The Creative Approach

Season 3: Episode 4 | 5:17

Choreographer, dancer, teacher, and director Sidra Bell discusses her perspective on the artistry of dance and her creative approach to it. She also speaks about the advice she would give to her younger self.

Sidra Bell’s DancePulp profile

Intellect and Physicality

Season 3: Episode 3 | 6:35

FFor Sidra Bell, all roads led to dance. But the path was anything but direct.

From a journey that began at the age of eight at the Dance Theater of Harlem and included an unlikely, yet critical diversion at Yale University, emerged an important influence who is proving every day that academia and artistry can not only happily co-exist, but come together to create choreography that is at once logical and human.

As a kid, Bell was lucky enough to have to dash from her day at The Spence School on the Upper East Side to dance class at The Ailey School. Turns out, Bell’s broad-based education was lucky for the dance world, too.

Here, Bell shares how her study of history and cultures at Yale and a Masters in Fine Arts from Purchase College inform her work at Sidra Bell Dance New York.

Sidra Bell’s DancePulp profile

Sidra Bell Dance New York in "Stella"

Sidra Bell Dance New York is thick in preparation for the opening of their New York Season next week at Baruch Performing Arts Center. The season’s works together are entitled Duel consisting of two evening length works to be presented for two consecutive weeks between March 22 and April 1.

When I visited the company’s New York Live Arts rehearsal, there was a clear collaborative atmosphere as the dancers fiddled with costumes and discussed them with Bell and costume designer Erin Schultz. Collaboration plays a role in Bell’s work from start to finish with both dancers and designers. “I enjoy creating worlds onstage. The lighting, the costuming, all play in from the beginning of the process,” Bell explained.

“I work mainly collaboratively with the dancers. As an artist I really love movement, so I start with phrase work. I give defined, very architectural phrases to them. From there we work, pull it apart, and use improvisational tasks to sort it, elaborate, and create characters.”

This characterization of Bell’s dancers shown through as I watched portions of Stella, the first of the two works to be presented. Audiences will have the unique opportunity to view this work from three sides and dive into detail and clearly defined relationships – with each other, with the space, with the music, and with the second work of their season, ReVUE.

“These two pieces are conversational in that they both explore public and private space,” Bell said. “It’s questioning the act of performance, testing the limits of audience interaction.”

Bell’s enthusiasm for both process and performance is clear as she speaks about working with the company’s artists. But Bell’s choreographic career is not limited to her work in New York. Bell has won esteemed choreographic awards both in the United States and internationally as well as had commissions for the Juilliard School, Ballet Austin, and the Sacramento Ballet to name a few. “With my own company, there’s a sense of deep exploration and the language is very rich. But when I visit somewhere else, it’s like a blank slate. You take what you know but also meet in the middle, and it’s a great balance for me in my career having both.”

This balance will be mirrored for audiences in a performance that explores both bold theatrics and intimate invasions of the individual. The New York native describes the city as a large influence and inspiration for her as an artist. “There’s a feeling of it’s a big deal, but also it feels very comfortable. It feels like the work belongs here.”

Sidra Bell Dance New York will run Program A: Stella from March 22-24th at 8PM and March 25th at 7 PM. Program B: ReVUE will run from March 29th-31st at 8PM and April 1 at 7 PM. For tickets visit: www.baruch.cuny.bpac. 

Blueprint Summer Intensive| Graphic Courtesy Peridance Capezio Center

Peridance Capezio Center in NYC has some exciting news for young dancers looking for a change of pace in the world of Summer Dance Intensives.

BLUEPRINT, a brand-new, two-week contemporary ballet intensive program in New York City, is set to take place August 20-September 1 2012. Auditions for this exciting opportunity have already begun and will continue internationally throughout the winter and spring. In collaboration with dance icon and founder of DancePulp Drew Jacoby, Peridance has brought together an irresistible faculty for professional dance hopefuls ages 16-22. Teachers will include Igal Perry (Peridance Contemporary Dance Company), Drew Jacoby (Jacoby & Pronk) Wendy Whalen (NYCB), Susan Jaffe (ABT), Michele Wiles (Ballet Next),  Sidra Bell (Sidra Bell Dance New York), Helen Pickett (Frankfurt Ballet), Kevin Irving (Nacho Duato Repertory) and Michele Assaf (World Movement Workshop-The International Workshop).

The mission of BLUEPRINT is to fuse solid classical training with the artistry and innovation of the current contemporary scene.  After dancers begin the day with a challenging ballet class, they will train in a variety of other disciplines from contemporary to jazz. They will also get a chance to polish what they learn in repertory rehearsals featuring the works of William Forsythe, Nacho Duato, Sidra Bell, Christopher Wheeldon, and of course Peridance Contemporary Dance Company and Jacoby & Pronk. Two weeks so filled with mentorship from the best in the business is sure to further the careers of those dancers who participate. A performance at the end of the intensive, held at the Salvatore Capezio Theater will showcase their hard work.

To offer even more initiative to ambitious young performers, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company and Jacoby and Pronk will each be looking for prospective apprentices for their companies, for the 2012 fall season.

The BLUEPRINT Intensive is  open to Intermediate-Advanced dancers, both pre-professional and professional, by audition only. Students must register online at the Peridance website to audition. Pointe work is required for female dancers, although repertory works will not necessarily use pointe shoes.

The networking benefits of Intensive opportunities in the city are widespread. There is no better way to take good training to a new level of career planning and performance goals.

For more information on BLUEPRINT at Peridance, please visit www.peridance.com/blueprint.cfm.