June 2008
Heralded by The San Francisco Examiner as "one of the major artists of the age," Laura Dean is renowned for her work as both choreographer and composer. Her company Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians toured to critical acclaim for over twenty years, performing extensively across the United States, Europe and Asia. As an artist Ms. Dean is a woman who has seen the world and now lives comfortably in her North Carolina home. Yet she continues to live large as the celebrated recipient of this year's Samuel H. Scripps/American Dance Festival Award for lifetime achievement. Ms. Dean will be presented with the $50,000 award in a special ceremony on June 29th at 7:30pm in Duke's Page Auditorium in conjunction with the ADF's 75th anniversary celebrations.
When did your relationship with choreography and composing begin? Which came first the music or the dance?
I started writing music and choreographing for the very first work, "Song" in 1976. I was trained from an early age in both dance and music, and used to do both for most of my childhood. When I went to audition for the High School for the Performing Arts (NYC), I wanted to be considered for both the dance and music programs. I quickly became aware that this was not feasible and so I chose dance and music took the backburner. After I graduated I became a member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company. At the time I didn't dream of also being a composer. I didn't start doing my own work until just after I left Paul's company. In the early works I started out by using the sound of dancer's feet as the music for the work. I then transitioned to working with the composer Steve Reich and his musicians. It was not until 1975 when Steve and I parted ways that I moved on to composing my own work. For a year I went into the studio with a piano and wrote my first score for two pianos and six dancers who were also singers. That was the beginning of most of the composing for my dance company and my many collaborations with other composers.
How has your knowledge of composing influenced your choreography?
If one thinks about what the majority of choreographers do, they will discover that most choreographers take a piece of music that has been written by another person and they are already influenced by the music's rhythms, length and mood. For myself, I work more like a painter. I start with a completely blank canvas and take advantage of the great luxury of creating the music myself so as to decide the work's emotional ambiance and length. I also design the costumes. My choreographic process is rather unique in that the music and dance share one united agenda.
What was it like to receive your first commission from the American Dance Festival and how did this effect your company Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians?
At the time the dance field was turning a cold shoulder on the work I was doing and it was wonderful to receive a call from Charles L. Reinhart at the ADF. It was 1974 and I was working with two other dancers, but was stone-broke. I had no idea how I was going to continue making work. It was because of this first commission of my work Changing and the publicity that generated from its premiere that I was able to receive a wonderful grant from the New York State Council for the Arts. This grant led to the creation of Drumming, produced by the Brooklyn Academy of Music. This performance was what really put me on the map of modern dance. So as you can see, this first commission from the ADF was highly influential.
What is it like seeing your work reconstructed?
It's a delight to see my works reconstructed. Rodger Belman who was in my company for many years did such a brilliant job of reconstructing Sky Light with the ADF dancers last summer that I was delighted when he said yes to reconstructing Tympani for ADF's 75th anniversary season. Jason Cirker and Matt Spataro who were musicians in my company for many years also did such a great job of reconstructing the music last summer that I look forward to them and Rodger reconstructing Sky Light again for the Scripps/ADF Award ceremony.
How did you feel when you learned you would be honored with the 2008 Scripps/ADF Award?
ECSTATIC!
