夏季故事|创建一个新的密集

作者:Nicole Leung

在一个典型的夏天, dancers around the world jet off to participate in international workshops, 大师班, and programs branded “summer intensives” that last from one to six weeks and offer professional-level training to dancers during their off-season. Summer intensives are a pillar in every dancer’s journey. They are reminiscent of sleepaway camps—inspiring lifelong memories and friendships. Yet they are also places of deep learning and research that help shape who we are as future artists. To say we look forward to summer intensives is an understatement. Especially after most 2020 programs were either cancelled or made virtual, dancers worldwide had high hopes for a return to normal in 2021. 不幸的是, 只有少数例外, yet another beloved summer of study seemed lost to the pandemic.

Amid the sea of “We regret to inform you …” emails and the collective sense of defeat, 我开始想出其他的方法来度过我的夏天. 作为舞蹈演员, we can be terrified by the idea of not having a schedule because we fear being out of practice. So I asked a few peers if they were interested in choreographing a group piece. 没有确定的计划. 几天后, my classmate and friend Morgan Clune approached me and said, “I heard you’re trying to make something happen in the city this summer. 我也是这么想的. 你想和我一起组织吗?” Terrified of going three months without class, I happily agreed. mg游戏平台一起进行了头脑风暴, 进行学生调查, 会见行政人员, 写了无数的邮件. What resulted was the first-ever Juilliard 跳舞 Student-Led Summer Intensive.

该事件发生在8月份的最后两周, and all the participants were current or incoming Juilliard dance students. Each day consisted of three student-taught movement classes and concluded with rehearsals for new works by four randomly selected choreographers. Participants were given the option to teach a class of their choice, so the schedule featured everything from traditional Pilates, 瑜伽, 以及芭蕾舞技巧，以独舞和接触即兴表演为主, 当代, 嘻哈, 舞厅, 与时尚. 令人惊讶的是, this was the only experience many of us had had learning directly, 和专门, 来自mg游戏平台的同龄人. Although we are surrounded by incredibly talented people at Juilliard, we have barely scratched the surface of the potential knowledge we can all share with one another.

夏季集训以一场直播结束, in-studio showing of four new works by rising fourth-years Aaron Choate and Scott Autry and rising third-years Connor Freeman and Larissa Leung. 亚伦(他们)开始了这个过程, “not knowing what the hell to do” yet ended up choreographing a piece that “felt closer to me than any other piece I’ve made for stage.” 一百人排成一队, it began to take its final form halfway through the rehearsal process, 当Aaron意识到, 令他们尴尬的是, they had been trying to repeatedly re创建 a favorite moment by their favorite choreographer. “I prize uniqueness and individuality,” they said, “so I actually committed to trying to re创建 it. I cut some of the music and played it over and over and had the dancers swim in this environment that was, 在我的脑海里, 别人的. 但最后，结果却是我自己. Because as soon as you try to be someone else, you can’t, and you’re incredibly yourself.”

This meaningful change of artistic direction would not have happened without the generous rehearsal time given to each choreographer: a whopping two and a half hours every day. 在学年期间，工作室的空间很快就被填满了. 为亚伦, longer rehearsals meant being less distracted by the clock and scheduling constraints—and more focused on their work. “I had much less anxiety trying to get the piece finished and was just existing in this ocean of 创造力 and curiosity. 而通常情况下, 你还有一个半小时, 一周一两次, for three weeks—you’re in and out and screaming the whole time!亚伦说.

Time is such a precious resource in any artistic process, which is one reason Morgan and I were curious to see how the four new works would differ from the 跳舞 Division workshops during the school year, 当时间是奢侈的时候. mg游戏平台发现, 在最后的展览中, 这四件作品都经过了精心打磨, 考虑到两周的转变.

What began as a practical solution to a communal need for summer classes eventually became the first of what we hope will remain a longstanding tradition in the Juilliard 跳舞 community. Every day there was an air of excitement, joy, and discovery. Although one purpose of the intensive was to bring back the magic of proximity and touch after an unprecedented year of social distancing, we encourage future students to continue this program regardless of circumstances. 摩根和我发现了, the Student- Led Summer Intensive allowed us to pool our collective knowledge, 创造力, 和学习的天赋, 创建, 并成长为一个社区. 虽然这不是mg游戏平台想象中的夏天, it was by far the most impactful summer program I’ve ever been a part of.

Nicole Leung是一名四年级的舞者