Tell us a bit about your dance background and where you’re from.
I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago as a total tomboy. When I was young, my mom asked me plenty of times if I wanted to try dance classes, and my answer was always “no way”, because its “girly”. Eventually I got drawn into hip hop, a few classes here and there in a small studio. When I was 15, watching the ballerinas walking around, I remember getting the sense that they were doing something serious. When I came home that night and told my mom I wanted to try a ballet class, she was shocked. Starting ballet at 15 definitely came with difficulties, but I fell in love with the challenge.
Where did you study and where did you dance prior to joining Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company?
From age 15 to 17 I focused on ballet, eventually leaving the studios and working privately with Elise Flagg, former dancer of George Balanchine. In my junior year of high school I began to branch away from ballet and did a few competitions, although the year was interrupted by a major spinal injury which forced me to stop dancing for nearly a year but somehow only reinforced my passion. When I finally recovered it was time for college auditions, which took me to the BFA modern dance program at the University of Utah. During my second year, I was craving a life change and much more intensity in my dance training. That’s when I decided to do KCDC’s Dance Journey program (MASA).
Can you tell us a bit about your experience as a dancer in the second company (KCDC 2) and the company’s Dance Journey study abroa program? And then to your transition to the main company?
My time in the company’s Dance Journey (Masa Israel) study abroad program was utterly life changing. Considering I had very little contemporary dance education beforehand, I learned the world in this program. It became the place I had been searching for since I started dancing- the place to fully live out the adventurousness of my soul, to connect so deeply with people so different from me, and it offered me all the resources I needed to become a professional dancer. From there, my transition to the company was a whirlwind, although I was well prepared. It pushed me to step right into my potential.
What attracted you to the movement language of Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company and Rami Be’er’s work?
I resonated very deeply with Rami’s language from the first performance I saw. It was the rawness that enamored me- not rawness from lack of polish, but rather from the fact that each movement comes from necessity. To me this looked like realness. Necessary weirdness. I remember feeling like there was something so human about those dancers, but at the same time, not at all.
What is it like living amongst professional dancers, international dance students, and dance professionals at The International Dance Village in Kibbutz Ga’aton, Israel?
Living in the kibbutz is like living in a pressure cooker. Time moves at a different speed, relationships are more intimate, and it can be easy to forget the rest of the world. But that is such a rich environment for deep artistic exploration, and self exploration too, which I quickly learned go hand in hand.
Can you share with us how/what you feel dancing with the company on stage?
Dancing with the company on stage is such a high. My passion is overflowing- to have somewhere to pour it, to have it received by others… it’s the privilege of a lifetime.
What’s your most memorable international experience with the company?
I will never forget sitting on the edge of the raked stage in Ravenna, Italy after performing our first night of “Asylum”, as all the technicians tore down the set in the most beautiful amphitheater. It was my first performance abroad. There was a lot of nervousness before the show as well because of the angle of the stage. After we finished, and it was all released, I sat on the edge and couldn’t get up. My gratitude had me completely grounded, looking up. The rows of seats spiraled up to the sky.
A closing thought?
Especially in these difficult times, we are reminded that the world is not always a safe place. I think dance can create little havens in the world, if even for an hour or so at a time, that can help us keep moving.
Come dance with us at our home at the International Dance Village in Kibbutz Ga’aton, Israel and take part in the:
