake City has really grown on me over the last few years. There is so much talent here and space to really make things happen, whether that be showing work, teaching workshops, or finding artists to collaborate with. I think that the dance scene here is evolving and there seems to be more support and opportunities for independent artists. I hope to see the work here diversify over time, as it tends to feel similar and often predictable, BUT I value that things are happening.
The larger dance companies (Ririe-Woodbury, Repertory Dance Theatre, Ballet West) and the University of Utah have a strong presence in the community, which keeps people knowing/hearing about dance, which I think is ultimately positive. Ashley Anderson’s work (loveDANCEmore) has been significant here, as it has opened up more possibilities for artists to present work in all stages of development. I am grateful for this. It is exciting to be a part of an up-and-coming artistic community and I am committed to helping it grow.
Do you still maintain ties to NYC?
I have quite a few friends and colleagues who live in NYC and I maintain contact with them on a personal level. I haven’t been back to visit or show work in over three years so I feel a little out of touch, but I will be back in the fall. Now that I am working my way out of the grad school bubble, I hope to re-connect and re-acquaint myself with NYC happenings.
Wishes for the future:
I hope to publish my research on trauma (sections of my thesis work) and to continue teaching in the University setting. I also want to keep developing my work without academic expectations/limitations and to collaborate with more artists outside of Utah. Another desire is to start taking singing lessons; I really love to sing. :)
Final advice for young dancers:
Develop entrepreneurial skills. Make time for self care (on all levels – physical, mental, spiritual). Not everything happens when and how we want it to, and this is ok.
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