Name: Laura Gutierrez
First Frame Dance : To the Brim (Director’s note: Laura! You were in Quiver first!)
One thing you always do when preparing for a performance:
It’s important for me to get a good nights sleep, eat a healthy meal and if I don’t make it to a technique class I will definitely go to yoga.
After performance :
Stretch, eat, shower and I try to make it a point to journal my performance experience. What felt good and how to achieve that feeling again if possible and if something didn’t go as planned how to work on it for the next performance.
Fave moment in performance:
I was performing my senior solo in NYC both my sister and niece flew up from Houston to come to the performances. As I was performing my solo (which was about my niece) there was a moment that I looked into the audience and my niece was looking right back at me smiling and reaching towards me. It has happened a few times since where I perform and I make eye contact with family members or friends unplanned its a special feeling seeing those you love supporting you.
Thanks Laura!
First Frame Dance Piece: Ecouter (Spring 2013)
I always take a shower right before call time before performances. Even if I’m pretty clean or have just showered recently – it makes me feel refreshed and gives me a sense of clarity.
Most of the time I like “alone time” after a performance. I need a little time to myself to process everything, sometimes I feel overwhelmed if I’m immediately engaged in conversation. I like to have a glass of wine when I get home and usually another shower.
I have two favorite moments! One is the moment in a performance when I feel focused but am able to give up a lot of my thoughts, get out of my head and just perform “in the moment.” I always compare it to how it might feel to have an out of body experience. It’s a really beautiful place to be. My other favorite is when I feel a genuine connection with the audience, even if it’s just one person.
photos by Edgar Guajardo and Lena Silva.
R: How do you see the future of dance?P: I think that dance will continue to change, shrink, and grow as it has done in the past. I feel that Dance reflects, many times, how our economy is doing. The better people are doing financially, the more chances we see children being put into dance classes and movement classes. So on a home level, I think we will see an influx of kids taking formal dance classes. Sadly, we will see the opposite in public schools. Each year, more and more emphasis is placed on high stakes testing and less on developing the “whole child.” Schools find themselves cornered and having to make cuts and losing artist teachers in the schools because the budget cannot support them. I think families will have to make the extra effort to seek opportunities to expose their children to the arts. As for dance itself, the smaller our world becomes through technology, the more we will see other cultures and styles influencing all types of dance. I think that is really exciting! It is so interesting to watch contemporary pieces and recognize elements of hip hop, folklore, and even language incorporation. Continue reading
What music inspires you the most in the classroom; in the choreographic process?
Having recently completed my MFA at Mills College in Oakland—and having worked with and been exposed to the world-renowned experimental musicians there, I do approach this particular topic with a great deal of self-realized snobbery.
Inspiration comes from many sources, and less is definitely more, but soundscapes that evoke ideas are the most compelling.
Jacaczek, a polish electro-acoustic musician is one of my most fruitful sources of inspiration in both the classroom and for choreography.
I tend to lean heavily towards the electronic artists, but there are very few acoustic or traditional musicians that move me as deeply. I find that electronic musicians can create an environment that can be more loosely interpreted than direct methods of traditional musical artists, giving me freedom to create with the sound or directly oppose it. Some other favorite electronic artists are Squarepusher, Aphex Twin (AKA Caustic Window and AFX, Richard D James), Autechre, Ulrich Schnauss and Goldfrapp. Continue reading
What music inspires you the most in the classroom; in the choreographic process?
In the classroom, I live by Ray McNamara. He has two albums Ray To Go and Ray to Go 2 Odd Times—run don’t walk to buy these albums here! I have been teaching to this music for over five years and still find it fresh. It’s indispensible for modern, creative dance, improvisation and choreography classes.
For choreography, I like to create and rehearse to music that has little to do with what I will eventually make. I am a big fan of Motown. I also like to shift between poppy dance music like Scissor Sisters and sad indie ballads from Iron and Wine.
When I am ready to set choreography to music, I usually have a few go-to artists like Múm, The Books, Colleen, and Matmos.
R: What do you find to be the most challenging part about playing live music for a dance class? K: I very much enjoy providing musical accompaniment for dance classes. I enjoy the “in the moment” communication between the teacher, the dancers, and myself. As a percussionist, most of my experience playing music involves collaboration with other musicians, but playing for dance allows me to basically improvise to the meet the immediate needs of the class. The most challenging part would be interpreting the teaching style of each teacher, finding their level of musicality, and identifying how they are most comfortable communicating what they want.
Many dance teachers prefer to have the sounds of the piano in the studio during their classes. Recently when taking a class, I’ve observed teachers using piano accompaniments of popular songs. For example, the Piano Tribute Players cover songs by popular artists such as Lorde, Bastille, Icona Pop, and Katy Perry.
These songs by the Piano Tribute Players are fun and still keep the original rhythm, but without the distracting lyrics for class. What do you think?
As a dancer, of course I have my own musical preferences when I take class. Normally in a class you can’t just pick your own music to dance to, so you’re using the music that your teacher provides. Dancing to music you enjoy always makes those everyday classes even more fun than they already are, or even give you that extra kick of energy at the end of class. Here’s some bands I always love to dance to.
Have fun listening!
*by Frame Dance Social Media Intern Rachel Kaminski
R: How do you imagine the future of the dance world?J: One where we get rid of audience and everyone gets to be a part. No more proscenium, more communication and interaction. Maybe we no longer even know who is the “dancer” and who is the “audience.”
J: Not sure if I would call it rewarding…more awareness that there is a lot of work to be done to create an Army of Artists that infiltrate all levels of society with their art education.
J: That life is short, precious, beautiful, sad, inspiring, frustrating, and beyond my wildest dreams.
J: Peter Jones, Norah Jones, Beth Orton, Albert mathias, R.E.M., War, Parliment, Beastie Boys, Zuco 103, Stevie Wonder, C & C Music Factory, Tracy Chapman, DJ John Kelley, Led Zeppelin, Sia
photos by Simon Gentry
Jane Weiner graduated from Bowling Green University with a degree in deaf/elementary education and a minor in dance. She had the unbelievable opportunity to work with the Doug Elkins Dance Company for a decade of fine dancing, touring and experiences before her move to Houston, TX in 1996. She presently is the director of Hope Stone, Inc., and Artistic Director of Hope Stone Dance Company and the Pink Ribbons Project. Jane founded Hope Stone with a dream of unlocking the innate creativity of children and adults and improving their quality of life through the performing arts. Jane also founded and directs Hope Stone Kids, an arts outreach program for children 2-18 years old in Houston, that uses master teachers in dance, theater, music, photography, spoken word and yoga to empower and educate youth. Hope Stone Kids was created to help meet the artistic and emotional needs of underserved and at-risk students. “I see the void and want to help fill it,” Jane says. Jane also founded the Pink Ribbons Project in 1995 and was the executive director from 1997-2002
Jane has set her work on the Alley Theater, Houston Ballet II, Stages Repertory Theater, the Houston Children’s Museum, as well as many high schools and universities and has collaborated with the Houston Symphony, the CAMH, and the Asia Society. She was a finalist for the Cal Arts/Albert Award for Dance in 2001, awarded the CACHH general fellowship grant for 2002, the Houston PBS Speaking Women’s Health Conference Honoree 2004, the Surgical Society of Oncology’s James Ewing Layman Award, the Jung Center Award for 2005, DiverseWork’s Artist of the Year 2011, and was a speaker at the 2012 TEDx Houston and 2013 TEDx TAMU.
At present Jane continues to run Hope Stone, Inc. creating a vision of Art for All, work on projects with her company as well as schools and companies nationally. She continues her work on creating, enriching, evolving and teaching her teacher’s template to make Hope Stone Kids a national arts education project. She is married the wonderful Eric Mallory, has one dog, Oliver Jones and three cat children, Houston, Riley and Spot-ika.
*Interview by Frame Dance social media intern, Rachel Kaminski