Lydia Hance Interview – Part 1
Interviewer: Kerri Lyons Neimeyer
Interviewee: Lydia Hance
Kerri: Lydia, tell us what’s going on with Frame. What are you working on? What are you excited about?
Lydia: Well, I just had a conversation with Laura Gutierrez, who is going to come on board with the youth ensemble, and [will be] teaching the Junior Framers with me. That makes a trio of Jennifer Mabus, Laura Gutierrez, and myself. I feel excited about that program and what we’re offering kids, because I think it is something that is not happening anywhere else. We have the best of the best professionals working with them, and that’s not a common thing, to get these experienced professionals working with kids in a program that’s just a little bit out of the ordinary. We’ve been talking about making makers. I think that’s such a beautiful way of putting it. They’re also getting photography from Lynn Lane, and costume design from Ashley Horn, and repertory from Jennifer Mabus’ professional dance experiences. I’m really pumped about the future of that program. I am so thrilled for the students, and also to be working with them to build this program, because I don’t think a post-modern maker’s dance program is out there, especially not in Houston. I’m collaborating to discover what is possible with these really smart, creative kids. Because, we don’t want to put them in a box, and we want to bring them the highest level of teaching and education, but do it in a way that opens doors for them, and opens their creativity and their exploration, and their technique, and doesn’t necessarily send them all down one path.
And then the film festival. I’ve had a lot of fun curating that with Rosie Trump, and creating these three distinct film programs. So, the first night is going to be called “Cozy,” and it is dance films that center around the idea of intimacy and moving towards or away, emotionally. It’s also in our coziest setting at the Ronin Art House, which is a more intimate performance space. The second program is the slightly more “Experimental” – I had a really hard time unpacking this word – films. I would say there is a lot of play with techniques of editing, techniques of the camera, techniques of movement, trying to open up new ways of seeing dance on film. Then the third evening, I’m calling “Silken,” and the films are slightly more mysterious, and there’s a lustre to these films. There are a few documentaries on there, so it’s a peek inside someone else’s world. In each film you dive into a different, sometimes a really different, environment. I’m really excited about that, and about bringing in filmmakers to Houston. We have a filmmaker, Paris Wages, who is coming from Australia. And we have Rosie Trump, who is coming from Reno, Nevada. We have Jennifer Terazzi-Scully coming from North Carolina, and Jordan Fuchs who’s coming from Denton, and Alexandra Mannings from Alabama, who all have films on this program. We’re going to be able to offer panels, and ask them questions, and have more interaction with audiences. Dance film is kind of a niche thing, and I want to make it accessible because, I think, in the end it is an accessible medium. It’s a familiar context and format for the average person because we’re so used to screens. I want to give more artistic insight from the filmmakers because they’re all so different, to help people dive in a bit more to feel really comfortable, and enjoy the festival.
Interviews