Building a Dancer with Rosalynde LeBlanc

Rosalynde LeBlanc built her career dancing for some of the biggest names in dance. Today, she is Professor and Chair of Dance at Loyola Marymount University. Social justice awareness has always underpinned her work as a choreographer, which is why she creates pieces that are related to the world and not the mirror. During today’s conversation, she shares her perspective on what it truly means to build a dancer beyond just the physical. Tune in to hear the highlights of her incredible journey as the daughter of an accomplished dancer with Paul Taylor, applying to college early and completing her high school diploma alongside her studies, and her time dancing with Bill T. Jones that skyrocketed her career. She shares the story of being invited to dance with Baryshnikov, before burning out just three years later. Rosalynde offers her insights on doing the necessary inner work to succeed as a dancer before telling listeners all about her transition into the world of education. Tune in today to hear all this and more!

Key Points From This Episode:

·       Rosalynde LeBlanc’s first experiences with dance and when she really fell in love with it. 

·       Her mom’s hands-off approach to managing her relationship with dance.

·       Why she declined an invitation to dance with Paul Taylor. 

·       Her memory of Alvin Ailey’s death and the first World AIDS Day in 1989. 

·       Her experience at Purchase College and the social change that occurred while she was there.

·       The duet she performed with Bill T. Jones which launched her career. 

·       Her experience of being in the work and touring with Still/Here.

·       Being invited to dance with Baryshnikov. 

·       Her transition into education and sanctuary of the studio. 

·       The piece she is working on at the moment; Tomboy.

·       The less talked about shadow of success. 

“The other 50% of being a dancer is your psychological state of being and that shapes your body as much as all the other technique classes. So you have to deal with that.” — Rosalynde LeBlanc

Rosalynde LeBlanc is a Bessie-nominated dancer and the co-director of Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters. A former dancer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company (1993 - 1999) and with Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project (1999 – 2002), LeBlanc is now a professor and Chair of Dance at Loyola Marymount University.

Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters is streaming now as part of season 15 AfroPoP: The Ultimate Cultural Exchange. Audiences can stream it for free at worldchannel.org and on the YouTube Channels of WORLD (@worldchannel) and Black Public Media (@blackpublicmedia).

Connect with Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast on Instagram and Facebook

More info links from this episode: Movers & Shapers

Remembering Agnes De Mille with Elizabeth Ferrell and Jenna Rae Herrera

Today’s episode is a special one, where we look back and remember world-renowned dancer, choreographer, writer, lecturer, and director, Agnes De Mille. Agnes had a successful, yet tempestuous, career that spanned almost 70 years through the world of 20th-century American theater and ballet. We take a look at her through the eyes of Elizabeth Ferrell, formerly a member of the American Ballet Theater, and Jenna Rae Herrera, a principal artist with Ballet West. We hear their recollections of working with De Mille in the studio and performing her work, and we listen to their insights about how the course of American dance was forever changed by her. Stay tuned for a lively conversation about Agnes De Mille and her long-lasting impact; creating strong-willed American female roles. Enjoy!

Key Points From This Episode:

·       Beth shares a short (but detailed) biography of Agnes De Mille; Agnes in a nutshell.

·       More about Beth, her background, and how she became part of De Mille’s work.

·       Beth tells listeners about De Mille’s personality (both in the studio and on stage). 

·       Jenna talks about her background in dance and career at Ballet West.

·       Jenna tells us about learning her role in Rodeo and how it helped her grow as an artist.

·       The process of learning the Rodeo material (and hearing the narrative from Agnes herself). 

·       Jenna shares her experience learning work that was made decades ago (and translating it to her body and the company).

·       We hear Beth’s experience doing De Mille’s work, both the physical experience and the learning process.

·       Jenna and Beth reminisce about their time performing The Cow Girl in the Rodeo ballet.

·       Why Rodeo was set on ballet companies (as opposed to other genres of dance).

·       Their thoughts on why De Mille’s work has become timeless and why it’s still being performed today.

“She was really ahead of her time, there’s still a real push to nurture and push female choreographers and women’s voices [today] — and here she is in the 1940s choosing her own music, dancers, costumes, set designs, and was calling the shots.” — Elizabeth Ferrell 

Former member of American Ballet Theatre, Elizabeth Ferrell emerged as a major interpreter of the works of Agnes de Mille, having performed leading roles in De Mille’s Rodeo, 3 Virgins and a Devil, The Informer, and Brigadoon.

Jenna Rae Herrera is a Principal Artist with Ballet West in Salt Lake City and made her debut last year as The Cowgirl in Agnes de Mille’s Rodeo.

Connect with Movers & Shapers: A Dance Podcast on Instagram and Facebook

More info links from this episode: Movers & Shapers