10 / OREGON BALLET THEATRE

SEVEN OBT DANCERS SET ASIDE THEIR USUAL PLACE IN THE STUDIO AND TOOK ON

THE ROLE OF CHOREOGRAPHER TO DEMONSTRATE HOW BALLET TAKES SHAPE IN THE

RICH SOIL OF IMAGINATION. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME OBT HAS PUT ON A PROGRAM OF

THIS NATURE—ONE THAT SHOWS WORKS IN PROGRESS—LENDING IT THE FEELING

OF BEING VERY UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL. THAT SENSE IS REINFORCED WITHIN

THE INTIMATE SETTING OF THE BODYVOX DANCE CENTER, AND AUDIENCES WILL BE

THE FIRST TO WITNESS THE ARTISTS’ CREATIVE PROCESSES UNFOLD DURING THE

PERFORMANCES. HERE’S A GLIMPSE INTO THE MINDS OF OBT CHOREOGRAPHERS AS

THEY SET OUT TO CREATE THEIR WORK.

MAKINO HAYASHI: BROTHER AND A SISTER

Makino Hayashi is making each perfor-mance a unique creation. She says, “I wanted to create in the show. We’re get-ting painted on stage, so every show will be a little different… And then I made [the] costumes because I want[ed] to do white. Like a white canvas.”

Her work is broken up into mini piec-es, with each part having its own story and “…all four of us will be painted in maybe the middle of the show because my piece is not one big piece.” Hayashi’s pieces challenge their audiences to cre-ate the story, as she is leaving it open.

ETHAN SCHWEITZER-GASLIN: TANGENT TO THE CURVE

Ethan Schweitzer-Gaslin’s curiosity about the geometry of body movement manifests itself in his work. Considering the idea behind his piece, he muses, “This piece is an exploration and an expression of energy and a geometric idea…an energy that seems to be infinite in one moment in time....”

Then he had to find the right music: “The movement, you know, is very in your face, very energetic, and...pulsating with life…and I looked for music to fit that. I wanted something with an inter-esting soundscape, texturally.”

MICHAEL LINSMEIER: FOUND YOU

Michael Linsmeier is translating the “rowdy” energy of some of his favorite tunes into an entertaining show for audi-ences.

Drawing inspiration from old surfer movies and Portland band Guantanamo Baywatch, a band he often sees and dances to, Linsmeier intends for his piece to be fun for dancers and audienc-es alike. With that, he’s taking a differ-ent approach developing it: “I want to do something fun and cheesy, as opposed to something more dark [and] dramatic.”

CREATIONS UNFOLDTA

KIN

G S

HA

PE:

2013-2014 SEASON / 11

ANSA DEGUCHI: NUEVO

Ansa Deguchi let the sensual tango music for this piece carry her away as she guided her dancers. The fast pace challenged Deguchi to fit the dancers’ steps to the tango.

She explains, “The choreography in my head vs. actually seeing it danced, that’s dancing a lot of steps in five min-utes!” She looks forward to premiering “Nuevo,” saying, aside from the quick steps, “dancing with a partner and feel-ing connected is really exciting to see on stage.”

CANDACE BOUCHARD: WHAT WAS ASKED OF THEM

Candace Bouchard finds that different interpretations of her ideas enrich the choreography, as she states, “There’s so much personality involved...even when you’re working with a group, you show a step, and then you have six different ways to do it that come out.”

With a spontaneous method of chore-ography, she keeps her ideas rolling without interrupting the creative process: “You get to say: everybody do it like that, or I like all of those…if it’s working, it’s working; if it’s not, then I’m okay with getting rid of it and moving on.”

ALISON ROPER: PASSAGES

For Alison Roper, music had a strong influence over designing the dance. “Oh, the music absolutely dictated the whole dance to me… I feel like the music is always speaking, and I’m just trying to create visual music.”

The music also provided Roper with complex pairing ideas: “I chose a piece of music that I thought would be very difficult to choreograph to…the partner-ing is complicated, but the movement and the sense of what I am trying to con-vey is that these people are each trying to be in control of the movement.”

JENNA NELSON: PARTICLE

Jenna Nelson explains her creation’s concept, saying, “In nature, everything is made up of tiny moving particles... [which] are coming together to create something that is much bigger.”

And Nelson’s collaborative work was “ever-changing [and] ever-moving.” She worked with members from Portland band Ocean Age to create the music and says, “...the music is a part of the move-ment...because we created the music and the ballet hand in hand. Our mu-sic...has evolved and changed to cater to the movement.”

CREATIONS UNFOLDWORDS BY SAMANTHA EDINGTON

PHOTOGRAPHY BY RENATA KOSINA

AND BLAINE TRUITT COVERT (PHOTO

OF CANDACE BOUCHARD)