Meet the Company!

Executive Director Yarden Ronen-van Heerden | Artistic Director Igal Perry 

I am sure many of you have heard that the Peridance Contemporary Dance Company is back in action and maybe you have even caught a glimpse of a rehearsal in studio 4. I want to take the opportunity to introduce the company to everyone! The company returns to the stage this season after a three-year hiatus while Peridance went through a major transition into its new home. Established in 1984, by Founder and Artistic Director Igal Perry. We are so excited, for the first time in the Company's history, to have a resident performance venue, our beautiful Salvatore Capezio Theater!

The identity of Peridance Contemporary Dance Company is shaped by original choreography, versatile dancers of diverse backgrounds, classical and contemporary accompaniment, and collaborations with live musicians. While upholding the elegance and articulation of classical ballet, Igal has structured the Company to explore and experiment with innovative movement and design. The Company, featuring 8 highly versatile dancers, has been rehearsing at Peridance Capezio Center for a few months now, in preparation for its upcoming debut performances.

Today's Featured dancer is Shay Bares. Stayed tuned to learn about all of the dancers!

SHAY BARES

Shay received his early training at The School of Ballet Tyler under Kym Lanier.  Through workshops, intensives, and conventions, he was exposed to diverse movement at an early age. In his youth, he was a member of Ballet Tyler, a local non-profit youth company, to which he returned for two seasons as Artistic Director.  In 2008, Shay joined the Fellowship program at the Alvin Ailey School.  Shay has danced with various modern, contemporary, ballet, and aerial companies including Kim Robards Dance, Peridance Ensemble, Steven Petronio Company, Basaran Dance Works, NY2 Dance, and Grounded Aerial.  Shay has taught at workshops and conventions across America, and has won overall awards at regional and national competitions.
 

Please tell us where you are from and something unique about your hometown!

I'm from Tyler, Texas.  It's the rose capital of the world!  Every rose in Tyler has a fairy in it, and every fairy will grant you one wish, but every wish has to be for more roses soooo...it's kind of a bummer.

What was one of your most memorable onstage or backstage moments?

My very first dance recital when I was nine years old; it was a disco jazz piece. We had Afro wigs, mine was big and green.  In my excitement, I over fluffed it and accidentally made it kind of loose. When it came time for the big headroll cannon, my big green wig went flying across the stage.  I danced across the stage, picked it up, and put it on backwards.  I finished the piece with the tails of the headband dangling in my eyes.  And scene!

How did you get into dance?

I started dancing at age nine when my Mom (who danced from [age] 3-18) suggested my older brother and I sign up. I thought this to be a horrible idea and that dance was only for girls. My big brother (only a year older but my idol) thought it would be fun, so I automatically decided dance was the best idea ever! After the first year I was hooked, and have been shakin’ it ever since. 

What’s your favorite thing to do when you’re not dancing?

When I'm not dancing I am fashioning. I've been designing clothes since I was young, taught myself to sew last year, and have been avidly making clothes ever since. I've had work showcased in a film in Italy and other venues. I plan to make a dance work on my own incorporating the clothing I've made into a film. Exciting, right?!

What are your go-to foods/drinks to get through a tough day of rehearsals and classes?

My go-to foods and drinks to get through class are skittles and Dr. Pepper! Ok I'm kidding!  I usually drink coffee and eat tuna....I have great sympathy for my dance partner...coffee/tuna breath...yikes!  Oh and lots and lots of water!

Photo by Krista Bonura

Did your family play a strong role in guiding and supporting your career?

As I said before, my mother started me dancing and was extremely supportive.  My dad, however, was the driving force behind my dance career.  I got burnt out in my mid teens and tried several times to quit, but my dad said I wasn't giving up my God-given ability because I didn't feel like doing [it].  So Thankful for him! 

What advice would you give to pre-professionals who are about to enter the professional world or for young dancers deciding if they want to make dance their future?

My advice for young dancers or any dancer at all is: lose the ego.  No one wants to work with a dancer, no matter the talent level, if he thinks he’s Gods gift to dance. Be humble, pay attention, work hard, and encourage the dancers around you. We're all in this together and need each other’s support!

Who has been your most influential teacher or choreographer thus far? Please tell us a little about why!

Kym Lanier, my dance teacher at home in Texas. A petite, beautiful red headed woman with the business sense of a Wall Street mogul. She never let me get away with being lazy and taught me how to conduct myself in a professional manner. [I] owe her my career. 

What are one or two things you must have in your dance bag?

In my dance bag there are always lots of bobby pins (gotta keep up the glamour!) and multiple pairs of socks.  I feel most comfortable in socks but shred them like it's my job!

Is there a place in the city you would recommend as a must see or must do (restaurant, café, park, gallery…)?

My go-to place in the city?  I don't have one location to visit but adore being in Soho; the fashion is so inspiring and the people seem so creative. The street vendors with their original work are wonderful, and the hole-in-the-wall restaurants and coffee shops are so neat.  My other go-to place is my apartment in Harlem.  Come visit me and let's dance on my roof!

Faculty Spotlight

In March 2011 the 15th Annual Internationales Solo-Tanz-Theater Festival in Stuttgart, Germany awarded First Prize for Choreography to frequent Peridance Guest Artist, Sidra Bell for the solo Grief Point. Dancer Moo Kim from Korea was awarded First Prize for Performance in Grief Point. The solo will tour Germany in November 2011 and have its South American debut in Brazil in April. Congratulations from everyone at Peridance Sidra!

 For more on Sidra Bell and her workshops at Peridance Click here.

Watch the winning solo below. 

Grief Point, A Dance Work by Sidra Bell

Buglisi Dance Theatre Repertory Workshop & the Table of Silence Project

Be a Part of a Historic Event!

Next week Peridance is excited to have Jacqulyn Buglisi, Artistic Director of Buglisi Dance Theater in the studio. Jacqulyn and some of the company’s dancers will lead a workshop, which will begin with a short ballet barre, followed by improvisations that explore dance as a language that enhances dramatic focus and expressiveness. 

Buglsii Dance Theatre's Table of Silence Project Workshop at Peridance Capezio Center will provide dancers with an opportunity to share in BDT's creative process through the style and movement vocabulary that will be used in the Table of Silence Project 9/11, a site-specific performance for 100 dancers commemorating the tenth anniversary of September 11th. Emphasized are focus and the dramatic use of opposition onstage, as well as performance elements and techniques to enhance a dancer's communication with the audience.

Workshop participants may be asked to perform in the historic Table of Silence Project 9/11 event on the Josie Robertson Plaza at Lincoln Center, Sunday morning, September 11th. This poignant, 12 minute ceremonial event - creating a peace labyrinth - will culminate symbolically at 8:46 a.m. with the dancers encircling the Revson Fountain, raising their arms in a universal gesture of peace.

Buglisi Dance Theatre Repertory Workshop

Aug 29, 2011 - Sep 2, 2011; Mon - Fri
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM 

Click here to register. 

For more information on Buglisi Dance Theatre visit their website.

Certificate Program End of Year Concert 2011

As summer draws to a close and we here at Peridance get ready for a new semester I wanted to share the video of the Certificate Program students in their End of Year Concert. They did a spectacular job and all their hard work throughout the year really paid off! We will be welcoming our returning and new students to Peridance on September 6th to start the fall semester!

We are currently accepting enrollment for the Spring 2012 Semester. For more information check out the website or email Marlena Wolfe at certificateprogram@peridance.com.

Don't forget to like us on Facebook!

Company Spotlight

Peridance Faculty member, Marinda Davis took a leap of faith and began her own company, marinspired a little over a year ago. While they have had ups and downs on the way the company has already performed at Symphony Space, The Young Choreographers Festival, and the Joyce. This August 27th & 28th Peridance is excited to welcome marinspired to the Salvatore Capezio Theater for the premier of "breakable."  I was able to speak with Marinda about the company's development, how the journey has gone so far, and her own journey as an artist. 

1. Tell me a little about how marInspired came into formation as a company?

We are actually trying to get away from the term "company". I do not see us aligning with the term's connotation amongst New York’s dance culture. I guess if we were to be defined it would be as an "experience." Instead of trying to put a circle into a square we are trying to make a different shape entirely! We are a combination of movement and theatre with a large emphasis on all that is musical. While I would be thrilled to perform at the Joyce, or Dance Theater Workshop, or any of the other amazing venues in this city but, I do not see us fitting in there. Ultimately, I want to be in venues like Madison Square Garden. I want to bring dance to the masses. It may seem like an outlandish goal, but I feel like it can one day be done. I know there's a niche and desire among the masses for dance in the same way that there is for music, a niche that has been capitalized on by the recording industry. It may have to be done in collaboration with big name recording artists first, but eventually I believe the demand can be as much for dance as it is for music. SYTYCD has started to fill that gap but I'd like to do it in a more artistic setting. The LA contemporary dance scene is booming and I want to bring that excitement and support surrounding contemporary dance to New York. There's a void and why not start filling it?

I feel like dance has gotten so elite. The stories we tell are real and something anyone can relate to. I do not think that a story can ever get old; a broken heart was just as devastating 200 years ago, as it is today, and will be 200 years from now. Dance is often at the bottom of the artistic funding totem pole and I think bringing the art to a more tangible level is a major goal of what I'm doing.

I am on the convention circuit, and reach tens of thousands of very talented kids a year. The talent out there is mind-boggling. For years, I've seen these proficient kids move to New York and not get work. There is so much under-used talent out there; it makes me nauseous. One of the reasons I created marInspired was to provide a venue for these artists to dance in works that utilize their abilities. It not only eases their transition into the New York dance scene, but also allows them to perform work that challenges them. I was very lucky to have a set of incredible mentors and I am proud to pass that on to the next generation. 

 

2) This is the company’s second year, how have things been going?

It has definitely been a journey! I knew but I didn't TRULY know what it would take to do this. I constantly find myself physically, emotionally, and financially drained, but simultaneously so happy. There are days I have to pinch myself; dreams are definitely being realized and it's beyond anything I ever imagined.

The first year we mainly performed at festivals. We presented a piece at Symphony Space at the Young Choreographer's Festival as well as at DRA's Dancin Downtown at the Joyce. To present work at such renowned venues our first year out was pretty incredible. Even so, we've had a lot of false starts, a lot of disappointments, and a lot of lessons. As we all know, there are aspects to and people within our industry that can be disheartening, so it's been a long road to this beautiful moment we find ourselves in now.

I have come to see that there is truly a reason for everything. This current group of artists feels right to me. There is positivity, passion and talent everywhere I look. There’s definitely something special brewing. The support we have is overwhelming and I feel grateful and blessed daily. I have 18 unique artists, 3 junior apprentices, a producer, backers, and an incredible creative team helping shape a show of close to 20 short story pieces. Hard work and timing have brought us here but I still feel so lucky.

3) What do you think the hardest part of being a choreographer is? Any advice you would give to new/aspiring choreographers?

Without question, putting yourself out there in such a colossal way and the internal and external pressure that accompanies it. It's your life and it's your work and it's deeply personal. It's interesting how much doubt and instant criticism surrounds new projects and sadly, it almost always comes from people within the industry. People have a sort of fear-based reaction; most act as though you're doomed. Is it rational to be fearful of doing the work we feel we were put on this planet to do?

Of course, I am scared. The fear can be debilitating if you let it be. Pat Conroy, one of my favorite author's once said, "every one of my books has almost killed me." Most creative minds will instantly understand that notion and few will blink at the idea. The doubt, the pressure to constantly top yourself and consistently produce brilliance has driven many an artist off the deep end. I've had to build a sort of psychological shield to keep separate me, my process, my work and the natural anxiety over the reaction to that work and the things being said about it. I think any creative mind can relate to being "tortured" by their gift and the expectations that come with it. Liz Gilbert says in her lecture, A New Way to Think About Creativity; "just continue to show up for your piece of it. If your job is to dance, do your dance. If the divine genius assigned to your case decides to let some sort of wonderment be glimpsed for just one moment through your efforts then…'ole. and if not, do your dance anyhow, and ole to you just for having the sheer human love and stubbornness to keep showing up."

So ....show up. Never stop learning. Remain humble. Don't expect. Work hard. Enjoy the process over the product's results. Think of your gift as a loan. Attempt to be self made. Be a good person. My talent has gotten me far, but who I am has gotten me farther a fact made clear to me by support that currently surrounds us. Give as much as you can; it always comes back around when you least expect it.

 

4) What is the inspiration behind "breakable?"

Life! Relationships, friendships, loss, the ups, the downs (;) there isn't one piece in the show that doesn't come directly from a page of my own story. Some pieces more abstractly and others literally, but they are all touchable and open to interpretation by both the dancers and the audience.

The main theme is the fragility of humans: physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally. I've been through a lot physically in my life, but I am constantly amazed by how matters of the heart bring you to your knees just as fiercely. I have gone into cardiac arrest four times in the past three years and on two of those occasions my heart completely stopped. Obviously these experiences underlie the themes of "breakable." Anybody who has crossed over to the other side can tell you that they are both instantly and eternally changed. The perspective you gain from coming back is illuminating. The last time I had this experience was in November and it's taken me a long time to come back from it. In fact, I am still coming back and not sure if I ever fully will. Mortality was certainly a factor in the push for this show to finally happen. Why wait a second longer? Why do it any other way than big? Clichés are clichés because they are generally true. Life is short. Work hard and show up, until you can't.

For more information on Marinda's classes at Peridance click here.

For more information on marinspired click here.