INTERVIEW: Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre ready to raise funds at White Night 2017
Although the mission of the night will be raising money, Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre’s White Night 2017 will be about more than the dollars and bottom line. Showcased that night will be a preview of Selwyn’s latest work, Refuge, a piece that looks at personal refuge, transformation and enlightenment.
The dance company, under the leadership of choreographer Selwyn, addresses social norms and values, raising questions about them and challenging their permanence in society. One of the company’s goals is to “magnify humanity through dance,” and gala attendees at White Night 2017 should have a chance to see this ambitious initiative in practice.
The gala takes place Saturday, April 8 at 7 p.m. at the Reflections Center for Conscious Living & Yoga at 224 E. 24th St. in New York City.
Recently, Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Selwyn about the fundraiser and what audience members can expect in the future from the company. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What can audience members and donors expect at White Night 2017?
White Night 2017 will be an experience for all of the senses. There are short performances throughout the evening in the studios on the lower level — previews of Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre’s developing work Refuge. The evening also includes a small plate tasting dinner with different bites introduced throughout the evening. Two plates will be created by celebrity chefs that were featured on Food Network Star Kids, Master Chef Junior and Chopped Junior; these lively young stars will also be sharing brief cooking demonstrations as their dishes are presented.
We will have interactive teaching demonstrations throughout the evening that showcase the work we do in the public schools in the studios as well, a silent auction with theater and dance tickets, spa indulgences, restaurants, and more, delicious wine and cocktails, a video installation, an honoree presentation for company sound designer Joel Wilhelmi, and live piano music, all in the intimate atmosphere of Reflections Yoga Center. It will be an opportunity to get to know the artists of the company and celebrate that even in this tumultuous political climate, we can ensure that the arts not only survive, but also thrive.
How important are these fundraisers for the company and its bottom line?
Our annual gala — White Night — is critical to the cultivation of our community, board, network of volunteers and ongoing patrons. Obviously, events cost money to put on, so it is always a challenge to exceed the expenses and meet our fundraising goals. But we always walk away ahead because we undoubtedly cultivate new supporters with each event we put on. Fundraisers are also vital for our friends and patrons to experience the full scope of our programming, get to know the artists and board, and feel more connected to the work of the organization.
How long has Refuge been in development?
Refuge has been in development for just over one year. We have performed excerpts at festivals and studio showings as well as several of our school partners. The finished work, which will include scenic and costume design my Anna-Alisa Belous, video projection by Zachary Ludescher, lighting design by Dan Ozminkowski and sound design by Joel Wilhelmi, will premiere in October of 2017 at Mark Morris in Brooklyn.
Do you believe the company has achieved its original goals that it set out to accomplish some 17 years ago?
The goals keep moving forward as we progress from year to year. The company has definitely transcended the goals we set out at the outset. In the beginning, my interest was in cultivating my choreographic work and process, developing a body of work and a community of artists. This evolved over time to bring in my educational work and pedagogical approach as the company developed its two divisions — Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre and Notes in Motion Outreach Dance Theatre. At present, my goals are to find more opportunities to perform and have my work presented, including more touring and residency work, to continue to refine and develop the repertory, and to engage diverse audiences in immediate and evocative choreography.
Why do you believe it’s important to ‘challenge social norms and values’ through dance?
The abstraction of modern dance gives audiences opportunities to make their own meaning. I think it is vital to present work which offers in-roads to this dialogue, setting up imagery, emotion and character in a way that incites the imagination of the viewer.
I like to raise questions through my work, and I do this by bringing many questions to the process. I ask the dancers to relate personally to the material by contributing to the movement vocabulary. In this process of raising questions and energizing the audience’s imagination for meaning-making, my goal is to reflect a mirror back upon them. This mirror ‘challenges social norms and values’ by shedding light on the experience of the now, creating images that relate to how we connect to our world, our community, each other and ourselves.
These images undoubtedly are filtered through the norms of the culture we are living in. As a New Yorker, the magic and relentless energy of this city is resonant in every piece I create. I think it is important to live in this dialogue of self-reflection so that we learn to understand our choices, and how each choice we make contributes to the social norms and values of the moment.
I do not like to do any of this with a heavy hand — in fact, challenge is a word that can be interpreted in many ways. I aim for my choreography to challenge us all to be present and to bear witness to the humanity that brings us all together while celebrating our stories that are always unique.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre will present White Night 2017 Saturday, April 8 at 7 p.m. at Reflections Center for Conscious Living & Yoga at 227 E. 24th St. in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
