Emily Wolfe / Journal No. 2 — The Simon Family Scholarship

While attending classes this month, I have brought these questions forward to the dance community and myself: “Why do I take class?”, “What do I need in a class?”, “How often do you take class?”. I’ve started to realize there isn’t one single answer for this! Here are some examples of responses:

I take class because it is at a convenient time to fit in my work schedule.
This class is a warm up for rehearsal.
I am looking to explore something new and change my pattern of thinking.
I like the phrase work that the teacher shares.
I want to check out the artist who is teaching because they have an interesting history.
I have heard of this artist in the dance world and want to see what they’re like.
I need to satisfy a movement craving.
I come to this class every week and it is the only one I prefer.
I want this teacher to notice me for a potential job offer or connections.
The structure of this class allows me to be free.
I only do somatic training and Gibney offers these possibilities while still staying in the context of dance.
I need to move my body!
This technique supports the choreography I am performing.
I am an actor and need to better understand my body and how it exists on stage.
This is my dance community. This class is my body’s home.
This class is therapy, it helps me heal.
I need an energy balance to stay calm and stable.
I am taking this class because I need to remember that I don’t know it all.
This teacher kicks my ass.
Taking class at Gibney helps me realize I am not alone.
By understanding the world around me, I am better able to understand myself.

Every body’s needs are different. When I asked dancers how often they took class, there was a huge range frequency and a lot of regularity depended on financial situation or scheduling. Some dancers are able to afford one class a week or every few weeks, some dancers have managed to fit in up to three or four in a week. Many dancers also didn’t have one reason for taking class and some would take a range of classes to push their potential. It is such a huge privilege to attend so many classes on this scholarship. My body has become used to having the opportunity to move so much and I am starting to wonder how I will be able to make this work after the scholarship ends. I love being at Gibney, it is my dance community.

It is interesting to notice at Gibney, that even though it is a large dance community unified under the love of dance, that there are many dance cultures within itself. Many people are ‘regulars’ for specific classes or techniques. I have become familiar with the people I may encounter in ballet class vs the people in contemporary forms vs the people in gaga. Over my time with the scholarship, I have been exploring many different classes rather than restricting myself to one specific technique. I feel there are pro’s and con’s to this choice. My personality prefers variety and responsiveness to the moment. Thankfully, the range of classes at Gibney has been incredibly satisfying and it supports the diversity of movement my body needs. I am able to get my stability from Ballet, new structures from Contemporary Forms, cross training from Pilates, repatterning from Gaga and even a spiritual fix from Witchcraft! I do often wonder what would happen to my approach to dance and technique if I chose one type of class to take for the whole month. Now may be my time to try something a bit out of my comfort zone by restricting myself to one technique or continue to put myself in classes that I am inexperienced in (hip hop is whispering in my ear). Having the stability of class at Gibney, has allowed me to stay engaged in the dance world by allowing me to catch performances I may not have heard of otherwise. While my identity and home base will always be with dance, I am also having cravings to expand my artistic potential through mediums such as acting and visual arts. I am able to keep my dancing reliable while exploring my multidisciplinary interests. This scholarship is also crucial to my connection to the dance community because I have recently left the company I was working with and now I’m searching for opportunities and new projects!

Choreolab with Alexandra Beller was such an important component of my scholarship. I often create work in isolation or with small groups of people and do not receive feedback until the final showing. With a feedback community present to witness my process over 8 weeks, I felt encouraged to continue due to the accountability to bring something new and challenged to understand the reasons why I made the choices I did. I engaged in a collaborative relationship with a saxophonist and felt comfortable taking risks through new lands of exploration. I feel fortunate to have connected with the other artists in the group and I look forwards to the opportunity of reconnecting. At times, it was difficult to show work when I felt like the project was so early in its process. There was a lot that was unknown, but I was enthusiastic about making mistakes that could help redirect me. I pushed to present something new each week and I felt I was able to achieve a good balance of exploration and solidification. Giving feedback is also an important part of being an educated artist and it was so useful for me to exercise the skill of critical thinking. I plan to have a full life of performance and choreographing and Choreolab has been an important professional stepping stone for my career.

- Emily