Artist Profile #150: Gesel Mason (Boulder, CO)

Photo: Enoch Chan

Hometown: Dallas, TX/New Orleans, LA

Current city: Boulder, CO

Age: 40s

Attended an arts high school? Yes, Booker T. Washington HS for Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, TX. (Formerly known as Arts Magnet)

College and degree: BFA in Modern Dance from University of Utah with Teacher’s Certification in Secondary Education: Major – Modern Dance, Minor – Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Graduate school and degree: MFA in Dance from University of Colorado Boulder with a secondary emphasis in Ethnic Studies. Graduated in 2013.

Website: geselmason.com

How you pay the bills: Tenure-track Assistant Professor at CU Boulder, Artistic Director of Gesel Mason Performance Projects

All of the dance hats you wear: Artistic Director, Dancer, Choreographer, Professor, Arts Facilitator (using the arts to help facilitate dialogue and conversation), Director

Non-dance work you have done in the past: Worked at TCBY, sold Cutco knives, stripper, telemarketer selling magazines, artist model.

———————————

Describe your dance life in your….

20s:

I planned to move to New York when I graduated from the University of Utah. Instead, I got a job teaching at Apple Valley High School in Apple Valley, MN. They actually sought out graduates from the U of U because of its teaching certification. I thought this was a great way to pay off some debt and perhaps save some money for New York. I taught public high school for two years, and it completely shifted the way that I thought about dancing, including who and what it was for. I began to understand that dance was about teaching humanity and not just a series of steps to perfect. Dance class was where students learned to relate to each other, to fail, to try, to imagine. Students who struggled in other aspects of their high school experience found success in dance class. In addition to being a full-time dance teacher, I danced with a few local artists and companies including Sam Costa’s 10,000 Dances and continued to develop my own work. Liz Lerman saw me perform as part of a choreographer’s showcase at the Walker Arts Center and invited me to audition for the company. I got the job, moved to Washington, DC and joined Liz Lerman Dance Exchange. I was with the company for four years.

I thought, “When I finish here, I’m going to move to NYC.”

30s:

When I left the Dance Exchange I co-founded Mason/Rhynes Productions as a vehicle to support my own work. I thought, “If I am going to put all of this work in to produce myself, I might as well provide support for other emerging artists as well.” MRP Inc. became a non-profit arts service organization dedicated to providing and facilitating performing arts events, residencies, and workshops designed to challenge, entertain, and enlighten diverse populations. With Co-Founder and Managing Director, Cheles Rhynes, the company produced over 50 events during its 12-year existence. In addition, MRP Inc. assisted independent artists and emerging performing arts groups by creating performance opportunities and providing administrative, artistic and technical theatre support and cultivated partnerships to help artists and organizations do what they cannot do alone. As an arts facilitator, MRP Inc. designed programs in conjunction with schools and community organizations employing the art making process to explore issues relevant to the participants and their community.

Being Artistic Director of MRP Inc. was hard and rewarding work. It served its purpose in helping to support my choreographic interests, but it also demanded a lot of me as an arts administrator. I wasn’t ready to forego my training as a repertory dancer, so I created the “No Boundaries” project. No Boundaries: Dancing the Visions of Contemporary Black Choreographers is an evolving repertory of historic and original solo works by several of the nation’s leading contemporary African American choreographers, including Dianne McIntyre, Robert Battle, Rennie Harris, Bebe Miller, Donald McKayle, David Roussève, Andrea E. Woods Valdéz, Reggie Wilson, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar.

During this time I also began working with Ralph Lemon and teaching at colleges and universities including University of Maryland College Park. I still thought I might move to NYC.

40s:

University of Colorado Boulder hired me as a guest artist, and I stayed to get my MFA. I had the good fortune (and timing!) to be hired by CU Boulder as a tenure-track professor. I still perform with Liz Lerman and Ralph Lemon occasionally, and I continue to choreograph for my company Gesel Mason Performance Projects. Now I’m content to visit NYC and have someone else pay for it.

Photo: Daniel Beahm

Major influences:

My mom (I couldn’t ask for better support!)

My arts high school

Growing up in the 80’s

Teaching public high school

Working with Liz

Working with Ralph

Running my own non-profit organization

Being stubborn

Can you talk a little about working with Ralph Lemon? How did you first meet Ralph? What did you love about the work? What challenged you?

It’s a long funny story I would love to tell you in person. I feel very fortunate to have worked with him. It was wonderful to be challenged as a dancer, maker, and artist. It was never easy, but it was always a labor of love for all involved.

Your growth as a performer over the years:

I trained many years in traditional ballet and modern dance techniques. Now I often perform dances with no recognizable steps in them, yet I believe I‘m a better “dancer” now than I was then. I had to learn not to copy and perfect, but instead to question, investigate, and be honest to the choreography’s intent or the artist’s vision.

Photo: Daniel Beahm

Current training and movement practices:

Teaching and taking my own class “Afro-po-mo” – Modern and Postmodern movement techniques with influences and approaches from the African Diaspora

Cross-training at the gym

Dancing with friends

Taking classes and master classes offered in our dance department including Modern, Ballet, Alexander Technique, Conditioning, and House Technique with Rennie Harris

Getting Rolfed

On sacrifices and setbacks:

It sucks. And sometimes for a while. But it will continue to suck if you let a setback define you. I realized there was no such thing as a setback unless I let it set me back. And I did, and I have. But success and opportunity come in many packages. I have trouble taking no for an answer when I want something bad enough. The dream/desire/hope/destination/project may morph into something different than I imagined or planned, but if I follow my heart I’m still moving towards my heart’s desire. A “no” may be a “yes” in disguise. But, at first, it sucks.

Is it sacrifice if it’s for something you love?

Gesel in David Roussève's "Jumping the Broom" Photo: Enoch Chan

What are the key skills a modern dancer needs in 2017?

Versatility

Creativity

An understanding of your strengths, a willingness to try new things, and the ability to let go of what you (think you) know if necessary

An ability to network and be in the right place at the right time without being a stalker

Practical skills in addition to your incredible dancing ability that will either keep you connected to the field or able to afford this life

Persistence and perseverance

Love

What is on your plate/on your calendar for the next year’s time?

Antithesis is an evening-length postmodern dance work that attempts to unencumber the erotic from the pornographic. Building on Audre Lorde’s Uses of the Erotic, the project served as an embodied exploration of sexuality and eroticism. It will be performed January 6-8, 2017 at Dance Place in Washington, DC.

No Boundaries is a feature length documentary that uses dance as a vehicle to understanding a distinctly African American theme of resilience in spite of a history of silencing and erasure of African American cultural contributions. I am preparing for my last performance of No Boundaries (Spring 2018), a solo performance project that features solos choreographed by leading contemporary Black choreographers–Donald McKayle, David Roussève, Bebe Miller, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Kyle Abraham and Rennie Harris.

antithesis Photos: Kelly Shroads Photography

Advice for other dancers on teaching, learning how to teach, and the role teaching will most likely play in their careers:

Teaching made me a better artist because I couldn’t lie. It helped me question and articulate what I believed about dance to others. I never set out to become a teacher, but I’ve always enjoyed teaching. I enjoy watching students grow and trying to figure out how I can facilitate that. Almost every dancer I know teaches or has taught in some capacity. I continue to try and stay curious about what I am teaching so that it also fuels my interests. I found this approach shifted my teaching from regurgitating simply what I’ve been taught to trying to find my own voice and unique approach to dance training.

Final thoughts: Hope/belief/love of the profession:

I think of dance as my lover. Sometimes it treats me well and sometimes it annoys me, but love it or hate it, I’m still with it!

Gesel in Dianne McIntyre's "Where You Come From" Photo : Daniel Beahm