Photo: Anjola Toro

Hometown: Budapest, Hungary

Current city: New York City

Age: 63

High school: Performing Arts and Professional Children’s School (NYC)

College: Hunter College – started as a full-time student in the late 60’s,  became a part-time student in my third year – I don’t have a degree – had fantasies of being a math major— fizzled away from school as I got busier with dancing and my job proof reading for an ad agency!

Work:  I have been an adjunct at Hunter College for about 15 years – I also regularly teach for Movement Research, the Trisha Brown Company and have other freelance teaching jobs at festivals, universities in the states and abroad — have made dances on students at several colleges, and have been choreographing for over 25 years. None of this is really enough money to sustain a life, but I have been lucky to be part of a relationship for over 30 years and so I don’t pay the bills alone. I live with my husband and have a 28 year old son.

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Dance Life:

20’s: In this period, I was transitioning from a serious ballet student to a modern dancer. It was not simple – in the beginning there was much disappointment, sadness and frustration as I admitted to myself that I was probably never going to be a ballet dancer in a company. So, determined to continue dancing, I began to negotiate a different dance life. At first, I explored various traditional modern techniques – mostly Limón and Horton. There was no one guiding me – much was going on in the NYC dance scene that I missed, but luckily I found several wonderful opportunities, teachers and some crucial work that have shaped and altered my professional dance life. I was extremely fortunate to work in the Sara Rudner Performance Ensemble between the ages of 27 and 29. She was/is an extraordinary teacher and dancer – simply watching her move was an education unto itself. She ignited my love of rigor and the importance of a daily practice as part of the picture.  While working with Rudner, I met choreographer Risa Jaroslow and had the pleasure of many years of dancing with her. Juggling several dance gigs and my job was not so easy. When I was 29, I joined the Trisha Brown Company. I was accepted the second time I auditioned.

30’s: The first part of my 30’s was dancing in the Trisha Brown Company. I felt unbelievably lucky to get a job in a company and even more lucky that this was a job with Trisha Brown!! Learning movement from Trisha Brown was extraordinary. And, it was glorious to be inserted into her structures and forms. I was and continue to be so very appreciative! Early on, we were laid off for ten months – – so, in order to dance, I gave myself work and made my first dance – a solo. Things turned around for the company, we had much work and so much touring! What a thrill. I received a 1984 “Bessie,” a New York Dance and Performance Award for my time in the Trisha Brown Company.

In my mid-thirties, I had a son, took some time off, danced with Wendy Perron, continued with Risa Jaroslow.

I also began a long-term and important relationship dancing for choreographer Susan Rethorst. I started teaching – a terrifying undertaking – classes for the Trisha Brown Company and at Movement Research.

40’s: I continued performing with the choreographers I have already mentioned (and many others, such as my peers, Irene Hultman and Stephen Petronio) and also continued making my own pieces.  At first, they were solos, duets and shorter pieces. The second half of my forties, I began making evening-length dances with a larger cast. I started working with director, Yoshiko Chuma. I did quite a bit of teaching abroad and was super excited to begin a series of teaching and performing trips to Budapest – my home city. Toward the end of this decade, I spent my first year teaching at Hunter College. I began a long-term, crucial and cherished collaboration with artist Barbara Kilpatrick.

50’s: 9/11 happened six weeks before my 50^th birthday – I was teaching in Budapest at the time. I began dancing relationships with incredible performers, Juliette Mapp and Jodi Melnick – they performed in my pieces and I in theirs. Composer Elise Kermani joined artist Barbara Kilpatrick and I as a collaborator and we made seven evening length pieces. In 2003, we received a Bessie for our work together. I was awarded a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grant – a true gift (no application) and also became a Guggenheim Fellow. The money from these two grants gave me a bit of financial freedom for the first time. 

60’s: I feel quite lucky to be able to be still dancing, still teaching, still performing and still making pieces. I feel more adventurous and less worried about riskier undertakings – not that I don’t fret. Performed with two choreographers with whom I had not yet worked (Andrea Kleine and Aynsley Vandenbroucke). I pretty much will do anything that anyone invites me to do – cherishing work in this 7^th decade! Was able to tour a piece with 11 dancers—14 of us went on the road. Have a new wonderful crew of dancers – mostly women. Traveled to Angers, France to make a duet with former Cunningham dancer Robert Swinston. I am getting involved in more informal, improvisatory events in alternate spaces working with Meg Harper, Jon Kinzel and Cathy Weis.

Major Influences: Trisha Brown, Merce Cunningham, Sara Rudner, all the work of my peers that I see and the classes I have taken, films, books, photographs, bodies in the studio with me, pop culture and family histories.

Calendar for 2015: I recently completed a weekend of performances – a second chance for a quartet that I showed last year. May 4^th I will perform at Judson Church – a venue for works in process, in June a performance with former Cunningham and Lucinda Childs dancer, Meg Harper. In the fall, I will make a piece for students at Bryn Mawr College, will stage a Trisha Brown work at Princeton University, and will teach for Movement Research. I will also begin rehearsals for a piece that I will be showing in the spring of 2016.

Rehearsing: I rehearse at a few studios in New York City. For about 20 years, I rehearsed at the same studio which was recently sold – at first devastating, but have found new comfortable places to work – phew! I do not have an office – maybe not even a desk to myself, but I do all my own administrative work.

Collaboration: Collaboration is a source of inspiration and excitement – jumping off from a shared aesthetic, a deep appreciation and respect for another’s work, a trust in a process and much communication. It also means faith in a relationship, a comfort, an honesty, patience and compromise. I consider my time in the studio with dancers a collaboration. As mentioned, I have had two decades of collaboration with artist Barbara Kilpatrick and composer Elise Kermani.  

Dancers: Many years ago, I worked with dancers who were my friends — fabulous, extraordinary performers who then became too busy doing their own work. More recently, I invited dancers I met in classes I taught or in performances I have seen. I look for dancers who strike me because of a strong, comfortable presence that they exude. Of course, I am interested in clarity of movement, physical capability too, but look for individuality and a sense of exuberance or flair. I am also a sucker for human-ness and vulnerability!

 

Photo: Frank Mullaney

Advice: 1) See a lot of work; 2) Spend time alone and with others in a studio; 3) Have patience and stamina for the necessary “everyday-ness.”

Financial Wisdom: These are things I was unable to do: 1) Make budgets; 2) Let people know exactly what you can afford from the beginning; 3) Apply for grants and stay informed about financial-support possibilities;  4) Recognize that financial success is not part of this field — everyone pieces a life together.  

Recent Inspiring Performances: A performance of Faye Driscoll’s at Danspace Project in 2014; Juliette Mapp at a Judson Church Performance in 2014; several informal showings of Jon Kinzel; and the reading I went to yesterday (!) by Stephen Petronio and Wendy Perron.

Teaching: Perhaps the most important role of teaching is that it keeps me connected to a younger community (this is unbelievably crucial). I have tried to zero-in on what a physical body needs to feel supported and prepared for dancing. Planning a class also has forced me to spend much time working alone, figuring out things to do, and has contributed to the forever-challenging process of making movement and figuring out ways to stick them together.

Somatics: I have spent some time taking classes in various “somatic practices” for the past 25 years. I am not certified in any of these techniques. I have found that a combination of forms plus the listening to and getting feedback and information from my body are what work best for me.

Book Recommendation: Susan Rethorst’s A Choreographic Mind. Reading anything!

Final Advice: Be consistent and believe in the daily rigor of movement-work.  

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