Serendipity, some say. Inspiration, say others. A feeling of belonging. Intimacy. Support. Inclusivity and openness. A magical experience. Like coming home. Unmatched and overwhelming in the best way. The bomb-diggity. There really is nothing like it! It is still the way it was 30 years ago!
If you aren’t one of the 1,300 artists or more than 40,000 audience members who’ve experienced the exuberant performances at Built on Stilts over the past 30 years, these accolades might strike you as over-the-top. Otherwise, you know they barely scratch the surface.
The festival is the brainchild of Abby Bender and Anna Luckey, dance majors from Bard College. Its origin story is almost as whimsical as the event itself.
Through family connections, both women were able to spend the summer in Oak Bluffs in 1997, a few years after graduating. They longed for opportunities to dance, so they decided to pull together something close to home. Very close to home. Bender recalls, “We were sitting on the porch and looked [across the street] at Union Chapel and thought, ‘How about right here?’”
They found the sexton in the phone book; he lived right across from them, so they went over and signed a contract at his kitchen table. It was a propitious start to whatever it was that was about to happen.
They put up posters inviting anyone interested to join them; that initial event lasted just one night, and featured eight dancers. But it immediately garnered so much interest that within three or four years, it had expanded into a multi-day festival accommodating everyone who wanted to join in on the fun. And now, for 30 years, the event has sustained the collectivist ethos of an earlier era, even as the Vineyard has become a place of increasingly high prices and exclusivity.
Literally anyone of any age, experience, or skill level can perform in Built on Stilts, in whatever format they wish to — dances of all genres, music, comedy, mime, performance art — as long as there’s no swearing or nudity, and it doesn’t run over seven minutes. Every show since Day 1 has begun with a drumming circle to warm up, and a typical year can include drag, tap, hip-hop, ballet, modern dance, jazz, poetry, singer-songwriters, structured improv, audience participation, line-dancing senior citizens, and adorable kids. “The broader it is, the more fun it is,” says Bender. “It’s not about being wowing and super-professional.”
All performers are responsible for their own rehearsals, costumes, props, and music; Bender doesn’t even see any piece until tech rehearsal. Participants from all backgrounds adore the experience for its mixture of professionals, amateurs, first-timers, and seasoned vets.
Christina Reppert, who first participated as a child, is grateful that now that she has children of her own, the stage is still open to her. “[It’s] a performance by a non-hierarchical community of people with diverse abilities and gifts. Every individual and their piece is made to feel like it belongs there. The intimacy and support is a magical experience.”
Bender, who increasingly works humor into her performances, loves almost everything about the experience. When pressed, one particular thing stands out: She gives the introductory spiel each evening, and so, “I often leave the warmup 30 seconds before everyone else — and I just sit back and watch, and it’s incredibly rewarding. I’ve never experienced anything quite like that feeling: the coming-together of our community.”
Over the course of 30 years, of course, there’ve been a few thorns in the bountiful bed of roses. But what starts out as a problem can actually add to the moment. “One year when the power was out, we prepared — the show must go on! We told everyone to go home and get their flashlights, and we had a boombox ready.” The lights came back on before start time, but still, the urgency of the moment added something to that show.
“Across Built on Stilts’ history, there are four people who’ve been involved every year,” Bender says, including fellow dancer Laura Sargent Hall, technical director Brent Alberghini, and drum circle leader Scott Hershowitz. “The drum circle warmup is an iconic part of the process. It brings us all together, gets our heartbeats in sync — and it tells passersby, ‘Hey, there’s something going on here.’”
Although the scope of Built on Stilts grew quickly, and has continued to stay strong, Bender isn’t interested in growth for growth’s sake: “I’m creatively ambitious, but I don’t think it needs to grow. It’s grown substantially over its 30 years and has hit a steady rhythm by now. It’s pretty self-sustaining. Of course, I’m always excited [when] there’s new work, and new artists engaging.”
Sargent Hall summarizes much of what the entire cohort feels: “Built on Stilts is a family that grows and changes every year, made up of creative performers … I am so grateful to Abby Bender for creating such a safe space for me to choreograph and dance for 30 years. Hard to believe it’s been so long! I remember the first show … we had no idea it would become an Island tradition.”
This story originally appeared in The Times’ weekly print edition and online and was republished online again for the magazine.