There’s already been a lot of great Taylor Mitchell choreography on Chicago stages. In 2015, his work Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours premiered with DanceWorks Chicago at The Harris Theater, and that summer his equally successful All You Need Is premiered at Thodos Dance Chicago’s New Dances 2015. On Chicago stages and beyond; DanceWorks went on to perform Red Beans and Rice-ly Yours across Europe, and Thodos Dance Chicago toured All You Need Is as part of their repertory after its success at New Dances.
Mitchell’s latest work, a collaboration with composer Dan Hesler, will premiere next month at Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre’s extensive series of concerts for their fall series Alone / Together. We saw a preview of the work, and it gives every indication of being yet another imaginative, but carefully thought out visit to the colorful world of Taylor Mitchell’s creativity, but this time with an equally original musical score from Dan Hesler. We asked Taylor a few of the many things that you could ask this talented young choreographer, and here’s what we learned —
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Johnny Nevin: Can you describe Here Comes Treble a little, in terms of what the Cerqua Rivera audiences will see, but more in practical terms, like how does it start, where does it go from there?
Taylor Mitchell: Here Comes Treble is a comedic play of dominant personalities within a community of people. I drew inspiration, specifically, from how dancers must collaborate and agree within an intimate working environment. I experimented with abstract physical arguments in a comedic fashion to depict the processes of tension, conversation, and agreement. My goal was to parallel this idea with how music is composed, rehearsed, and harmoniously expressed within a live jazz band; which I catered to the mission of Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre. I don’t want to give too much away, but I think all can relate to this zany work!
“In my opinion, a choreographer cannot accomplish their ideas successfully without the earned trust, respect, and appreciation of their dancers. A developed level of transparency and sensitivity between the dancers and myself is a priority of mine in any process that I am in control of.” — Taylor Mitchell
Johnny: What about describing it in more creative terms, for example, what kinds of ideas are you exploring, and where do you think the creative inspiration for the work came from?
Taylor: As previously expressed, I explored dominance in working environments and even personal relationships. I enjoy studying clown techniques/physical theater in addition to my dancing/choreographing. I learned about the relationship of “high status” personalities vs. “low status” personailites in a clown course last fall and was able to explore this spectrum with my cast of Here Comes Treble. The idea definitely came from my experience working as a professional dancer and choreographer. You learn so much about group dynamics in such unique ways that most people don’t encounter. The challenge was to comedically distort and abstract these personalities using concert dancers.
Johnny: There are a lot of layers to this project. It’s a collaboration with the composer Dan Hesler, and it also involves setting a piece on your fellow Cerqua Rivera Company members. What has that been like? Harder? Richer? More inspiring? More random?
“I thoroughly enjoyed working with my fellow dancers of CRDT. It’s been a pleasure to learn with them and try new ideas. They’re very open to trying anything with me (tackling, screaming, clowning, etc.!); and this process has really tested them mentally, physically, and theatrically.” — Taylor Mitchell
Taylor: First of all, I have realized immensely how much control a choreographer has choosing music as an audio track. It’s such such a level of comfort that I’ve now developed a further sensitivity to within this process.
Collaborating with a composer is a different level of trust to develop, as I had music composed based on my ideas expressed in meeting with Dan Hesler. The music drafts were developed in conjunction with the process of the work, so at times I had to trust my instincts in new ways, not knowing the final outcome of the composition. Dan did an amazing job with his score and I am so thankful to have worked along his side; the majority of the piece has a time signature of seven beats per measure (this is rare to dance to!). I look at this new and rewarding experience as simply a different way of working- I find value in each process that I’ve experienced.
I thoroughly enjoyed working with my fellow dancers of CRDT. It’s been a pleasure to learn with them and try new ideas. They’re very open to trying anything with me (tackling, screaming, clowning, etc.!); and this process has really tested them mentally, physically, and theatrically. I am so thankful to work with such a respectful and giving room of dancers. In my opinion, a choreographer cannot accomplish their ideas successfully without the earned trust, respect, and appreciation of their dancers. A developed level of transparency and sensitivity between the dancers and myself is a priority of mine in any process that I am in control of.
“I think a choreographer’s job is to produce pieces of work that are original to their present mindset. Any artist is a product of accumulated inspirations mixed with their own original ideas — I guess you could call it artistic bartering that is turned into something original.” — Taylor Mitchell
Johnny: You started choreographing very early in your career, and several of your works have already been very popular, very well received, and widely performed. What do you think makes Choreography good? Maybe put another way, what do you think that a choreographer should be trying to do?
I think a choreographer’s job is to produce pieces of work that are original to their present mindset. Any artist is a product of accumulated inspirations mixed with their own original ideas — I guess you could call it artistic bartering that is turned into something original. Specifically to my work, I ask myself if what I’ve developed keeps myself interested. I think a choreographer should be able to dissect and edit their work based on this concept. “Am I interested in what’s happening?” Then I allow that answer to be the deciding factor of guiding, developing, and editing the outcome of a work in progress. I don’t care to entertain an audience, though someone may perceive my work as entertaining; I just aim to keep audiences interested and curious.
Johnny: What original choreography work that you’ve seen (ever) would you most enthusiastically tell somebody to go see tonight if they could?
Taylor: I would definitely say the “Six Dances” from Jiri Kylian’s Black and White Ballets. Kylian is one of my favorite choreographers, because he knows how to completely change the atmosphere of a theater through every piece of work he creates. He pays such close attention to every detail on stage from lighting, precision, original movement vocabulary, theatrics/ humor. and more! I’ve seen Hubbard Street present a complete evening of his work and I was jaw dropped. I have not seen “Six Dances” live- only over the internet. It’s one of the most brilliant pieces of choreography I have ever seen and dream of seeing it live.
“Dan did an amazing job with his score and I am so thankful to have worked along his side; the majority of the piece has a time signature of seven beats per measure (this is rare to dance to!). I look at this new and rewarding experience as simply a different way of working- I find value in each process that I’ve experienced.” — Taylor Mitchell
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Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre’s fall concert series Alone / Together opens at Links Hall for performances October 5th, 6th and 7th at 7PM, with a 3PM show on the 7th, is at Evanston’s beautiful Studio5 on October 13 at 7:30, and again at Logan Center for the Arts on October 21st at 7:30pm.
