Menagerie Part 2: An honest talk between dancers and the dancemaker
As recorded by Leilani Tian
Previously, we talked about choreographer Joshua Manculich’s piece with Ballet Austin apprentices — Menagerie, an exploration of willpower.
Here, Ballet Austin apprentices open up about their reflections after a week in the studio working with Manculich, finding comfort in the discomfort of an unfamiliar movement style and how these new insights can strengthen their classical technique.
As Manculich leads this honest discussion, he offers pieces of wisdom that these young dancers will hold on to, remembering why they dance and the role that artists serve in our society, especially when the everyday grind of pursuing their artistic dream gets tough.
Tian: This week, the whole collaborative and creative process has been very exciting and formative, especially for us as young and upcoming dancers. What are you most excited about and what advice do you have for our artistic path, with this piece and beyond?
Manculich: I remember when I was in your shoes, I loved when a choreographer would give me the opportunity to do something that I felt highlighted me. Hopefully, I gave you moments in my piece where you felt that — or that you could lean into what you wanted to explore. Hold on to those moments in your career. Write them down in your journal. I still have quotes that my professors have given me, little gems from people I look up to. Record them and keep them in a little container. Why is it that we always record the bad? If you had any light go off in this process, even it was for a moment, hold on to them.
I think the people in the front of the room (dance makers) know when you’re curious. They want to hire people that not only get the job but keep the job. I can tell as soon as I walk in the room who loves dance, and I want to work with those dancers. And not every day is like that. You’re going to have bad days. But my mentor once said, “make your bad day someone else’s best day.”
Manculich: What about you guys? Do you feel like your doors are opening, windows are opening in mind and body?
Maxim Bleeker: When I did contemporary work before, there was a version of me that tried to make things look pretty. But you’ve gotten me to create a different version of me that just sees what my body is doing, rather than seeing what looks good and trying to make something look aesthetically pleasing.
Manculich: I love that because sometimes what’s the most captivating is something real. I’m glad that happened for you; That is so hirable. That means you’re going to find a more interesting version of your career than someone who just puts on movement. It sounds like, for you, it’s coming from an internal place.
Lizzie Kanning: One of my favorite things about this process is that because we usually spend so much time trying to look the same, it’s been interesting to see everyone dance uniquely. And it looks the best when each person is doing their own best version of the choreography. We’re not all trying to create the same shape and have the exact same angle, but we still have the same feelings. So it helps me to appreciate the group even more. We get to celebrate each individual more.
Manculich: I appreciate from the outside that you’re wearing both hats. So, when you’re in ballet, you have so much strength, agility, power, and precision. But how remarkable it is that you have that part of you now but you’re also able to come in here and be like a creature. Those are the people I want to work it. I love ballet. My feet are flat; I’m bow-legged. But I love ballet. I did it for a long time. I still do it.
I think everyone in the world, even football players, respect ballet dancers. It’s a thing in our world that ballet dancers are “badass.” I have a mentor who says “Shaping at the point of utterance,” meaning at the tip of your iceberg when you’re going to crack — that is what shapes you. These hardcore ballet stories shape you. I’m so glad I got to give you all a different perspective.
Anabel Alpert: This movement isn’t super comfortable sometimes and I can get embarrassed, and I’m not a shy person at all. I get nervous and shy when I do contemporary movement sometimes, but I felt really comfortable the whole time you were here. So, thank you!
Liz Moller: For me, a lot of the times I see what I think it should be looking like, and I don’t feel like I’m doing it like that — like I’m doing it wrong. But when you feel like something’s organically happening, it’s easier to execute the movement.
Manculich: And it’s really great seeing that. You can see when someone is doing a phrase and their body is trusting it.
Dylan Hesser: Coming into this week, finding different parts of your body you can move and manipulate and being free, it’s almost like your living in the moment. I try to connect the two, this movement and ballet.
Manculich: It’s more sustainable if you’re able to approach movement with that mindset. Sometimes all you need is an image-based contemporary mindset to make your Attitude Turn (ballet term for a type of turn) really successful. You see the people who are good turners and they coast because they find the right center of balance and just go. We are people who find a way. It’s almost like we’re little problem solvers.
Alexa Capareda (Rehearsal Assistant): Thank you for allowing these dancers to be a part of the process of your piece, and for using the rehearsal assistants a lot as helpers, rather than having your vision be set in stone.
Manculich: One of my mentors once said never use the word “on.” You don’t choreograph on dancers; You choreograph with them!
Menagerie will be performed at the annual Ballet Austin II-Butler Fellow Spring Performance, which showcases works by several choreographers, as well as portions of the 19th-century classical ballet Paquita. The invitation-only performance, March 1–2, is open to Ballet Austin season tickets holders and special guests.
