There have been 4 parts to this story and not one of them has talked about the impact on the students nor their experience in this project, but it was always at the forefront of my mind. This project would mean nothing if it did not serve the students in many ways: allowing them to work directly with professionals, including them as a part in the creative process, giving them a performance opportunity, affording them an opportunity to rehearse and create in a practical way in spite of the pandemic, and giving them an opportunity to do something they’d never done before.

This was ultimately why I got so excited about RABBIT HOLE, all the possibilities that weren’t possible in the past. In a normal year we would hire 1 or 2 guest choreographers and, in most cases, students would have the opportunity to create and rehearse with them over a few days. In addition, many guest choreographers, with a group of this size, would never even learn every student’s name, much less learn much of anything about them as a dancer or artist. Typically, the choreographer would find a small group of dancers that they were attracted to and wanted to feature, and those students would benefit the most from the experience. I never would have said it that way before RABBIT HOLE, because I really do believe that even students that aren’t featured in a choreographic work benefit from the experience as a whole, BUT it’s the truth if we are talking about the relationships that students make with a guest artist and the direct influence students might have from working with them. The most talented, and in some cases the most privileged kids, get the most out of it. That’s the truth, I don’t make the rules.

In addition, most of these students would never get the chance to be featured as a soloist or at equal weight of presentation in a cast of 26. That privilege is typically reserved, once again, for the most talented and most privileged… of course what are we valuing the idea of “talent” on? But that is a conundrum for a different essay. Just getting a solo was already something that was not a typical experience, much less a solo created for them and for this project specifically, much less along with the opportunity to work directly with a professional, and much less alongside the opportunity to be featured equally alongside their fellow company members. In addition, many of the dancers were not only being coached directly by these professionals, but also treated as a partner in the creative work. Again, not a typical or expected experience, and I was so excited to be able to bring it to these students.

If we consider a typical student experience when working with a guest choreographer it’s a very confined experience for the dancer. The choreographer comes in knowing they have a short amount of time which often limits any opportunity for collaboration. Typically, the choreographer might spend 30-60 minutes watching the dancers and giving them movement, but then they just start teaching the work. All the dancers get to do is learn the movement and do their best to show the choreographer their best work within the dance that is being created. That’s it.

Not in RABBIT HOLE.

In addition to the RABBIT HOLE theme, the time limit, and the general rehearsal structure and method, the choreographers also had 1 additional limitation. I created a movement phrase that would be a motif throughout the series. Each choreographer was required to utilize the motif in some way within their choreography. They could cut it up, reverse, or manipulate it in a variety of ways but they had to include it. My hope was that if each one minute solo had a common movement piece, the entire series would feel less scattered and more defined. It also gave me the opportunity to include even more student collaboration.

At the suggestion of McKinley Willis, Dallas Black Dance Company Member and one of our guest choreographers, we hosted an online class for all the dancers where I taught a longer phrase that included the motif. Any choreographers that were able to join us could watch over Zoom, and we recorded the class for those that could not observe live. I asked each dancer to turn in a video of themselves doing the phrase with their own setup, in case the Zoom class didn’t show them well enough (because technology and internet latency). Each dancer was also asked to manipulate the motif in their own way and send me a video. I sent these videos of their original and manipulated phrase work to their assigned choreographer as well as a written assignment that each dancer completed letting their choreographer know a little bit about them and their dance history as well as a photo and some of their own responses to and opinions about the rabbit hole source material and theme. This was all before any dancer went to a rehearsal, and before they knew who their choreographer was (which was another fun thing for me to figure out, and a fun secret to keep from them for awhile!). My hope was that with all this initial prep work, the choreographers could truly get to know their dancers as well as how they move and let that help to structure and create the solo, if the choreographer chose.

While no choreographer was required to include dancer input in their creations, most did in some way, and even those that didn’t were able to pull from their dancer’s responses and videos to create something that would work within all the other limitations that were put in place.

And so before they even set foot into a rehearsal with their choreographer, in fact, even before they knew who they would work with, the dancers already had even more input and insight into the creative process than many of them had ever had before.

To Be Continued…