Sara Smith on Dance in the Fells and the BDA's Open Call Audition

by karen Krolak

Moseying on to part 4 of of our series on Boston Dance Alliance's Open Call Audition, I contacted one of my fellow choreographers from Dance in the Fells: 5 Pieces, 5 Places, Sara Smith.

karen Krolak: I am so excited to see your piece for Dance in the Fells at our dress rehearsal. How do you feel about it?

Sara Smith:It's going well and the process has been a lot of fun. It's been an interesting process for me because a) I've never made a site-specific piece before and b) I usually work for a long time, sometimes years, on a dance, so making something in such a short time period has been a challenge. My piece is based on the relationship of my dancers to specific spots around Panther Cave, and on documents from the early history of the park, especially Elizur Wright's written appeals that were instrumental in garnering public support for the establishment of the Fells.

kK: Wow, I am very intrigued by the historical angle to your piece. I love that each choreographer has such a different creative path into this project. I am fascinated and look forward to experiencing your work at the dress rehearsal.

SS: I am excited to see everyone's work at the dress rehearsal too. I'm sure my piece will keep changing between dress and the final date- I tend to make a lot of changes in the final days before a show. I haven't ever seen Monkeyhouse, so I am looking forward to learning more about your work.

kK: After the Fells on October 9th, do you have any upcoming projects?

SS: I'm not really sure yet, but I think I might make a big group dance to music. This is actually something I haven't done in a long time, since my work is usually based on research into historical or cultural topics.

kK: I know that you will attending Boston Dance Alliance's Open Call Audition this weekend. Have you ever gone to it before?

SS: I attended the Open Call audition in 2009. I found an amazing dancer there, Sarah Baumert, who I have worked with now on two projects and hope to keep working with as long as possible. I watched the modern and improvisations sections. I was originally going to just watch the modern section, but Ellen at BDA suggested that I stay for improv, which was great advice. I use some improvisation structures in my rehearsal process, and watching this section ended up tipping the scales in favor of a few dancers that I was eyeing in the modern section. Also, I had just recently moved to the Boston area, and the audition provided a great opportunity to meet other choreographers.

kK: Yes, I agree. Thanks, I lead the Improv section last year and I was equally impressed by the dancers. I know that improvisation helps me understand how people apply their technique. Sarah Baumert was outstanding and I am curious to see her in your piece. So, what drew you to Boston?

SS: Immediately before moving to Boston I lived in Portland, Maine. I moved here in 2008 to finish a Masters in Library Science at Simmons College. I grew up in the Boston area, and after school moved to North Carolina and then New York, but I always knew I wanted to return to New England. Now my time is split between eastern and western Massachusetts.

kK: Which sections of the audition will you watch on Sunday?

SS: Modern and Improv again.

kK: How many dancers are you looking for?

SS: I'm not sure. Since I build all my work around specific dancers, I'm going to look for as many possible collaborators for future projects as I can.

kK: In your opinion, what makes a dancer stand out at a large audition?

SS: I look for dancers who seem to know their bodies and their presence in a room, and who make movement their own. I am always drawn to the dancers who seem like they enjoy dancing and don't seem overly stressed out about getting things "right." Also, I look for people who seem as comfortable walking, sitting and standing as they do executing movement phrases.

kK: So one last question: how long have you been choreographing?

SS: About 15 years.

kK: Thanks Sara. Once again, if people want more info on BDA's Open Call Audition, click here.