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Nurturing Student Choreographers By DAWN LILLE
As the academic year comes to a close, the Dance Division—performers, choreographers and faculty—catches its collective breath in order to glide from the experience of presenting three works by three of the world's outstanding choreographers to highlighting some of the best student compositions in the annual Senior Production and Choreographic Honors program.
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| Ohad Naharin's Tabula Rasa was one of the dances performed at Dances Repertory Edition 2005; dancers included (left to right) Shamel Pitts, Christina Bodie, and Douglas Letheren.
(Photo by Rosalie O'Connor) |
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The five performances in March of Mark Morris's New Love Song Waltzes, Ohad Naharin's Tabula Rasa, and William Forsythe's Limb's Theorem, Part III certainly tested the physical and technical stamina of the student dancers. But more importantly, it exposed them to different and constantly expanding methods of using the human body and thinking about this use. The process of rehearsal not only allowed for growth, but left many with a changed approach to the possibilities that lie within their own bodies. A number of dance events this semester focus on student choreography, a natural outgrowth of this experience.Lawrence Rhodes, now completing his third year as director of the Dance Division, observes that, in the last few years, the number of established choreographers who have joined the division for short periods of time has more than doubled. Last semester there were works by Robert Battle, Janis Brenner, Susan Marshall, and Ronald K. Brown. Hence even dancers not in a specific work have had the experience of seeing it many times and discussing it with others. The philosophy of "flinging open the doors" to a variety of contemporary choreographers not seen previously at Juilliard expands the education of all.Rhodes points out that this increased exposure to different creators, each of whom is involved in his or her own methodology, supplements the work of the regular composition teachers (longtime choreographic mentor Elizabeth Keen and JoAnna Mendl Shaw, now in her second year of teaching Dance Composition II at Juilliard). It also offers additional tools for student choreographers to ponder and possibly attempt to use. This year, faculty members Risa Steinberg and Aaron Landsman have been assigned to work with the dancers on Senior Production, advising student choreographers while teaching all aspects of producing a dance concert. Along with the hiring of Mendl Shaw last year and the putting in place of a mentoring program for all student choreographic projects (of which there are many), this faculty supervision has strengthened and supported the development of choreographic skills in the Dance Division.
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| Limb's Theorem, Part III by choreographer William Forsythe, was also performed this spring. (Photo by Rosalie O'Connor) |
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A perusal of numbers for the past three years reveals the surprising fact that more than 200 dances choreographed by Juilliard students are presented annually. This is a statistic that would probably please Louis Horst, Martha Graham's longtime mentor and the first person to teach dance composition at Juilliard when dance entered the curriculum in 1951.Choreography by dance students is created in different ways. It may be the result of formal composition classes (which are required of all dancers), or an elective course such as Composition II or the Composers and Choreographers Workshop. (The latter, which involves the pairing of student choreographers and composers, results in an annual program that has been presented in Alice Tully Hall but will move next year to the Juilliard Theater.) Other students apply to do independent projects in choreography and present their dances at one of the many studio workshops scattered throughout the year. Senior Production, a program of works by selected senior choreographers, is presented annually in April. The year-end Choreographic Honors concert (in the Juilliard Theater this month) showcases the best student works of the year (as judged by a committee consisting of Mr. Rhodes, Ms. Keen and Ms. Mendl Shaw) and will represent, in all probability, some of the next generation of choreographers.
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Choreographic Honors 2004-05
Juilliard Theater
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday,
May 11, 12, and 14, 8 p.m.
Free; no tickets required.
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When some members of the freshman class asked Rhodes earlier this year why they were required to study composition if they had no intention of becoming choreographers themselves, he explained that this crucial aspect of the curriculum enabled dancers to alternately experience being a choreographer and being an interpreter. "Finding out how one deals with a choreographer, and discovering what it is really like to stand in a choreographer's shoes, are essential experiences for all dancers whether they dream of being choreographers or not."Rhodes hopes to continue and expand upon the Dance Division's record for producing notable choreographic talent. Recent alumni making names for themselves in this arena include Robert Battle, Charlotte Griffin, Adam Hougland, and Jessica Lang. "Choreography is like all things in life—a process," points out Rhodes. "It can take a long time to develop into an extraordinary choreographer. But we are planting the seeds …"Dawn Lille, a faculty member since 1997, teaches dance history.
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