Joanna Kotze first wrote an artist profile for Life as a Modern Dancer back in November 2014. Today, she catches us up about the past 3 years.
FIND YOURSELF HERE - American Dance Institute (ADI), April 2015 - photo by Liz Lynch (Joanna, center)
How would you describe the past 3 years?
Dense! That was November 2014…In April 2015, I premiered my evening-length piece FIND YOURSELF HERE at the American Dance Institute, and then had the New York premiere at Baryshnikov Arts Center in September 2015. Right after that premiere I went to Cassis, France for a residency at The Camargo Foundation where I started research on my next work. I have been very busy making this new work, What will we be like when we get there, which premieres March 28-31, 2018 and has been created during a series of residencies all over the US and Europe (more below on this project). I have been dancing in other choreographers' work - Stacy Spence, Kimberly Bartosik, Kota Yamazaki, and Sam Kim, touring my 2013 piece It Happened It Had Happened It Is Happening It Will Happen, creating commissions on other companies and students (Gibney Dance Company, Toronto Dance Theatre, Ririe-Woodbury, Zenon Dance Company, Barnard College, Ohio University, and Miami University), and teaching at festivals, universities and dance centers. I’ve served on panels, traveled for work and for fun, and have been trying to keep it all balanced!
There has also been so much to take in from the political and global perspective. There always is but the past years, with violence against people of color and transgender people, human and environmental violations, and ongoing war, and Trump’s election, it has felt even more necessary to confront these issues in my life and work. I feel even more committed to making art, being in dialogue with others, asking questions, and pushing limits.
On my website you can see photos and videos of FIND YOURSELF HERE and What will we be like when we get there, updates on my calendar, and more!
What would you say is the most major change in your dance career, or the role of dance in your life, since you wrote the profile?
I would say the most significant change has been seeking out more help from consultants in the fields of administration, grant writing, marketing, fundraising, etc. As I continue to push my skills in all of these fields, I have also realized my limitations and have called upon others with more expertise to help me further my work in these areas. This has been extremely helpful. It is not necessarily less work but it is helpful to have people to collaborate with in these areas just like I would in the studio. There is another set of eyes, another perspective, another set of skills, coming together to try to create something - whether it’s a budget, a written statement, or a marketing plan.
What will we be like when we get there - Sedona Arts Center residency, November 2016 - photo by Jonathan Allen (Joanna, center)
What is the role of teaching within your work? What is the interplay between teaching and choreographing?
Teaching and choreographing are, to me, both collaborations. I collaborate with who is in the room and what they teach me as well, what we give each other. It’s a dialogue.
Teaching often helps me figure out how to articulate something verbally that is important to me, either performatively or physically, that I may not need to articulate in the same way for myself or with others whom I work with consistently. It also forces me to be physically clear with my body in order to pass on information to people not familiar with my choreographic process or technical vocabulary.
My choreographic process allows me to play with less structured physical experiments that help me understand what is unique to me, my desires, flaws, abilities, and then be able to take those into the classroom to share with others in a more structured environment.
There is definitely an exchange between my teaching and choreography but they are also, in many ways, separate or maybe unique practices for me. They cross-pollinate but also hold their own.
What is on your calendar for the new year?
My next piece, What will we be like when we get there, premieres March 28-31, 2018 at New York Live Arts. It is an interdisciplinary dance performance with my long-time collaborators dancer/choreographer Netta Yerushalmy, visual artist Jonathan Allen, and composer/musician Ryan Seaton. We have created the work during a series of residencies over the past year and a half which included The Camargo Foundation (France), Marble House (VT), Sedona Arts Center (AZ), Governor’s Island through Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (NYC), Bennington College (VT), Jacob’s Pillow (MA), New York Live Arts, and Milvus Artistic Research Center (Sweden). We are investigating physical, emotional, and artistic spectrums while reflecting on personal journeys and current events - bringing attention to our desires, flaws, strengths, and fantasies. We will be showing the work in progress during APAP as part of NYLA’s Live Artery and then have the premiere in March.
I have also continued touring my 2013 piece, It Happened It Had Happened It Is Happening It Will Happen. We returned recently from taking the work to Velocity Dance Center in Seattle and will be at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, OH, February 15-18, 2018.
I am performing in Kota Yamazaki’s new work, Darkness Odyssey Part 2: I or Hallucination, at Baryshnikov Arts Center December 13th-15th, and I will continue rehearsing for Kimberly Bartosik’s new work, I Hunger For You, which has work-in-progress showings at NYLA in April and a premiere at BAM in October 2018.
In April 2018, I have a month-long residency at The Bogliasco Foundation in Italy where I will begin my next project and then will continue working during a residency at The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard in May/June for 3 weeks with three other dancers.
There’s a lot coming up!
What will we be like when we get there - New York Live Arts residency, May 2017 - photo by Carolyn Silverman (Joanna, far left)
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Related posts:
Artist Profile #77: Joanna Kotze
Artist Profile #90: Netta Yerushalmy
Blog Series: Building a Dance Company
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