Philadelphia – Contemporary Collaboration
There may be cities with as many contemporary companies as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but they’d find it hard to challenge Philadelphia’s spirit of collaboration. The locals think it’s part of their heritage.
Lois Welk, director of Dance/USA Philadelphia says, “This is a little romantic and this is a little subjective, but I sense an egalitarian spirit here, a can-do spirit that’s unique to Philadelphia. I think it’s rooted in the American Revolution, the founding fathers and Quakerism.”
The Quakers describe themselves as people from varied backgrounds who travel together on a spiritual journey. In this most American of cities – a city founded by a Quaker, William Penn, a city where Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence and the delegates drafted the Constitution, it’s fitting that the spirit of camaraderie, the spiritual journey, should touch the arts as well.
Welk says, “There’s a wonderful and rich degree of interdisciplinary exploration in this community. The membrane between the theatre world and the dance world is very permeable here.”
“There are so many historic structures in Center City that this community values. They won’t be torn down to put up skyscrapers. It’s an important asset. It drives tourism. We’re the only city that has a national park in its city center. So William Penn did create a green country town.”
He also picked a prime location. Welk says, “Philadelphia is wonderfully located on the eastern seaboard between New York City and Washington, D.C. The proximity means a dancer can live here at a much more affordable cost of living and then get on the bus and go to New York City for auditions.”
Philadelphia Live Arts Festival & Philly Fringe
Photo by Lisa Rastl
“I think there’s a high quality of life here relative to some other urban centers due to the human scale of the city. The distances are manageable. I know of few, if any, who have to commute an hour and a half from their home to rehearsal.”
Nick Stuccio, producing director of the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe, agrees that the cost of living is a plus: “You can still find one-bedroom apartments for $500 a month.”
However, another reason contemporary companies flourish is because of generous funding. Stuccio says, “If you’re savvy, you can get decent project funding…and because of that, I think there’s been this critical mass of dancers, choreographers and audiences.”
Welk adds, “We have a very inspired funding community. It perceives of itself and operates as leaders in the field. They are proactive, they’re problem solvers, and they are keenly committed to supporting the work of artists in this community.”
Where there’s support, companies feel more comfortable trying new things, new styles. Roy Kaiser, artistic director for Pennsylvania Ballet, says, “Frankly, I look for dancers that I feel will be comfortable with various styles.” Then they can more freely collaborate with other companies. “Probably our most obvious interaction is between Pennsylvania Ballet and BalletX. Both of the co-artistic directors of the company were former Pennsylvania Ballet dancers.”
The difference between the companies’ dancers is more descriptive than technical. As Christine Cox, co-artistic director of BalletX says, “We tag ‘ballet’ at the end. It’s important that that’s what identifies us separately from contemporary dance. All our dancers have to be able to do pointe work. What’s different about us is that we are a contemporary ballet company.”
Philadelphia’s contemporary companies also show a rich diversity in focus. Take the Rebecca Davis Dance Company. Artistic director Rebecca Davis says, “Our company is based on creating original productions based on literature and history…We’re interested in bringing to light stories that haven’t been told through dance before.” They’ve tackled subjects like Antigone, the daughter of King Oedipus; Helen Keller, the first deaf and blind woman to graduate from college; and the genocide of Darfur in western Sudan. “Often we find that people who come to our shows have never seen a dance performance before but they’re interested in our theme.”
Where one company leans toward pathos and drama, another targets humor and expects its dancers to be prepared to think on their feet. Amy Smith, co-director of Headlong Dance Theater, says, “If you want to dance with Headlong, you need to have some dance technique but more importantly, you have to be able to improvise. You need to be able to use your face and your voice in performance. We often do pieces that include speaking.”
Those pieces include “Britney’s Inferno,” a little number that sends a pop star to hell and “Car Alarm,” where the performers teach the audience a folk dance set to the dulcet tones of a car alarm. In fact, the group’s motto is that “intelligent experimentation can be compelling and, in some cases, hilarious.” Be prepared for anything.
As Smith says, “I love technique. I think it’s very important for dancers to learn it but I think dancers who focus only on technique are going to have a hard time in the professional world, because I think you really need to be a performer.”
Another trademark of Headlong is its choice of settings. “I think there’s still a lot of work that’s focused on the proscenium stage but I think there’s also been a lot of interest lately in site-specific work or participatory works for the audience.”
Stuccio agrees. Location, he says, is key for the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival. “One of the hallmarks of ours is the site-based work. One of the things we don’t have is enough physical space to dance in so we make our own space. That’s quite a prevalent feature of our community.” They’ve used everything from bars to parking lots, and churches to architectural sites. “We want areas where people are living and working and are social.”
As big as the festival has become, one location is not enough. The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival (August 29-September 13) will feature 22 artists and 16 world or U.S. premieres. For more information on festival locations, this year’s artists, and for ticket information, go to www.livearts-fringe.org.
If you can’t make it in August for the festival, there are other opportunities. For instance, Miro Dance Theatre has its Open Studio Series. Miro’s artistic director, Amanda Miller, says, “Definitely see our Open Studio Series. They’re monthly and we advertise them through our web site. We use the Open Studio Series to really involve the audience in the process of creating dance.” All of the company’s events are free and advertised at www.mirodancetheatre.org.
There’s also Philadelphia Dance Projects, designed specifically to cultivate dance art and enrich the dance process; they can help any teacher or student find the perfect dance program while visiting the city. The executive director of Philadelphia Dance Projects, Terry Fox, lists a plethora of events on the web site: The Studio Access Project provides rehearsal time at reduced rates; Meet the Artist allows audiences to question choreographers about their creative processes; and SCUBA National Touring Network involves artists from Seattle, San Francisco, Minneapolis and Philadelphia in exchange projects. SCUBA, Fox says, “is about diving into touring.” To view everything from auditions to grant deadlines, to see a calendar of workshops and master classes and to sign up for the dance pass program, check out www.danceusaphiladelphia.org.
Clearly dance, and particularly contemporary dance, flourishes in Philadelphia. The Quaker-influenced journey, with its strong collaborative ties, involves the entire community - dancers and non-dancers alike. As Kaiser says, “It’s just a community that supports all kinds of dance. And we’re all better for it.”