Inside John Heginbotham's Snapchat-like Creative Process
Back in 2012, after 14 years dancing with Mark Morris Dance Group, choreographer John Heginbotham ventured out on his own. Don't think of it as going solo, though.
Almost from the outset, Heginbotham has embarked on a series of fruitful collaborations with other artists, via his namesake company, Dance Heginbotham, and through a stream of independent projects. His creative partners have covered a range of talents and genres: illustrator Maira Kalman (in 2017's The Principles of Uncertainty), opera director Peter Sellars (for Girls of the Golden West, which debuted at San Francisco Opera in November), and contemporary-music luminaries such as Tyondai Braxton and Alarm Will Sound.
Here's What He Has To Say: About starting his company, his rehearsal process and why he's drawn to creative mash-ups.
Starting A Company He Didn't Want
"When I left Mark Morris, I very specifically did not want to have my own company. But I found I was happy to work with the same people, have them consistently on the road with me, evolving together, developing aesthetic ideas."
Heginbotham loves working with a familiar group of dancers. Photo by Janelle Jones, courtesy the Watermill Center
Coming Up With a "Band Name"
"We got a show at Jacob's Pillow, and they asked us to call ourselves something. We spent hours trying to come up with a name. I didn't want it to have my name, and I didn't want the word 'dance.' I wanted a band name, like Radiohead. But after talking to people whose advice I trust, I was convinced to call the dances exciting names, and leave the company name as something that people would understand."
Why He Loves Creative Collaborators
"I didn't know I'd be so focused on equal collaborators. And yet I've really welcomed that opportunity. If you're reacting to something—whether it's text, a piece of music, a painting—you can go with it or go against it, but there is something really solid to respond to. There are rules, and you can decide to break them or follow them.
"With Principles of Uncertainty, there weren't any rules. We were deciding what the boundaries were. It can become the opposite of liberating—just a free-for-all. Often those obstacles force you to make decisions that are better."
His Pre-Rehearsal Prep
"It makes me uncomfortable to walk into the studio with nothing prepared. I don't have to have everything—just something. Often the other people in the room will have the better solution to what I'm looking for.
"I really do trust that there will be a right answer, that there will be a solution—there's never been a time where we put a piece onstage and I felt, Wow, we had nothing for that little part."
Why His Snapchat-Like Memory Is An Advantage
"I forget things very quickly. I will make up a phrase, and I'll be able to hold on to it basically for the amount of time for someone else in the room to hold it. It's like Snapchat. I think it works to my advantage, though—it gives me an opportunity for some objectivity."
Inventing New Ways to be An Artist
"As the presentation of artistic work keeps changing, you see more nontraditional venues. Money is scarce, and institutions are finding challenges—but people are inventing new ways to be an artist. We're seeing all the other people doing the same thing, encountering each other—and collaboration is the beautiful, organic product of that."
If "Fosse/Verdon" whet your appetite for the impeccable Gwen Verdon, then Merely Marvelous: The Dancing Genius of Gwen Verdon is the three-course meal you've been craving. The new documentary—available now on Amazon for rental or purchase—dives into the life of the Tony-winning performer and silver-screen star lauded for her charismatic dancing.
Though she's perhaps most well-known today as Bob Fosse's wife and muse, that's not even half of her story. For starters, she'd already won four Tonys before they wed, making her far more famous in the public eye than he was at that point in his career. That's just one of many surprising details we learned during last night's U.S. premiere of Merely Marvelous. Believe us: You're gonna love her even more once you get to know her. Here are eight lesser-known tidbits to get you started.
Every dancer knows that how you fuel your body affects how you feel in the studio. Of course, while breakfast is no more magical than any other meal (despite the enduring myth that it's the most important one of the day), showing up to class hangry is a recipe for unproductive studio time.
So what do your favorite dancers eat in the morning to set themselves up for a busy rehearsal or performance day?
When it comes to dance in the U.S., companies in the South often find themselves overlooked—sometimes even by the presenters in their own backyard. That's where South Arts comes in. This year, the regional nonprofit launched Momentum, an initiative that will provide professional development, mentorship, touring grants and residencies to five Southern dance companies.
You ever just wish that Kenneth MacMillan's iconic production of Romeo and Juliet could have a beautiful love child with the 1968 film starring Olivia Hussey? (No, not Baz Luhrmann's version. We are purists here.)
Wish granted: Today, the trailer for a new film called Romeo and Juliet: Beyond Words was released, featuring MacMillan's choreography and with what looks like all the cinematic glamour we could ever dream of:
