An Interview with ODC Dance Jam
When asked if I’d be interested in interviewing the ODC Dance Jam, I jumped at the opportunity. ODC’s Dance Jam is a teen dance company, and I very much wanted to capture the perspective of young aspiring dancers. But I was particularly in for a treat when I learned that one of the dancers, Kylie Woordward-Sollesnes, choreographed on her fellow dancers for the first time in Dance Jam history. I was thrilled to talk to this choreographer at the very onset of her experience making dances. Kylie’s piece will be included in the ODC Dance Jam’s upcoming shows on April 6-7.
Pictured: Kylie Woodward-Sollesnes and Eden Amital
Emmaly Wiederholt: I’m curious why you dance and what you get out of dancing that you don’t get from other areas of your life.
Kylie Woordward-Sollesnes (17): I’ve danced for a long time, since I was three. So I think it was by luck that my mom put me in dance class at an early age and it was something that really stuck with me, that I learned that I love. And so I’ve continued since. What I get out of it, well there’s a lot of things I get out of it. One of those things specifically with the Dance Jam is community. I truly love everyone who I dance with and I know them well. I’ve grown a lot during my time at Dance Jam. I’ve been in the Dance Jam since I was a freshmen, so since I was 14, and it’s been a big part of my growth into young adulthood. The creativity of it is really important to me. Often in the choreographic process, I feel like I’m controlling and creating something, and I don’t know, I just get a high out of that.
EW: I’m curious what’s next for you, since you’re a senior in high school. Are you going to school for dance? Do you want to keep dancing and choreographing?
Kylie: I plan to major in dance. I didn’t apply to any conservatories because I want to continue my academics as well, but I applied to all the schools that have a dance program so I can keep dancing, and hopefully one day I’d like to choreograph more.
EW: What inspired you to choreograph?
Kylie: Before I came to ODC, I took dance classes at this place called Luna Kids. They’re interested in the creative process, so they do less technique but they’re really into making movement. So I kind of got a little bit of a base there. And then when I came to ODC, probably about when I was ten, it was really perfect because I was surrounded by the work of KT Nelson and others, and I found my own way of moving inspired by the way ODC moves. ODC has a very distinct style of movement, I think, and also they’re super into exploration, and they really gave me a place to try new things and to learn about how I want to make movement. I’ve got a lot of support here. They’re very into my wanting to choreograph; they were excited that I was excited about it.
EW: More specifically, what interests you in choreography? Are there certain choreographers or certain ways of thinking about movement that inspire you?
Kylie: I’m really interested in pedestrian movement. I’m not so interested in arabesques and showy things and whatnot… that’s just not interesting to me. I think also part of it is I’ve watched a lot of dance, and in seeing a dance routine I notice what catches my eye and what doesn’t. So yeah, I’m into a lot more gestural stuff and pedestrian movement. I think it’s also really interesting to choreograph from text. Or a lot of what we do here that really gets me is making a base phrase and altering it in a lot of different ways.
EW: What was the process like working with your peers?
Kylie: It was really interesting and hard at times. It was hard because I didn’t want to be the boss, you know what I mean? We’ve grown up dancing as equals and I didn’t want to assert myself and be really bossy, but at the same time I wanted to get done the work I needed to get done. But I think my dancers knew that so I think we all went into it with the expectation of like, I apologize if I end up yelling at you at any point. It was all very reasonable. This is my first time choreographing a piece on a lot of people, and I usually do it on myself, so it was really different putting my movement onto other bodies. There were times when I wish I had somebody to tell me what to do next, but I realized, oh I’m that person now. So it was transitioning myself into that role, and sometimes it was hard and sometimes it was really liberating.
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I then interviewed two other dancers in the ODC Dance Jam, Anna Boyer and Eden Amital, about their experience dancing and what it was like working with Kylie.
Emmaly Wiederholt: I’m curious why you dance and what you get out of dancing that you don’t get from other areas of your life.
Anna Boyer (18): Basically this is our fourth year in the Jam and we’re also seniors, so we’ve been doing this pretty much through the entirety of high school and I know things socially at high school can be a bit rocky but what’s nice about dancing here is that it’s pretty much always been the same – so comfortable and friendly. It’s nice having that outlet, family, and super tight community.
Eden Amital (17): But I think in terms of dancing itself, it’s a really great way to discover who you are and be brave in small ways. It’s super challenging to learn new choreography that has tricks and skills you’ve never done before. You don’t really have a choice as to whether or not you’re going to do it; you’re going to do it because your teachers have told you you’re going to do it. I once had to jump into these two girls arms off of Anna’s back, and looking back we’ve had to do it every year since but that first year I was so scared. Whether it’s a small specific skill, or being able to do your first show (we produce our own show every year), I think it’s exciting to challenge yourself and actually master the skills. Just in terms of technique we’ve both grown so much. It actually seems like a reality now, if we worked hard enough, that we could become professional dancers.
EW: I’m curious what’s next for you, since you’re seniors in high school. Are you going to school for dance? Do you want to keep dancing?
Anna: I am going to Barnard College in New York, and I plan on studying dance there and in New York generally. There’s so many opportunities there so we’ll see where it takes me.
Eden: I don’t know where I’m going next but I do know I’m going to major in dance and probably double major. I definitely want to pursue dance and see what happens in college.
EW: What was it like working with your peer, Kylie, in comparison with working with choreographers who are established and older?
Eden: Kylie’s one of our best friends in the whole world, and she’s been doing Dance Jam since freshmen year too. We’re really comfortable, we’ve worked with her before, we respect her so much because we’ve seen her choreograph in smaller capacities with choreographers, and so it was really exciting. We got chances to create our own work within the piece and then giving her control of where things go was nice. We didn’t have too much responsibility, just enough, and we really respect her so the process was really smooth.
Anna: Yeah, I just want to come back to what Eden was saying about her being our best friend. We three have been through the same experience with ODC. Since we’ve known her for so long we’ve been able to see her grow and seeing her come in and take such a huge role in creating her own piece was really inspiring and I was really proud. She really embodied the choreographers we’ve worked with before; you could tell how much she’s learned from taking on the leadership traits we’ve seen in front of us over the past four years. It was pretty awesome and I can see her choreographing more in the future.
Pictured: Anna Boyer and Juan Ruiz
Photos by Sean Dagen
One Response to “An Interview with ODC Dance Jam”
Thank you so much for interviewing the Jam and putting their words out into the world. I love working with these teen dancers and reading more about their experience in dance is incredibly moving. I truly believe that dance changes people’s lives.
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