Ellen Bartel is currently one of our Modern teachers, if you’re not in one of her classes you’re missing out! I have yet to
leave her Modern II class without being drenched in sweat, which every dancer
knows is the first sign of a successful dance class.
This Thursday at 8 PM at the Hyde Park Theater, Ellen is presenting a new work, Hazy Eyes, as a part of the 21st Annual FronteraFest in Austin.
.jpg) |
| Dancers from Left to Right: Dany Casey, Amy Myers, Angie Johnson |
Living in Austin since 1994, Ellen holds an MFA
in Dance from UT and has her own company, Spank Dance Company.
Q: What kind of work do you like to do and what are you trying
to show your audience?
A: I’ve done site work, butoh, and worked with a lot of
different levels of movement. Butoh improvisation for me is about practicing
performance. If there’s an audience, there’s nothing for [them] to gain.
But I like challenging the audience in what they see and challenging myself to
be a better performer.
Site work is all about understanding places and the impact
of those places on the people who use them. It’s about the audience seeing
space and place differently. It’s a quality of life thing; knowing
about shared space and recognizing the differences and similarities of the people
who share that space. People know all this but they forget. This work is about
snapping people out of their busy lives to be present.
 |
| Amy, Angie, and Errin Delperdang (on the far right) have a moment together mid-dance. |
Q: What was your choreography process for this piece, Hazy Eyes?
A: Since grad school, I’ve been working more with dancer
generated movement. So I didn’t always show up with steps to be memorized. I
did start with an idea. I can’t just show up and say “let’s play!” That doesn’t
work for me. But the dancers did work a lot with improv and setting.
Q: Is there a difference between presenting a work at a
festival and producing your own dance concert?
A: Yes, the outcome is different. For festivals, it’s about
sharing the diversity of modern dance, or any dance form, it
doesn’t have to be modern. But it’s about showing something that speaks to
different hearts and minds. Concerts are about sharing my own idea. They’re
both a lot of work though.
 |
| Dany and Angie reaching together. |
Q: Do you want to eventually produce you own dance concerts
again?
A: I’m trying not to over plan my life – that feeling of
being scheduled until 2015. I don’t want to miss out on different opportunities
because of obligations. Looking back at 45, I feel like I’ve missed so much and
I want to be more present. I don’t mean going wherever the wind blows but
breaking out of the rat race. Getting out of the rut of obligations.
Q: Would that be your advice to dancers or choreographers?
Not to get overwhelmed?
A: It’s good to have experiences, sitting in rehearsals
every night. It’s important to build your resume, to show “I can do
this and this.” But it can make you sick if you can’t slow down, and it’s really
hard on relationships. It all comes down to finding that work-life balance. And
some people choose not to be in relationships or not to have children and
that’s totally fine; especially for women. But you have to be aware that it’s a
choice.
 |
| Dany and Amy doing floor work. |
Here’s a link to purchase a ticket to see Ellen’s piece, Hazy Eyes, this Thursday at 8 PM at Hyde Park Theater: http://www.fronterafest.org/site/index.html
You have to do a little searching to find the right day or you can
call the box office: 512-479-PLAY
Ellen’s piece has a chance to make it to Best of Week and Best of Fest based on your votes. Go support your teacher and your community!
Check out Ellen’s dance company, http://www.spankdance.com/, and watch their great repertory videos!
Pictures by Anne Wharton
No comments:
Post a Comment