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Iamoverjoyedtosee twoTexans inthemix:AlbertDrakeand LauraGutierrez.Whywas thatanimportant choice for you? Two of themare Texanindeed,Albert andLaura. Inthe case of Laura, one ofmy favoritedancers inAmerica, itwas anaturaldecisionbecause she’sbeensucha consistent collaborator (andfierce interpreter of the work) since 2012. Iwas also a teacher ofhers as early backas 2008, and so there’s anice emotional bondtogether.You’re right, it’s funny that two of the eightdancers are involvedinRules ofTheGame are fromTexas— andwhynot? The statedoes somuchfor the arts, anddeserves credit for it.


Albertwas a real revelationthough. Iwas introducedtohisdancingby my colleagueCharlesSantos,who runs TITAS,who I see as animportant nationalpresenting voice fordance.What’s special aboutAlbert is thathe canmakehimselfhonestly athome inalmost anymovement vocabulary. His fluidity of the spine, easewithfloorwork, andstrongphysicality are a great fit formywork.He’s also a teamplayer,whichworks verywellwith suchamature groupofpeople.


Ioftenfindthat yourdancers’deepindividualitymakesamark onyourwork. Yes, eachof these eightperformershave their ownsignature—whichI thinkmakes aperformancemore richtowatch.Andbecause ofmy own background, I thinkabout thedancediversitydialogue slightlydifferent if I cansay so.Wehave colleagueswithIranian,Mexican,African- American,Hungarian, Italianheritages onstage.Maybemy ownmixed/ NorthAfricanbackgroundmakesme see things just a bitdifferently— but really I’malways looking at very individualpeople, andvery individ- ual gifts.


This is your firstperformance inDallas.Thoughts?


All inall, I got very curious aboutwhatDallashas to offer. The cultural scene is simply exploding, so I got excitedabout the excellent art training thatDallashas to offernow, andparticularly indance,because of the Booker T.WashingtonHighSchool for thePerformingArts.


There’salways somuchtolookat inyourworkinthat thereare choices forourattention.Doyouconsciously thinkabout thator is that somethingIamimposingonyourwork?


Yes, thedifferent elements always sparwitheachother inmywork, you’redefinitely right about that. I indeedhave tobe aware ofmanydif- ferent elements: themusic, themovement, the costumes, the visuals— andincreasingly, the lightingdesignis amajor component ofhowwe invite audiences to see ourwork.All thoseparameters are creating the overall atmosphere of thepiece, or, the visualdecisionmaking that an audience is askedtomake. I thinkyou’re right.Collaborations are always delicate—so they’re chosenandbalancedwithgreat care.


Giveusaglimpseof theother twoworksontheprogram.


We arepresenting two other repertoryworks that are also connectedto Daniel.WhyPatternswasdesignedbySNARKITECTURE, adesignfirm createdbyDanielArshamandAlexMustonen,withmusic byMorton Feldman, andARP. The otherworkis calledRECESS,whichwas also designedbyDanielArsham.During thepiecewe revise thehistory of the dancing figure; concepts of art andarchitecture; aswell asnotions of the- atrical representationandperformance.Newthis time, forDallas,will be a score forRECESS,bymy friendStavrosGasparatos.


NancyWozny is editor inchief atArts+CultureTexas, a contributing editor at DanceMagazine, and a scholar inresidence at Jacob’sPillowDanceFestival since 2009.


DANCE!NORTHTEXAS a publication of the dance council of north texas vol. 19 • no. 2 www.thedancecouncil.org May-July 2016 page 19


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