You’ve probably seen Lila Fagen lighting up the stage at an Infra performance or rehearsing with her dance company somewhere on campus–after all, dancing has been her life since she was three years old and she hasn’t missed a beat since. It’s only fitting that Lila is artistic director of CMU’s elite dance company, Infra.
Formerly DS Company, Infra is led by three directors–Artistic Director, Business Manager, and Rehearsal Coordinator. Lila’s job as Artistic Director entails overseeing the company’s artistic vision and acting as its backbone, though she shares pieces of this responsibility with the other two directors to “ensure that the Board is always a true representation of the company as a whole.” Lila is also heavily involved in choreographing– a skill that she says she might love even more than dancing.
Though her position sounds fun, privilege always comes with responsibility. So, what does Lila feel are the most challenging responsibilities of being artistic director? “All of us dancers come in with different strengths,” she says, “so it’s difficult to continuously be pushing everyone individually to improve while keeping the rehearsals and performances cohesive.”
Another challenge is time– three hours of rehearsal a week “never feels long enough.” And you can’t blame her– Infra has already performed three times this semester and is looking forward to six other major performances in the next few months. “As artistic director, it’s as if I am writing a syllabus for the year, but the chapters (performances, and choreography submissions) keep changing and multiplying so it is hard to always maintain fluidity.” Nevertheless, Lila and her dancers have kicked their challenges to the curb with their nothing-short-of-stellar performances.
Lila loves her dance group like family and says that there is “a lot of trust within the company.” Above all, she feels most accomplished when her dancers realize that they are inspiring each other. “That excitement and desire to push themselves by using the support and talent within the company is the most rewarding thing for me,” she says.
Lila also likes to have fun with her dancers, and doesn’t shy from experimental rehearsals. One of her favorite twists is to use improvisation techniques. “I will give prompts like ‘imagine your organs are moving, let your limbs just be an extension of your insides,” she says. “That kind of prompt has delivered beautiful movement that looks and feels internal, organic, and original!” –This sounds like something every dancer should experience! Though her experiments are fun, they’ve also been hugely helpful in developing Infra’s sense of connection by teaching the company “how to dance with each other rather than just next to each other.” It’s a pretty hefty goal, but Lila’s techniques have managed to make the company more cohesive than ever.
Though Lila has performed countless times, she remembers a few performances more vividly than others. The 2013 LG piece is top on her list because of a special twist: she choreographed the dance while studying abroad. Naturally, Lila was nervous to jump back into Infra when she returned from her travels, but the spectacular end product reaffirmed her confidence.
Lila’s overflowing passion urged her to spread her love for dance beyond Infra and into the CMU and Pittsburgh communities, inspiring an all-day dance intensive workshop called DanceFest. Not only did the event attract CMU students, but people from U Pitt, Point Park and Duquesne attended too. “One of the goals with Dancefest was to bring the Pittsburgh college dance community together”, Lila says. Needless to say, she was thrilled by the eclectic turnout.
When Lila isn’t working hard with Infra, she’s like many of us–enjoying cooking, photography and exploring Pittsburgh. But her heavy involvement in the dance scene makes Lila extraordinary. Her position as artistic director has allowed her to shape CMU’s dance culture while making friendships built on inspiration and trust. Even after she moves on from artistic director, Lila is confident that “Infra has the structure to continue for many, many years”. Judging from her monumental impact on the group, it’s safe to agree.