We asked Jackie about some of the challenges, opportunities, ideas, experience, and inspiration that make her appointment so promising …
Sometimes taking care of business can be a real art. The business of being a dance company can be an especially complex art, and it’s not just that someone has to take care of all of the business that makes all of the art possible. Every art faces challenges of course. But when your art involves making the creative visions of others not only possible, but practical, there is one additional challenge you face beyond what other artists encounter. You have to be all business.
The stakes are high when it comes to a dance company. A dance company is a community of people, and when dance companies close, an entire creative community scatters. There’s a commonplace wisdom gaining currency in the dance world that dance companies are obsolete, that the future of concert dance is small, independent, and project-based. At DancerMusic we see a lot of that, and we see a great deal of independent dance that is engaging, inspiring and excellent. But when dance companies close, some of what is lost can never really be replaced with independent, project-based choreography. Even with a medium-sized dance company of eight or ten dancers, there is a kind of large-scale pageantry. Some of that is from the larger stages where an established company is likely to perform, and from the more extensive light and score and costume designs their performances often incude. But some of it is just the larger dynamic of a community, the accumulated energy and engagement of dancers (and often of choreographers and designers) who have been moving together for years. It’s not easy, and often not possible, to replace all of that. So it’s important that somebody is creating the art that is the business of being a dance company.
That’s where Jacquelyn Smiley Robinson comes in. Last October, she was appointed the Managing Director of Deeply Rooted Productions, which is the umbrella organization of a great dance company — Deeply Rooted Dance Theater. Deeply Rooted isn’t just a great dance company, it’s a particularly resilient one; it’s been going strong for more than twenty years, despite consistently being one of the most under-appreciated great companies around. We asked Jackie about some of the challenges, opportunities, ideas, experience, and inspiration that make her appointment so promising, not just for Deeply Rooted, but for the entire art of being in the business of dance. Here’s what she told us:
I believe that it is a powerful tool for sharing and communicating across cultures because it is universal (all cultures have danced) …
Johnny Nevin: You bring a lot of accomplishments to your role as Managing Director of Deeply Rooted Productions — not only from your work in the business world, but also from your many contributions to the civic and arts communities. But there is something else that you bring to the role, which Deeply Rooted’s Co-Founder and Creative Director Kevin Iega Jeff described as your “passion for dance”. What is it about dance that you believe is so valuable, and so important?
Jacquelyn Smiley Robinson: I believe that dance is a wonderful and powerful vehicle for expression. I think that part of its power and wonder stems from the fact that it can be both natural and visceral as well as studied and refined. I believe that it is a powerful tool for sharing and communicating across cultures because it is universal (all cultures have danced) but still changed, and enhanced by where we come from, what we’ve experienced, what our cultural values are…
For example, I’m a firm believer that different peoples have far more in common than they do differences, but it’s the differences, that foreign element, that fascinates me, and some of those differences show up in the way different people dance.
Plus, dance just feels good. And when it is refined and studied and skilled it can be such a thing of beauty to observe… as it can be also when it’s just visceral and joyful.
Deeply Rooted has been fortunate to have a dedicated and passionate staff and committed board members …
Johnny: One of the most important areas in the management of a dance company is its financial direction — the creation and development of the structure that makes everything else possible. Can you tell us about this aspect of a successful dance company, and how Deeply Rooted approaches these important challenges?
Jackie: Successful dance companies have committed, long-term support from both institutions and individuals who value their contribution to society. That’s what we’re striving for at Deeply Rooted. We believe that those who know of us, have seen the artistic excellence of our work, and believe in our mission, such as the Reva and David Logan Foundation and the Joyce Foundation. These and many others, have become steadfast supporters of Deeply Rooted. Our task is to expand our reach and our recognition to attract others.
Successful companies are also staffed with smart and dedicated directors and financial managers and committed and engaged board members who have the ability to effectively manage existing resources and attract additional resources. Deeply Rooted has been fortunate to have a dedicated and passionate staff and committed board members, but we are honest enough with ourselves to note that we have room for improvement, and we are always seeking to learn and grow. Deeply Rooted has goals of building a reserve fund, and raising additional funds for growth, and eventually establishing an endowment. We are also committed to finding a home for the company, likely on Chicago’s south side, where we will have adequate office space and several studios for dance education and rehearsals.
… the markings of the African Diaspora are not only present in the movement that might draw on African or African-American rhythms, styles and traditions, but also in the story the choreography tells …
Johnny: Deeply Rooted describes its mission as ‘re-imagining and diversifying the aesthetics of contemporary dance’ by bringing together the varied traditions from which contemporary dance developed. These include modern and classical forms, but in addition, Deeply Rooted has always drawn creative energy from what you have called “the beauty and influence of the African Diaspora”. What do you think are some of the most important dimensions of that influence, not only for Deeply Rooted, but in the way it has shaped and reshaped so much of dance and music around the world?
Jackie: Over the past couple of months as I’ve watched our dance performances and analyzed our photos I’ve been intrigued with exactly that question. How is the influence of the African Diaspora manifested in modern and contemporary dance? Or more directly stated, “What is Black Dance?”
I’ve come to realize that the markings of the African Diaspora are not only present in the movement that might draw on African or African-American rhythms, styles and traditions, but also in the story the choreography tells, or the feeling it evokes. Those markings are also in the narrative the movement expresses, its themes.
The movements might contain elements of hip-hop, a twenties-style shimmy or shuffle. It might contain shaking hands stretched out to pray, a movement that expresses the suffering and wailing of a people.
I feel I haven’t scratched the surface in being able to explain why, but the influence of the diaspora is compelling, it attracts, it draws people to it. That is why it has shaped so much of dance and music around the world. Perhaps more so than any other diaspora. Think about the world-wide popularity of blues, jazz, r&b, hip-hop and rap music. Think about how that diaspora has influenced dances and music in Latin America. It’s just incredibly compelling.
It opens you up to experience different nuances of a culture. It allows you to listen harder and more intently.
Johnny: One of the perspectives that has informed your experience is your ability to speak other languages. What is it about learning another language that you find so valuable? Many people talk about dance and music as international languages, so it might be interesting for people to hear your perspective on the multicultural understanding that becomes possible when we succeed in getting outside of our own surroundings, especially outside of the language we grew up speaking.
Jackie: This is something I’ve been preaching and teaching on most of my life. Engaging with a different culture in its own language so enriches your appreciation and understanding of that culture. If you love languages, it draws you in to that culture even more. It opens you up to experience different nuances of a culture. It allows you to listen harder and more intently. It draws you in. In much the same way as I love communicating with folks in French or Spanish, I love dancing salsa, bachata, merengue, and African dances. It makes me feel I have a special insight into foreign cultures.
The cadre of dancers that have matriculated through Deeply Rooted’s dance education and personal development programs, and gone on to share their dance experiences throughout the country and around the world will continue to grow and make our company proud.
Johnny: What are your thoughts about where Deeply Rooted may be three or four years from now, or even further into the future? If everything that the Company is planning and imagining now becomes reality, what would the world of Deeply Rooted Dance Theater be like in 2022 or 2023?
Jackie: My vision is that the name Deeply Rooted will be as recognizable as Hubbard Street Dance and Joffrey Ballet. We will become one of Chicago’s foremost ambassadors for dance, and we will be world ambassadors for Black Dance.
Deeply Rooted will have a home in a facility that meets our needs for our artistic endeavors as well as our staff and administrative needs. It will be a dedicated space for dance with studios for rehearsal and teaching, and maybe even a performance hall. It will also have adequate office space for managing our company.
Our financial position will be strengthened by a solid reserve fund, and an endowment that provides additional income to allow us to continue to grow our offerings. We will be financially supported on a level similar to other major dance companies in Chicago and the country.
The cadre of dancers that have matriculated through Deeply Rooted’s dance education and personal development programs, and gone on to share their dance experiences throughout the country and around the world will continue to grow and make our company proud.
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Deeply Rooted Dance Theater presents Reaffirmed/Reimagined Friday and Saturday, December 13 & 14, 2019 both at 7:30pm and Sunday, December 15, 2019 at 6pm at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts (915 E. 60th St. Chicago, IL). The company will also present two special performances for Youth and Seniors Wednesday, December 11 at 10am and 12pm, also at the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts.
For tickets to the main performance series December 13-15, visit www.eventbrite.com/deeply-rooted-dance-theater-reaffirmedreimagined-tickets.
For tickets to the Youth and Seniors performances on December 11, visit www.eventbrite.com/deeply-rooted-dance-theater-reaffirmedreimagined-youth-senior-tickets.
For more information on Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, its artists and staff, visit deeplyrooteddancetheater.org.
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