Art by Amber Heaton; http://www.amberheaton.com/

From Blog Director Jill Randall:

I am currently pursuing my MFA in Creative Practice in the new low residency program at Saint Mary's College in California. Now with new eyes, I have a deeper appreciation for the advice given to choreographers in the artist profiles each week here on the blog.

I have decided to revisit the past artist profiles from the last 3 years, and will highlight the choreographic advice and inspiration. 

These posts can be enjoyed by dance artists of all ages, and the posts can also be used each week within a college level composition/choreography course to offer current, fresh, real-world advice from artists around the United States.

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From this week's artist profile of New York based artist Anna Sperber:

– Identify the things that are most valuable to your working process and set up the conditions for yourself to prioritize that. (I know that my process is pretty time intensive, and it's super valuable for me to have a lot of time in the studio to think/move/improvise on my own as well as with other dancers. I ran BRAZIL with an intimate rehearsal and performance studio from 2004-2014, and it provided an invaluable grounded place for me to think, play, improvise and work.)

– Nurture relationships that are inspiring and supportive – teachers, friends, peers, administrators, dancers and other collaborators you work with. 

– Possibly obvious, but always worth saying – boldly listen to, and follow your own interests, idiosyncracies,  and inspirations. 

To read Anna's full profile, click here.

From Bay Area artist Nina Haft, whom I have worked with for many years and has greatly influenced my creative practice:

Give yourself over to whatever feeds you. This will feed your art.

Be patient and gentle with your body.

Habits are hard to change. Start a new one instead.

To read Nina's full artist profile, click here.

From Katie Faulkner, another Bay Area artist, and the first dancer to be profiled on the blog in August 2012:

Make a lot of work, go see a lot of work, surround yourself with other people who are making a lot of work, find peers whose insights you trust and have them talk to you about your work, be suspicious of mentors or teachers who lead you to believe that any one methodology is the right one, and know that everyone is at least a little bit scared. Bravery is not about not being afraid; it’s about being scared as hell and doing it anyway.

To read Katie's artist profile, click here.

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