Interviews with Oregon Ballet Theatre's dancers/choreographers

1. 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.”
CREATIONSTAKINGSHAPE:

2. 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.”
UNFOLD
WORDS BY SAMANTHA EDINGTON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY RENATA KOSINA
AND BLAINE TRUITT COVERT (PHOTO
OF CANDACE BOUCHARD)