This September marks the beginning of a five-year residency, consisting of three new works, with artistic and life partners Bobbi Jean Smith and Or Schraiber at Ballet BC. Smith and Schraiber have choreographed two previous works for the company including Obsidian and For Glass and are eager to step into this new role.
As resident choreographers, they look forward to deepening their relationships with the dancers, artistic director and entire production staff. “It is a real gift to already have a common language between all of us, of how we are going to make a work happen and come to life,” Smith comments on the benefit of a residency rather than a singular commission. Schraiber adds that this is an “elongated process which puts [them] in a completely different state of mind.” In this partnership, the dancers alongside Smith and Schraiber are able to foster a commitment toward growth, one that is less transactional and more about building something sustainable.
The studio culture at Ballet BC is one of the key characteristics that drew Smith and Schraiber to the company. Medhi Walerski, current artistic director of the company, has created a unique culture, one that is generous, fearless and curious. The artists are both committed to the physicality while also bringing in a sense of humor to the space. Schraiber and Smith both found this duality fascinating. The dancers have the ability to “just go for something and at the same time continue being playful and have heightened listening sensation. It moves me every time,” says Schraiber. There is a strong sense that the dancers are true team players. Artists who can both shine on their own and work together. Smith describes their creative dialogue as an ongoing process of “meet and elevate from all aspects of the production.” It is this duality that excites Schraiber and Smith to collaborate and expand.
Smith and Schraiber place the dancers at the center of their focus through all aspects of their creation process. At the core of their dance making is a deep sense of listening, leaving the ego at the door, and entering the studio with an innate sense of dedication and presence. “Medhi knows the company so well, so we are always curious about what he has to say,” says Schraiber. As the couple reflects on their time with Ballet BC thus far, they feel that the sense of openness in the studio welcomes their full artistic exploration. The dancers are eager and ready to learn, and each piece requires slightly different elements of their toolbox to be utilized. Smith describes dance as “a method centered around practice and repetition.” The more the dancers practice, the wider their skillset becomes and “the pallet becomes stronger,” Smith states. The couple is most looking forward to growing alongside the dancers and exploring where the work will take them.
Before entering the studio, Scraiber and Smith come prepared with what they call a “bank” of materials. They want to be ready to support a process that best suits their creativity. Both choreographers are deeply committed to cultivating an environment where the dancers have complete artistic freedom to thrive. “It is a lot of listening and moving toward each other’s strengths,” Smith comments. Smith creates work through filming herself improvising. She will often have a specific dancer or place in mind and uses that as the starting point. Schraiber leans more into creating set phrasework that can easily be taught to the dancers during the first rehearsal. Playing with different “concepts, textures and speeds” is often the focus of the research, he states. It is a daily practice for him, an ongoing stream of generating new materials.
Once in the studio with the dancers, a process in which the couple calls “transcribing” begins. They share different parts of their improvisation and phrasework, with the intention that the dancers will then “re-write” the materials in their own bodies. “They become the author of that movement,” Smith describes. Much time is spent editing, repeating and playing with tempo as this movement bank is created. Smith and Schraiber spend time studying the movement bank and extracting particular sections that are put together to make a piece. Living in a mindset of ongoing creativity and generation of movement materials allows the couple to keep their sense of creation lively and vibrant.
As Smith and Schraiber are set to begin their residency this September at Ballet BC, they feel eager to return to a familiar movement dialogue in hopes of creating something entirely new.
By Rachel Marchica of Dance Informa.
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