ChoreoFest Interview: Kimberleigh A Holman!

by Nicole Harris

photo credits available at http://kaholman.com/about/

ChoreoFest ends TODAY!! We are mere hours away from the first of this years ChoreoFest performances, and we're rounding out our final choreographer interviews. Our penultimate interview slot goes to our friend, collaborator, ChoreoFest organizer and one third of this year's choreographic super group, Paranarium House, Kimberleigh A Holman of the incomparable Luminarium!

Nicole Harris: What made you want to make the move from being a dancer to a choreographer?
Kim Holman: I've sort of always been a creator (as opposed to a dancer, though I enjoy moving), as I love cause and effect and watching the outcome of various experiments. The joy in a performance for me is not performing for an audience but watching something from the depths of my mind exist by itself on stage at the same time as an audience.

Nicole: What are you most nervous about regarding ChoreoFest?
Kim: At present I don't feel nervous about ChoreoFest, but last weekend I woke up in a panic and cold sweat at 4:30am worrying that I'd let everyone down by not making anything at all. That was the first time I've ever had such an anxious dream! I think since we are merging companies this year (Luminarium, Monkeyhouse, Paradise Lost), I'm slightly nervous at the idea of having so many bodies in one room with a finite amount of work time. Sure, I know most of the others in the room, but we've never worked together. There's something exciting, worrisome and beautiful about that.

Nicole: Have you participated in ChoreoFest before? If so, what is your favorite memory of that experience? What advice do you have for new ChoreoFest choreographers? Are there things you hope to do differently this time?
Kim: Of course, I'm 4 for 4! There are too many favorite moments for me to pinpoint one - if I had to it might be the singing coffee pot - but I will say that the best stuff happens in the common spaces (around food, in tech, in discussion). My advice to newbies would be to embrace opportunities outside of the workspace/studio. You might be feeling stressed, but take time to chat with others, share your concerns, let others into your studio to help. I'm changing my mind. My favorite memory is the failure that was the Year One ChoreoLympics. Never again will we ask a room full of exhausted frustrated creators to participate in organized games at 4am.

Nicole: Since this is a very controlled creative space (in terms of time and topic) where do you see yourself starting when you get in the space?
Kim: This year we have controlled time and topic, and the new experience that is Paranarium House! Tyler, Nicole and I met to talk about how we would approach making a new piece in a very collaborative new manner, and created a game plan. We will be using a lot of experimentation, sharing, writing and noisemaking with the three of us acting as facilitators. This might be the first time in my life where I have no idea what will happen and what the product might look like. Exciting!


Nicole: In creating a new work, what in the relationship between you and your dancers? Do they participate in the creative process? If so, how?
Kim: In past years of this festival my dancers have been integral to the creative process and I'd imagine it would be the same this year, just in a larger context. I enjoy starting a new ChoreoFest piece by working through concepts with experimentation and improv to see what might happen. Each new experiment is a refinement of what came before. I work similarly outside of ChoreoFest, though I tend to bring more specific ideas or choreographic material to try out.

Nicole: Knowing that Karen Krolak will be on hand as "choreographic guru", what things do you hope she can help with in the overnight process?
Kim: It will be amazing to have an outside set of eyes (clad in brand new ChoreoFest glasses, no less) to step in when we get deep in the process. Because the timeline is so condensed at ChoreoFest, it's so easy to get buried by ideas and lose sight of your initial impulses. Having someone around to ask questions and share what they are seeing will be so helpful.

Nicole: Who are some of your favorite choreographers?
Kim: I'm going to try to keep this random list somewhat concise: Andrea Miller, David Parsons, Bob Fosse, Mark Morris, Akram Kahn, Gene Kelly, Lloyd Newson/DV8 Physical Theatre... really anyone that makes dance with some driving force/passion behind it.

Nicole: Who are your mentors? How are you paying forward the things your mentor gave you?
Kim: As far as making dance and living life as a creator go, the wonderfully giving Karen Krolak has been invaluable to me in recent years and I certainly consider her a mentor (gosh, hopefully she accepts!). I think one of the sticking themes that I carry away from conversations with Karen is to not be limited by practicality in the face of a great idea, a sort of wild spin off on where there's a will, there's a way.

Nicole: Where can people learn more about you and your work?
Kim: LuminariumDance.org, or my brand new site kaholman.com. The best idea would be to come check out a Luminarium show, however, and there are lots of chances to do just that this fall.

ChoreoFest Interview: Ryan Casey!

by Nicole Harris

We're only 8 days away from ChoreoFest, the one and only 24-hour dance festival! Today we bring you the next installment of our ChoreoFest choreographer interviews, a chat with incredible tap dancer Ryan P. Casey!


Nicole Harris: What made you want to make the move from being a dancer to a choreographer?
Ryan Casey: I think it was the realization that I had something to say – that I, too, wanted to make something of my own and put it out there for others to see and hear. 

Nicole: What are you most nervous about regarding ChoreoFest?
Ryan: How we’re going to forge ahead when we’re really tired and hit the wall, so to speak. It’s hard to be creative when you’re exhausted!

Nicole: Have you participated in ChoreoFest before? If so, what is your favorite memory of that experience? What advice do you have for new ChoreoFest choreographers? Are there things you hope to do differently this time?
Ryan: This is my second time doing ChoreoFest, and I’m definitely keeping in mind all the lessons I learned from before (2013). My company and I had a lot of fun, but we struggled to agree on anything. Our theme was “wishes,” and we experimented with – and ultimately discarded – many different ideas before finally deciding on a wishing well. But that wasn’t until 1 a.m. – some companies were already done by then! I learned that I needed to be a stronger leader/director for my troupe and make executive decisions for us all. This year, we’re definitely going to decide on a concept much sooner so that we can spend more time on actual choreography rather than toying with potential ideas.

Nicole: Since this is a very controlled creative space (in terms of time and topic) where do you see yourself starting when you get in the space?
Ryan: I work best when I have a fairly concrete idea of what’s happening, so I have to know what the scenario is, or who the characters are, or what the music is, etc. From there, my thoughts can blossom around it but I need that initial foundation to build upon. I suspect that we’ll brainstorm some possibilities for our chosen theme and consider what will best serve us as percussive dancers, and then create a concept or character idea from there.

Nicole: In creating a new work, what in the relationship between you and your dancers? Do they participate in the creative process? If so, how?
Ryan: I always want my dancers to be part of the process. I typically come in with the concept and the music, and sometimes some or a lot of the choreography, but I always want input – on steps, spacing, anything – from whomever I’m working with. The creative process is inherently collaborative, so why not make it explicitly so? I hire people not just because they are great dancers, but because they are great thinkers – they can bring more ideas to the table, so to speak, and make for a richer experience. The more invested they are in the creation, the more invested they will be in the performance – the better the show will be.
Even though my company is called Ryan P. Casey & Dancers, that is not at all reflective of a hierarchy or a “me vs. them” scenario. Frankly, I never wanted my company to be named as such and have always been vaguely skeptical of similarly named troupes. It always sounds to me like “Ryan Casey & Some Other People” or “The Ryan Casey Show.” I remember reading an article in which Betsi Graves described how she came to name her company Urbanity Dance rather than Betsi Graves & Company. That still speaks volumes to me.

Nicole: Knowing that Karen Krolak will be on hand as "choreographic guru", what things do you hope she can help with in the overnight process?
Ryan: I think Karen will be great for those moments when I’m wondering, “What am I not thinking of right now?” I expect she’ll be able to offer ideas that will send me down an intellectual avenue I won’t have even thought of yet!

Nicole: Who are some of your favorite choreographers?
Ryan: I loved working for Michelle Dorrance and watching her creative process unfold in the studio. She influenced my own thinking so much – not just in terms of rhythm or choreography, but just in terms of movement. I also love anything Dana Foglia does – her unique combination of sensuality and musicality is hypnotic.

Nicole: Who are your mentors? How are you paying forward the things your mentor gave you?
Ryan: I owe a lot to my primary tap teachers, Thelma Goldberg and Kelly Kaleta. Thelma’s most powerful message to me was to “share the joy of dance with others.” I recently received an email from someone who had seen my company perform at Jacob’s Pillow last year and, when he was there again a few weeks ago, made a point to watch our performance on video and tell me that he was smiling the whole time. That was one of the best compliments I’ve ever received; I saw so clearly how true Thelma’s words are.
I consider Billy Siegenfeld to be a significant mentor, as well. He taught me what rhythmic clarity, the ultimate goal (I think) of any percussive dancer, really means. There’s not a day that goes by where I’m not thinking, actively or not, of his principles.
Aaron Tolson and Michelle Dorrance were both kind enough to hire me for their companies, and I learned just as much dancing alongside them as I did sitting on the sidelines observing them. Michelle especially made the proverbial lightbulb go off over my head about what tap choreography could be.

Nicole: Where can people learn more about you and your work?
Ryan: They can visit my website, www.ryanpcasey.com; follow me on Twitter or Instagram, where I’m @tapdude24; or “like” my company, Ryan P. Casey & Dancers, on Facebook!