Joyce Performance Recap: Wednesday

Photo: Erin Baiano

Now that I am somewhat rested, a day under my belt in Tennessee and my dog Bailey on my lap, Ithought I would share my insider's view of BalletCollective's experience performing at the Joyce.

Wednesday the nerves were flowing. Why? Because there was much to accomplish in a short amount of time. With the ballets in performance-ready shape it was now a matter of configuring the lights and working the ballets on the actual stage. The Joyce's Balletv6.0 festival only allows a day of the show load in and load out. This tight set up and take down enables the Joyce to have six companies in the short two week run. Yet, it makes for a stressful start.

As BalletCollective had never performed at the Joyce theater, we were all unsure of what the experience would entail. Troy and Brandon headed to the theater bright and early Wednesday morning. With only two hours allotted to hang, prep and configure the lighting, Brandon needed to have his design set before he entered the theater. Troy's dad and stepmom acted as dancer doubles by walking around the stage while Troy and Brandon worked out the kinks of the lighting. By noon, the lighting had been cued and the stage was ready for the dancers and musicians.

BalletCollective arrived at the Joyce in time for our one and only rehearsal in the theater, which so happened to be our dress rehearsal as well. The Joyce Theater designates the company's dress rehearsal as the official time for the press photographers to shoot. This then makes for a pleasant performing experience for the performers and the audience members, as there are no photography/photographers allowed during performances.

Our dress rehearsal went off without a hitch! We ran both The Impulse Wants Company and Epistasis smoothly. BalletCollective was ready!

After a short break, a chai tea and a banana (my pre-show snack) I was ready to begin my performance make-up and hair. The dancers, all in the same dressing room (this may be unconventional to most, but we enjoy being together no matter our gender. Bathrooms suffice for changing and keeping privacy.), have the music blasting as we put on our stage faces. With many jokes being made and fun stories being told, the dancers were calm and seemed to be pumped up!

An hour before the curtain goes up I am in the studio warming up. First some stretching and light strengthening exercises, then I am ready to begin my barre (a series of ballet exercises that we do to ensure that our muscles are ready to perform). Sweating in my LuLu Lemon warmups, I do my last part of my warmup: my crunches to ensure a tight center and also in hopes of showing cut abs (for both my costumes I was wearing a midriff top which showed my tummy... yikes).

As we were all finishing up our warmups, Troy entered with "Merde cards" (comments on our work) and began his pre-show pep-talk. Troy acknowledged how a year ago he didn't know where BalletCollective would be, let alone be debuting at the Joyce Theater. He expressed his appreciation and gratitude for all of the dancers' hard work over the past few months. Getting choked up, he slowed down and took a deep breath as he explained how much he had loved working with each one of us, and that he couldn't have done this without us. He rounded the room with hugs for all while wiping tears.  (It was extra hard for me to hold back tears as I watched Troy get emotional. We and BalletCollective have come so far that it was a great sense of joy to be where we were.) He said Merde and out he went to the audience. It was now up to us to pull this off.

Costume is on and I head to the stage to practice before the "curtain goes up".

One of BalletCollective's signature moves is to do away with the curtain. In all of our seasons we have never had a curtain for the performances. Most companies keep the pre-warmup and practicing a mystery but Troy thinks that it breaks down a barrier that makes the process more interesting for our audience members. It creates a more intimate viewing. The audience is able to learn about the dancers and their individual personalities and quirks. For example, I like to practice many steps and go over the ballets on stage right before the performance begins. I also do a specific on stage warmup which consists of running the perimeter of the stage, a few turns, and then 16 jumps (8 small, 8 big) followed by a high five on the last jump. Other dancers do not do as much. Some stand and chat, stretch or pace.

Soon the house was packed. The sounds of excited audience members filled the stage. Brandon gave us the "places" call and the dancers cleared the stage.

The performance was about to begin. The musicians tuned and the lights dimmed. Hugs and exchanges of "merde" occurred. The first notes of The Impulse Wants Company were heard... BalletCollective's debut performance had begun!

Photo: Erin Baiano

The music to Impulse is quite difficult to count but the challenging rhythm must be counted because it determines where we are in the music and when we are to enter or do specific steps. Since it is not typical, easy to count music, we count as a group to stay focused. After all of us counting 6,10, 8, 10, first David went out and met Kaitlyn, who was already on stage. The dancers remaining in the wings kept their focus and before long Meagan, Lauren and I were counting our 10, 6, and three 8's. Then we were on stage. My first appearance at the Joyce was in action.

Before I knew it the lights went dark and we were running on stage to bow after The Impulse Wants Company. Throughout the ballet the energy on stage was incredible. Everyone was like one. The focus was intense. Each dancer was in the moment. It was an amazing feeling to be on stage with the entire group of dancers each giving 150%. This energy was matched by the audience. They seemed to be very into our performance.

We bowed a number of times. Then the dancers scrambled off the stage and downstairs to our dressing rooms to quickly change our hair, costume, and shoes. After a quick refreshing of my makeup, and a new midriff shirt and shorts, I grabbed an Altoid and headed to the stage.

The quick intermission was great because we had just enough time to change our clothes and freshen up but not enough time to get cold (staying warm is key to a great performance). I immediately reviewed my steps to Epistasis. Within minutes "places" was called. The lights went dark, and we were off!

Although I am an original dancer in Epistasis, this year I was also doing the central pas de deux in addition to my original parts in the ballet. My nerves were heightened for sure. The ballet calls for great stamina for all the dancers. I just wanted to dance well for myself and for Troy. We begin the ballet with a high paced energetic opening number which leads in to a series of solos (6 dancers have a solo). Immediately following my solo the central pas de deux begins as Taylor and I meet face to face. We locked eyes and I knew we were connected. Like The Impulse Wants Company, each dancer was living in the moment, intently focused, and filled with intense energy.

Before long Taylor and I were embracing in our final slow dance sequence. This is my favorite part of the ballet. The music matched with Troy's movement is quite touching. We had made it through Epistasis! All drenched in sweat, we were thrilled with the performance.

As the lights came up, BalletCollective bowed. The dancers and musicians love seeing the enthusiastic crowd. I felt accomplished and so did BalletCollective. Thank you to all of you who supported us!

Meet the Artist Monday: Kaitlyn Gilliland

Photo: Troy Schumacher

Kaitlyn Gilliland joins BalletCollective this season as she makes a comeback to dancing. A star in her own right, Kaitlyn brings a mysterious and beautiful quality to everything she dances. 


Here is my Q & A with Kaitlyn:

Me: What does BalletCollective mean to you?

Kaitlyn: Collaboration—with other dancers and with other disciplines. It really feels like a team. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun at work. 

What do you enjoy about working with Troy?

Troy works with a very specific vision: he uses vivid imagery to describe everything from the ballet’s setting to its simplest gestures. He also knows his dancers well—not just the steps we do well—so there’s a certain quirkiness to some of his movement that’s inspired by our individual personalities. 

After a hard day of dancing, what is your favorite meal?

One enjoyed in good company. 

Your most memorable onstage moment?

Premiering Eliot Feld’s solo “of Inwit” at The Joyce this month. He made the dance on me, and it’s the darkest, most bizarre piece I’ve ever performed. It exposed an eerie truth—about my dancing, or my personality, or maybe even both—and it required a certain commitment and unselfconsciousness that made me very uncomfortable. 

What's your favorite way to pass time?

Out exploring the city or in with a good book, depending on the day. 

What are you reading?

Paris France by Gertrude Stein. 

What's the most recent song/album you've downloaded?

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis--“The Heist.” 

If you could die and come back as an animal, what would you be?

A cat. My cat, Charlie, has a natural grace and aloofness I admire but can’t quite muster.

Your greatest influence?

Right now, Wendy Whelan. She’s making some really bold and beautiful moves beyond the world of ballet and inspiring others to follow. 

Photo: Troy Schumacher

Kaitlyn and I danced together at City Ballet for many years. Just this past Winter Season, along with being the assistant Ballet Mistress for the children of NYCB, she filled in for a dancer in the "Hunt" of Peter Martins' Sleeping Beauty. While we were doing our makeup, Kaitlyn expressed her interest in dancing again. Knowing Troy's desire to work with her, I went out on a limb and asked her if she'd like to be a member of BalletCollective. It has been great fun to be in the studio again with Kaitlyn. She will make her BalletCollective debut this August at the Joyce Theater!

22/9

Thursday marked a new record for BalletCollective: the completion of a 22 minute ballet in just 9 days! 

In preparation for our August premiere at the Joyce Theater, 

we moved into the Ailey Theater (just for two hours) for an informal workshop performance. Troy and Brandon arrived at the theater early in the morning to "tech" through  (a technical rehearsal to run through the lighting cues) the ballet's lights. Ellis, the musicians, and the dancers arrived at noon to "walk" through (a quick rehearsal to acclimate in the new dimensions) the ballet in the Ailey space. 

For BalletCollective,

this was the start of many "firsts." "Firsts" is a word my finance and I use for the first time we experience something new together. With Brandon manning the lighting board, Ellis conducting the music, and Troy running the rehearsal, we dancers danced the ballet, The Impulse Wants Company, section by section. This was the first time that all elements of this collaboration were together performing our individual parts live. Previously the dancers were rehearsing to an electronic track of the composition. 

Shortly after the rehearsal began, 

BalletCollective's patrons, friends and family, trickled in for the workshop showing. As they arrived, Cynthia Zarin (the poet who wrote the libretto for The Impulse Wants Company) gave them some information about the work including an excerpt of the poem. The audience got a sneak peak of the rehearsal process as we finished working out the kinks. 

Once all parts were in sync,

 Troy welcomed the audience, introduced his collaborative team, musicians, and dancers. The lights went dark and we were off. A second first for BalletCollective: a complete run-through of the ballet without stopping. We all remembered our steps, for the most part! It was a great chance for Troy to see the overall picture of the finished ballet, a rough glimpse of what it will look like in August at the Joyce. 

Photo: Archival film screen shot

After the ballet ended, 

the collaborative team, dancers and musicians had a chance mingle with our guests and see their reactions to the new work. It was an amazing feeling to see BalletCollective's vision realized. From here, we can take it further...

Dissecting the Puzzle/The Impulse Wants Company

Everything is new! From the poetry, to the music, to the dance, to the lighting, to the design, it’s all created in true collaboration together, brand new. The heartbeat of BalletCollective is its process. 

These artists come together like cooks in a restaurant. They come up with the main menu starting with one element. Maybe a particular protein, Kobe beef, is what sets the dish’s course or maybe reindeer moss sets the tone. Like cooking, BalletCollective’s process begins with one element inspiring its actions. 

From Troy: “Artists are each fluent in their own language. The way a choreographer describes movement is alien to the way a composer describes music.  In this case, we are both speaking English, but the same words can have drastically different meanings! The key to true collaboration is finding a common language which all artists involved can understand.  But even better than a common language is the beautifully nuanced language of the poet.”

The current work in progress digests a poem by Cynthia Zarin. Yet the creation of her poetry, at its earliest phase, was inspired by several discussions with her fellow collaborators: choreographer, Troy and composer, Ellis Ludwig-Leone. Working together, these three artists meet (usually at Cynthia’s NYC home after everyone has returned from their day jobs) and gather ideas. They encourage each other to think outside of their individual comfort zones. After 10 hours of conceptual conversations and the decision to use 7 dancers, Cynthia, with Troy and Ellis’s input, created the first puzzle piece to building this new work, the poem. 

Using Cynthia’s poem as a working draft, Ellis and Troy, with Cynthia, dissect her work to establish a working structure of the ballet, its mood arc, the length of the piece, the musical arrangement.  Cynthia took all of this and put it into another draft of the poem.This is the next step in BalletCollective’s puzzle. Once the logistics were in place but open to evolving, Ellis began composing the score. Troy began choreographing to his sketches. But, not alone. As with the creation of the poem, the musical score is created with the input of the collective members and so is the choreography.  With the structure in place, lighting designer Brandon Baker begins to influence the overall look of the piece, and begins discussing the space that the work takes place in.  However far away from each artist’s speciality, Troy, Ellis, Cynthia, and Brandon are challenged to bring their strengths/weaknesses to the table in efforts to push the creation to its ultimate best. 

Their initial conversations began in November; now the music is just about finished, the poem is getting to its final drafts, and little snippets are choreographed. The piece will be 23 minutes long and have a unique structure. Since I’m the insider, I do get privileged knowledge of their collaboration from time to time. I’ve heard a few sections of the music, seen and heard parts of the poem, and watched Troy planning the ballet. Here is a clip of him in the studio, working on a solo for Kaitlyn Gilliland.

BalletCollective will premiere The Impulse Wants Company August 14th and 15th, 2013 at the Joyce Theater. Tickets can be purchased here. Hope to see you there!