by karen Krolak
If you attended the BoomTown festival or Your Just Desserts, you probably noticed a rather adorable new dancer, Courtney Wagner, bopping about in polka dots and stripes (she's the one on the left). Courtney's bold choices at the 2009 Boston Dance Alliance (BDA) Open Call Audition immediately snagged my attention. I was thrilled when she began attending Monkeyhouse's Musings in the spring and look forward to weaving her into future projects. If you haven't met her yet, don't miss Monkeyhouse's newest site-specific creation, AE, at Dance in the Fells on October 9th from 1 - 6 at the Middlesex Fells. She and Nikki Sao Pedro will be attached at the hip as they gather glass around Wright's Tower. Admit it, you are curious... As a thank you to the BDA for introducing Monkeyhouse to this charming performer, Connect 2 Choreography will be running a quick series of posts this week to lead up to 2010 Open Call on Sunday, September 19th from 11AM til 5 PM at Brookline High School. I decided to check in with Courtney about her perspective on the process to start things off.
karen Krolak: Perhaps we should start by telling people a little bit about your dance background?
Courntey Wagner: Ok, my dance training growing up was at a small suburban dance studio near my hometown in Connecticut. My dance teacher (and the studio’s owner/founder/director) focused on making dance fun for her students and creating a familiar, comfortable, and familial atmosphere and environment. Although she offered a variety of classes and styles, her primary focus was jazz, and most of her choreography reflected this. I trained in mostly jazz throughout elementary, middle and high school, though I did take 8 years of ballet, as well as tap, character ballet, partnering, and Broadway.
kK: And, what lured you up to Boston?
CW: After 10 years at the studio I graduated high school and went on to Boston University to study exercise science with dance as my minor.
kK: Having seen a few shows at BU, they seem to have wonderful dance department even though they don't offer dance as a major. How did it expand your dance training?
CW: At BU, modern was the focus of the dance department, so I began taking modern technique classes and adapting my training and style to modern choreography. Over my 4 years at BU, I continued taking jazz classes, as well as a few tap and ballet classes. I was also an active member of the Dance Theatre Group, a student run, faculty advised performance group on campus. Through Dance Theatre Group I was exposed to the process of choreography and having work shown and critiqued. I performed in 7 student and faculty choreographed shows, including choreographing for 3 of them. The repertoire was mostly modern or ballet, with the occasional modern/jazz, or structured improvisation piece. After I graduated, I continued to take classes in Boston/Cambridge, and went to a lot of auditions trying to find a way to keep dancing and performing.
kK: Excellent segue, had you ever attended the BDA Open Call before last year?
CW: I attended my first and only BDA audition last September. I had heard about them while at BU, but never went. I googled it after graduation and registered.
kK: How did you feel that the audition went?
CW: I looked at that audition, as well as most of the auditions I went to in the fall, as a way to take class, keep moving, and hopefully meet people and teachers who could help me keep dance as a part of my life. I went to the audition expecting to be able to take classes with a bunch of new teachers and be further exposed to new styles. My expectations were met, as I went to four out of the five segments. It seemed very well organized and efficiently run, and BDA did a nice job providing water, snacks, etc to the dancers. It was a good experience to be exposed to new teachers with new teaching styles and combinations, and a challenge to learn and perform combinations in front of the choreographers present. Personally, I felt some sections went better than others, but it was a learning experience.
kK: That is a great attitude to bring to an audition. From your perspective as a dancer, was there any advantage to attending BDA's Open Call as opposed to going to auditions for individual dance companies?
CW: I think one of the biggest advantages to this audition is the chance to be exposed to so many dancers and choreographers all at once. Having never been to one, it was a little overwhelming at first, but it was nice to be able to take class from multiple teachers, learn multiple combinations, and get to meet other dancers as well as choreographers/company directors all in one day! Physically, it was a nice challenge to learn, remember, and perform the combinations, especially knowing I was being watched by so many people. Interpersonally, it was a great way for me to network a little and talk to other dancers about where to take class in the city, what teachers to try, etc since I was fairly new to the Boston (non college) dance scene. Looking back, it was great to be able to be seen by so many choreographers at once and get noticed and contacted by groups I may not have auditioned for independently (because I didn’t know where to find out about their auditions, or just wouldn’t have assumed I should try that style). The BDA audition takes that kind of pressure off of the dancer by allowing them to just dance and move, letting the choreographers decide if what they see could be adapted to what they want specifically.
kK: Finally, as you know Monkeyhouse adores you. How have you felt about working on Monkeyhouse projects?
CW: Working with Monkeyhouse has been a fantastic experience for me. It was such a welcome surprise to be contacted for a Musing and such a unique experience to be thrown into the process. It has been a nice challenge for me to not really know what to expect and be pushed a little outside my comfort zone in terms of movement and vocabulary. It has also been wonderful to meet new people and learn about different backgrounds and how they all come together to create and maintain the company. I’ve been happy to be a part of it.. Additionally, it has been so nice to receive positive feedback and to be working with people who seem so open and accepting. The Monkeyhouse ideal of wanting to make choreography accessible to everyone, and bringing dance into the community is one I find refreshing. It reminds me a little of my old teacher’s beliefs and attitudes about dance and that background has made Monkeyhouse feel that much more familiar to me.
kK: Thanks Courtney. As reminder, the BDA's Open Call Audition is free for dancers. Choreographers must be BDA members to attend. For more information, click here.
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