NEXT STEP: Choreographic conversation and interview with program coordinator Eva Stone
By Leah Terada
Each year, a small number of PNB company member dancers are commissioned to create a ten-to-fifteen-minute dance piece performed by Professional Division students at Pacific Northwest Ballet School. The selected applicants are free to create at their own pace, but the process of workshops and rehearsals begins in mid-August and culminates at a single evening performance in June.
Company dancer and fellow choreographer, Leah Terada, sat down with NEXT STEP Program Coordinator Eva Stone in November of 2024 to scratch at the core of the NEXT STEP program and peek at Stone’s pedagogy for this admirable choreographic endeavor.
Leah: As the program coordinator of NEXT STEP (NS), what are the foundational aspects for PNB’s longstanding commitment to the NS program?
Eva: Our art form is multi-faceted, but it’s common to pursue an entire career in dance without any choreographic training or opportunities. We need to encourage and cultivate creative voices beyond the technician and solo effort of stage performance in an effort to keep our art form alive and relevant. Without a program like NS, we risk overlooking a vital avenue of innovation and investigation. How do we know what we are capable of if we don’t give ourselves the opportunity to try?
Leah: What is the best part of NS, and for you; what is the program doing right?
Eva: What is right with this program is that it exists! It is funded, supported, and open to anyone in the PNB company regardless of their previous choreographic experience. It’s one of the greatest gifts an arts organization can give! It’s unique in the way it is mentored, and how it gives our Professional Division students a chance to learn from those they admire. It also allows the artist in the front of the room to gain valuable skills in how to manage and navigate that space.
Leah: Thinking about the switch from dancer in the studio to choreographer at the front of the room, what do you see unique in PNB company dancers’ perspectives as they step into this alternate position?
Eva: PNB dancers are working with new choreographers all the time. Each one has their own specific process and way of working. What makes a dancer valuable to a choreographer is their ability to be open and coachable. But working with a dancer that knows how the choreographic process works makes them invaluable. I had the great pleasure to host Crystal Pite in one of my New Voices classes. A student asked her what kind of dancer she prefers to work with, and her answer was immediate: she likes to work with dancers who are choreographers. She said they have an empathy for the creative process and do not hesitate to make artistic choices on their own, which helps her vision. NS gives our company dancers a chance to participate in these experiences, build a deeper understanding of the art form, and potentially make a huge impact on the next guest choreographer’s work.
Leah: Given a strong reverence for classical repertory and the preservation of traditional dance, what role do new works play in the future of ballet?
Eva: With all the challenges that dance faces (lack of funding, disinterest in an art form that is usually not understood or valued, inherent elitism, etc.) the need for new ballets is vital to the survival of our art form. We can consider how many dances have been made in the past 100 years, and we can recognize great works like Jewels, Revelations, Rite of Spring, In the Middle Somewhat Elevated, or The Seasons’ Canon, but then we must also recognize the thousands of brilliant dances that these great works inspired that were made by choreographers you have never heard of.
Leah: So true. And no work is truly created independent of the society and history it came from. In addition to serving as coordinator for the NS program, you also offer expertise as mentor and as a support system for new choreographers. In your role as mentor, you have designed four creative sessions for the NS choreographers. What is important to know about these sessions?
Eva: These sessions serve several purposes. They are primarily held to build a sense of community amongst those who are heading down the path to creating new work. We explore simple tasks that help the choreographers see the start of their process from new angles. We talk about how we see the process beginning, and what some of the expectations might be (for themselves as well as their dancers) as they pursue this new adventure. We talk about the highs and lows of the creative process, sketching out a path that will inevitably have many twists and turns, and try to create a map towards their own version of success.
Leah: What kind of questions do you ask choreographers to help them narrow in on the shape of their piece?
Eva: I want them to take a moment to envision the final product, even though that will ebb and flow over the months they work. But asking them to project an outcome may give them a sense of framework and structure to something they may not see yet. If they can say it out loud, it may give a feeling that this piece exists, that it has a goal or a purpose. I love the concept Michelangelo used when carving statues out of marble. He believed the perfect form already existed within the stone, and all he had to do was remove the excess. What if we could apply this same idea to choreography? Exciting, isn’t it?
Leah: Yes, it’s exciting to think that the seed of the final product has been organizing itself long before the choreographer even recognizes it! Are there principles or guidelines you find yourself repeating to choreographers as they realize their new dance piece? Is there a wrong way to make a piece of dance?
Eva: Firstly, yes. Have a seed of an idea, an A to B arc, a mission, a statement. And it doesn’t have to be epic. It can be simple. And if you don’t have an idea or arc, start creating and then bring someone else in who can help identify your arc. Every creator either knowingly or unknowingly makes a statement, but sometimes we need help identifying what it is. This is what NS and the mentorship it provides is all about.
Secondly, no, I don’t think there is a wrong way to make dance, per se, but I do think there are many ways to make the process harder for yourself. If you don’t have a seed of an idea, inspiration, research, or a structure or framework, it’s only a matter of time before you’ll find yourself in a tough spot. Working alone and not letting others into your process will make things challenging. Not asking for help when you need it can make the process difficult for you and for those working with you.
Leah: As a choreographer yourself, how do you receive compliments and criticism as it relates to your work? And perhaps connected, how do you define success in a new piece?
Eva: Audiences don’t understand how their response can sting, and it’s not their fault. Educating an audience takes time. The goal is to have them comment on the work, how it impacted them, what they came away with. This is hard to do as most have not yet learned how to respond that way. Most comments are about what was easy (music, costumes, the dancers’ skills, etc.) It’s harder to speak to how the work did nor did not change them. I love doing this kind of audience education and did it with the dance festival I produced for fourteen years. I do it with my students every week.
I usually say if I have just one person who comes up to me after a performance (no matter the size of the audience) with either tears in their eyes or an inability to express the emotions they are feeling, or if they immediately tell me story about something personal in their lives that the work pressed on, then my work was a success. It doesn’t always happen, but I’ve been on a pretty good streak the past 15 years. (It took me a long time and a lot of work to find this skill.)
Leah: So, if we recognize “success” in choreography as an individualized concern, in a program designed for innovation and investigation, as you say, how do you think about measuring the influence, impact, or accomplishments of NS?
Eva: The size of the impact doesn’t matter, it’s that you’re making an impact at all; THAT is the goal. And impact is subjective, and can be achieved through a myriad of responses (love, hate, jealousy, pain, beauty, happiness, etc.) but it is the sole purpose of art. It’s our raison d’etre.
Leah: Okay, if not about the size of impact, it sounds like this program is meant to celebrate the year-long study of having a feeling, recognizing it, formulating it internally, and then outwardly articulating that idea for another dancer to digest, embody, and then present. The NS performance in June is only a teeny tiny part of the work! Of course, it’s the magical 1% of what we do in the performing arts and it’s when choreographers get to share our meal of art, but you’re stressing the honoring of all the creation time that came before it. So incredible.
In these creative sessions you’ve talked about, I’ve also heard you say that NS can be a “healing” process. For our final thoughts, I’m wondering if you could elaborate on what you mean by this.
Eva: So much goes into saying yes to this program. And believe me when I say that I have been labeled as being hyperbolic more than once…but I strongly feel that dance heals and saves the world. By agreeing to participate in this program, you get a chance to say that you made an effort toward that healing. Something will happen to the choreographer, the dancers, and/or the audience that will have a lasting impact. There are many ways in life to do this work, but we have chosen THIS art form to do it in. And it can be done in a safe and supportive space, free to explore, learn, grow, share, and then put all of that experience out into the world. It sure beats many of our other wasted human endeavors…
Leah: I’d say! Though there never seems to be a shortage of excitement, support, and applause at the performances, it sounds like NS choreographers don’t get paid to put on a good show; they get paid to wrestle with and be vulnerable with themselves and their peers and I think this is an incredibly special thing. Though, if a process is intentional in the choreographers’ and dancers’ care and labor, it’s hard to imagine the product won’t reflect its depth!
I’m so glad you are fostering this NS program and offering choreographers your bank of choreographic wisdom, critical eye, and endless support. I look forward to hearing more from the choreographers in the next few months about their ideas. And of course, I’ll see you at the show.
Eva’s Call for Change
Prompted by the following question: Is there any language or behavior that you try to avoid in the rehearsal space? In what ways are you the change you’d like to see in the dance world?
“I don’t believe that bullying, condescension, intimidation, or indifference belong in the rehearsal space. This is not solely pointed at choreographers, but for dancers as well. Some (oddly) believe this behavior is necessary for the success of the piece, and it’s disappointing to know it goes on. I believe you can be kind, supportive, and maintain a high level of expectation and excellence in order to create work that benefits all involved. I have worked with many professional dancers who have thanked me for treating them with honor and respect, commenting that this is a rare experience for them. Although I appreciate the compliment, it’s heartbreaking to hear this. Dancers can equally have negative attitudes and be challenging to work with, allowing ego to get in the way of creative process. I’m not interested in this energy, and find I do my best work with dancers who honestly love their craft and have authentic respect for it.” (Stone 2024)
