Class Year: 2017
Hometown: Avon, CT
Major: Dance
Minor: Music (Musicology)
Extracurricular activities: Sometimes I give my friends massages? Does that count?
Tell us about your internship with David Dorfman, head of Conn’s Dance Department!
I was lucky enough to have an internship working with David Dorfman Dance during a very important summer for them. As they are working hard on a new piece, currently titled Aroundtown, I was able to watch the rehearsal process, give feedback and help out in any way I could. I started the internship in NYC at NYU Tisch for a week long residency, where I was able to take classes from the company and perform with other Tisch students.
From there the company traveled to Greece (we literally left NYU and went to the airport!) where I got to perform with the company at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center’s opening festival, Metamorphosis. We rehearsed and performed four pieces for four days, then performed that weekend. The first dance was an athlete’s project with a group of salsa dancers/athletes and special olympians, which was so much fun to be in. The second dance was a pre-existing piece choreographed by Cerebral Palsy Greece where we inserted ourselves. At our first rehearsal with them, they showed us the original piece and I cried because it was so beautiful already. Third was a small hip hop section with Funky Habits and the Waveomatics in a water-jet fountain. Our final performance was a piece that David had recently created for a performance at the Met-Breuer opening, reimagined for the space of the top of the most beautiful park I have ever seen. We worked with a Greek dance company, Apostolia Papadamaki/ Quasi Stellar, to set the work with a huge cast of Greek and US dancers. After the festival was over, we headed to Sifnos, a beautiful tiny island two hours off the coast of Greece for two days until we had to go back to the States.
Once back in the US, we came to Conn to have the bi-annual David Dorfman Dance Intensive, where I took classes and participated in rehearsals. Here I started to work administrative stuff, like finding nightly activities to do for the students and setting up for receptions. I was also able to work with Shawn Hove to create some potential projections/videos for Arountown and worked up in the booth as well as performed with the other students.
Our fourth adventure was to Jackson, Wyoming, where we were invited to be in residence at the Dancer’s Workshop Jackson. Jackson, sometimes called Jackson Hole is a tourist destination (I think somebody said about 5 million tourists come throughout the year!) right next to the Grand Teton National Park and just south of Yellowstone. It was so beautiful, but, being at nearly 7,000 feet above sea level, it was short of Oxygen, which proved to be quite difficult to manage. The woman who directs the Workshop was so warm and inviting and she had a massive Newfoundland (that’s a dog breed) named Zeppo who looked like a bear. Here I was able to become a part of Aroundtown as we worked on new ideas and structures and present a version of the piece at the Dancer’s Workshop, which was so much fun to do. I also was able to work in the booth during a performance of DDD’s Come And Back Again, which is one of my favorite pieces that they do.
Finally, once we were back on the east coast, we had a performance at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of Design, which I was able to perform in. I loved this performance because the outdoor garden we performed in was so beautiful and my family and friends were able to come. Of course, when we were improvising with the audience, I made my sister dance with me (she was not happy about me just pushing her around though!). Working with the company was a fun experience and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to do it.
What was the most surprising thing you learned from your internship?
The most surprising thing I learned was that the postmodern dance world is so small and everybody talks to each other. So many people I worked with over the summer told me that they were able to get work with people because they were either in the right place at the right time, or they knew somebody who encouraged them to go to a rehearsal/ open audition. Networking is very important in the community.
What has been your favorite experience as a dancer at Conn thus far?
My favorite experience as a dancer at Conn was being a part of Maia Draper-Reich’s honors thesis. I was able to improvise with dancers and non-dancers in a series of workshops, which is one of my favorite things to do. I love Contact Improvisation and I intend on letting it influence my life and art.
Who is your favorite professional dancer, or dance company?
I know it’s really cheesy to say this, but David Dorfman Dance is my favorite company. The company’s work is so unique to me in a way that every person involved has a voice and is able to let their personalities come out in performance. They are one of the hardest working people I have met and I look up to all of them as mentors. I think my experience with the company has only strengthened my love of their work. Another person I admire is Nancy Stark Smith, a pioneer in the Contact Improvisation community. I took class with her at Bates Dance Festival and I am in love with her movement qualities, imagination, and her dedication to the field. Everything about her is absolutely perfect.
Following graduation (scary, I know), do you hope to continue working in the field of dance?
Ooh, this is too real. Yes, I would love to keep working in the dance field (dancers reading this, please hire me!). Right now, I am applying for the University of Roehampton Award in Dance, which is a Fulbright grant for me to get a MRes in Choreography and Performance at the Uni of Roehampton. Regardless of whether or not I receive the award, I plan on pursuing a Masters and eventually a Doctorate in Dance (so I can be Dr. Dance). I have tons of plans to do a thousand projects, try to dance in companies wherever I can, choreograph pieces, do anything in dance, but most importantly, I want to teach dance at a University or College.
Now for some fun questions…
Spirit animal: An aggressive Koala because, while asleep, I will grab onto anybody nearby and snuggle with them.
Guilty pleasure: Talking about any academic subject ever. I nerd out over literally anything.
Party anthem: Anything Sufjan Stevens
Go-to dance move: Probably any type of handstand, headstand or inversion.
Personal motto: Look with more than your eyes, listen with more than your ears, feel with more than your heart; expand your consciousness beyond the confines of your body.
Favorite place on campus: Coffee Grounds, people actually think I work there because I go there so much.
Most embarrassing Camel moment? Once I was so tired and in Harris, I put my napkin in the utensil chute and my fork in the napkin bin. I just walked away. I have no regrets.