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Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
July 21 - July 27, 2005 Edition
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Dance:
Energy plus - Lois Welk, artistic director of The Yard July 21, 2005 By Wendy Arnell Brophy
Ms. Welk had never been to the Island, but this spirited lady didn’t let that bother her. She applied for the position and the rest is history. Her tenure began in 2003, on her birthday, April 9. Although no novice to the world of dance administration — she is a self-taught grant writer and administrator for many dance organizations and feels that administration is an art form itself — Ms. Welk viewed the position at The Yard as a new challenge. The Yard was the first dance colony in America and now is one of a very precious few in this country. It is unique in that it not only offers a place to work and perform, it also offers housing and a beautiful setting for artists to grow creatively. “I’m absolutely thrilled to be here,” Ms. Welk said. Taking creative risks “Modern dance is not the first choice of American audiences,” Lois said. She explained that communities sponsoring dance performances want to know the exact nature of a piece, its length, and what music will be used. “In most instances communities do not like taking risks.” When Patricia Nanon created The Yard it was so dancers and choreographers would take risks, would grow and would spread their wings in unorthodox ways. The Bessie Schönberg Residency is a prime example. This program, open to dancers and choreographers from all over the country, brings four choreographers and eight dancers who have not worked together before to The Yard for a four-week period. The fruits of this year’s residency will be presented at the Yard this weekend, Thursday through Saturday. Auditions are held in New York City 16 months before the residency begins. These chosen dancers and choreographers come together to create something new, try a different style, or explore new music. Whatever they have in their creative minds can be brought forth in this open atmosphere. The participants in the residency have free access to lighting designers, a stage especially constructed for dance, a costume budget of $400, and a small stipend along with housing. Becoming a dancer Lois Welk knows from personal experience how this free time can make or break a dancer or small company. For all her other talents she is a dancer and choreographer as well as an administrator. As a child she took the usual dance lessons — tap, ballet, and jazz — but never thought much more of it until she went to college at the University of Buffalo (UB). Gym, a required course in her first year, led her to a class in modern dance with Billie Kirpich. Kirpich taught the Martha Graham technique and “I went to it like a moth to the light,” Ms. Welk laughed. Although there was hardly anything that resembled professional dance at UB back then, Billie Kirpich, a mover and a shaker according to Ms. Welk, brought in a very special solo artist, Daniel Nagrin. After watching a performance of Nagrin’s “Peloponnesian War,” based on the disastrous conflict between Athens and Sparta (which he saw as a parallel to the United States involvement in Vietnam) Ms. Welk could hardly contain herself. In her excitement at discovering that dance could have social impact in the world, she ran laps around the large green lawn in front of the theater after the performance. Now her life had focus! While at college she took only essay finals in her independent studies course, so she had time to go into New York City where she studied with her mentors, Daniel Nagrin and Richard Bull. Every Thursday there was a dance concert in the city where new choreographers could test their skills. Each week Ms. Welk had something new to present and to have critiqued. Sometimes it was good, sometimes not, but it was a chance to create, to perform and to listen to her mentors. Creating a life in dance Welk found a new love, Contact Improv, which she had learned from creator Steve Paxton. Contact Improv is a fluid form of dance that allows one person to listen, silently, to the other, so the two blend their movements without either being the leader. In New York City, Ms. Welk offered a two-week course in this type of slow, mirror-image dance to fellow dancers Arnie Zane and Bill T. Jones. They were her only students, which worked to the trios’ advantage. The three became friends and moved into a large warehouse in upstate New York where they worked, performed, and lived. Ms. Welk’s first company, which she co-founded with Arnie Zane, Bill T. Jones, and Jill Becker, was called American Dance Asylum. Ms. Welk has always been a dancer, unlike most dancers who must take waitress jobs or other such work to pay the rent. Ms. Welk says time she spent working with Arnie and Bill were some of her “most treasured moments.” (Arnie Zane died of AIDS in 1988, but the company name remains: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Co. with Jones as director.) Ms. Welk’s choreography is site specific, environmentally specific. She blends her works with her surroundings to make the pieces come alive. Each of her administrative endeavors has evolved in the same manner; special care is given to each project. Before coming to The Yard, Ms. Welk has been director of 171 Cedar Arts Center in Corning, New York; New York State Dance Force; headed up 14 arts projects and has received the New York State Governor’s Arts Award; fellowships from Creative Artists in Public Service; a National Endowment for the Arts award for her choreography and has choreographed over 35 original dance works. Her energy is boundless and will ensure a continued growth at The Yard, a place that for the past 32 years has brought emerging young choreographers and performers not only to the Island, but also to the forefront of the dance world. Lois Welk’s life is about art, particularly dance in all its many guises. “The work of artists is a critical part of our society, artists should be valued,” says Ms. Welk. “Every artist deserves a shot at the American Dream — home ownership and health care. Without culture there is little to distinguish us from animals.” The Yard, off Middle Road, Chilmark. Among the highlights of the 2005 season is this weekend’s Bessie Schonberg Residency Premieres and the gala “In Honor of You, George,” several evenings of dance envisioned by Carly Simon, inspired by the music of George Gershwin and featuring choreography by Wendy Taucher, coming in early August. Other summer performances will highlight the work of Yard dancers and choreographers. The Yard also offers a busy schedule of community dance classes, young people’s activities, and special events. For more information, call 508-645-9662. Wendy Arnell Brophy, a freelance writer currently living in San Francisco, is a former Calendar editor of The Martha’s Vineyard Times. |
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