Mar
05
Working with 4 different choreographers
In the last two months AXIS Dancer Emily Eifler got a chance to work with 4 different choreographers: Victoria Marks, Marc Brew, Amy Seiwert, and Sonya Delwaide.
We asked her what that was like.
How different/similar are the choreographers approaches in creating work?
Amy and Marc are similar. They gave us base phrases and specific tasks and we built material off of that. Sonya started from the beginning and basically walked us through what she wanted and we molded it in to something we could do and she liked but it was all very specific to her first moves. Vic is much more focused on meaning and intention and less on developing movement.
How different/similar is the movement of the different pieces to your body/state of mind?
Amy’s work is technical and feels powerful and precise. Marc’s focuses on the relationship arch and partnership. Sonya’s is fun and energetic. VVic’s piece feels really internal, like the dance of trying to breakout of a shell.
What is exciting about doing repertory work?
You get to know lots of different styles and people but also better understand your own preferences: what communications styles work best for you, what music, what level of technicality, what kinds of movement.
What is a challenge about doing repertory work, that people might not think about when they see it performed on stage?
The personality of the choreographer changes the atmosphere of rehearsal dramatically. Each choreographer has a very different way of communicating so you have to get used to not only producing movement in their style but also how they give directions and the difference between what they mean and what they say.
Share with us one of your favorite rehearsal moments.
I adore Amy. She was patient and tough and taught me things about my body I never thought about before. My favorite moments were her explanations and metaphors and language in general. “Don’t kill the chickens!”
(photos by David DeSilva)
Hi there,
I have seen Emily perform at YB gardens and at a recent open rehearsal with Marc Brew. I put my hands on fire if that woman truly needs that crutch. I remember someone asking wha was her disability, which I found completely unnecessary, though. Yet she ran, just like the other able bodies without the crutches. Either she is faking it and AXIS is playing blind or AXIS only hires disable dancers that are super crips. For me it was a disenchantment and felt lied to by the company, which I always found so unique. I am not disable, but my sister is, and she uses crutches. This would have been an insult to her as it was to me. We know there are different reasons for why a person is considered disable and, that has to be respected. Just don’t praise yourself by saying that you have “disable dancers” when they look completely able on stage. You are talking about different ways of moving precisely because of their “different abilities.” Ms. Eifler doesn’t cut it and, AXIS, as one of your fans, I’m disappointed. Now I wonder what do you need to bring for an audition with AXIS…
Sincerely and with all due respect,
Anna Mocciaro
Also, I hope you guys are able to receive critics and don’t sensor my honest feedback.
Cheers,
Annamaria
Hey Anna,
Thanks for visiting our blog and following AXIS. Thank you also for your feedback. We’re sorry you felt lied to and disenchanted after attending some of our performances/events recently. We understand this to be something close to your heart, as it is for us.
Disability does come in different forms – some of which seem more obvious to the eye or easy to categorize, and others, like Emily’s are more difficult to pin down, taking different forms – even depending on the hour or day! Watching someone like Emily perform for a brief chunk of time is not a full picture of all her abilities or needs – it takes awhile to fully understand the parameters of people’s disability and the extent of their abilities. Interestingly, people with invisible disabilities are often discriminated against even by those in the disability community. Guess it is human for us to judge people by what we think they should be able to do, instead of accepting what they are able to do – something disabled people have been fighting for years.
As you also may understand, our performing company members are simply one small cross-section of many differing abilities and bodies. Unfortunately, we are only able to hire a few dancers at a time, and demand a lot from them physically as well as in terms of travel, performing etc… further limiting our pool of potential dancers. We constantly seek to be a representative of different abilities (in fact we have new apprentices arriving for the summer!), but we are most interested in the possibilities that abound by having dancers with and without disabilities (of all kinds) together.
We do believe that ‘everyone can dance’ in their own way and hope to continue to inspire us all, that what at first may appear to be a limitation can be transformed into realms of possibility.
Warmly,
AXIS Dance Company
PS. Stay tuned for more on this subject in a blog post soon!