Hometown: Moorhead,
MN
Current city: Salt Lake City, UT
Age: 40
College and degree: North Carolina School of the Arts, BFA Dance
Graduate school and degree: California Institute of the Arts, MFA Choreography and Integrated Media (age 38 – 40)
Websites: www.danielcharon.com and www.ririewoodbury.com
How you pay the bills: Artistic Director of Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, independent teacher, commissioned choreography
All of the dance hats you wear: Choreographer, Teacher, Commissioner, Curator, Arts Administrator
-------------------------
Describe your dance life in your 20s and 30s:
When I was 22 I graduated from college and decided to move to New York. I had the goal of dancing for some specific companies like the Limón Company or Paul Taylor. During my first few months there I auditioned for Dance Kaleidoscope, a regional dance company based in Indianapolis, IN. I had no intention of leaving New York but I was fortunate to get the job. After much consideration I accepted and moved to Indiana. It proved to be such a valuable year because it allowed me to transition from being a dancer-in-training to discovering what it was like to be a professional. I was given great opportunities and danced a lot and through this practice began the long process of discovering who I am as a dancing artist. While I was in Indiana I had was able to fly back to NYC to audition for the Limón Company. I met one of the company members while I was at UNCSA and this connection enabled me to attend the callback only. I was fortunate to get this job and then after a year in Indianapolis, I moved back to New York. I remember finishing a show on a Sunday, hopping on a plane, and starting with Limon the next day! I then began my three-year stint with Limón. While with Limón I was able to dance amazing repertory by some incredible artists past and present. I have such fond memories of all of my colleagues from those years and always look back on it with positivity.
While with Limón, Doug Varone came and set a couple of pieces on the company. I felt an immediate connection to his work because he asked us to be who we are as individuals and bring that sensibility to his choreography. This was very different than trying to conform to an ideal in Limon’s work. After years in a repertory company I was eager to work with a living choreographer who I felt had an important voice amongst the dance landscape. This seemed like a natural fit and when I heard that Doug was looking for a man to join his company, I decided to leave Limón and pursue working with Doug. It helped to have a relationship with him so I was already on his radar; we knew what we were getting into. I was invited to some rehearsals with Doug Varone and Dancers and eventually I was asked to join the company.
I spent the next ten years with Doug. He proved to be an inspiration and a major influence on everything I do today. Without that part of my life, I would never be doing what I am doing now. He was encouraging, challenged me as an artist, trusted in me, and believed in me. I felt so lucky to be around such and amazing choreographer and I feel so proud to be part of his legacy and continue his lineage.
I feel very fortunate to have had such an incredible dancing career, almost like a dream come true. But luck is only part of it. Yes, I had good timing and met many people but I worked hard and nurtured those relationships. I tried to stay true to who I was.
Daniel Charon (Doug Varone and Dancers); photo by Phil Knott
How you have paid the bills over the years:
I was very fortunate to almost entirely pay the bills by doing something that related to dance. Mostly my living was made as a dancer and I supplemented that with a lot of teaching. At first the teaching didn’t pay off but the more I did it, the more people started to attend so I started to make a little more money. In later years I also worked as a web developer because I wanted a skill that could bring in some income as I embarked on a freelance career. It was also a very mobile way to make some extra money.
What inspired you to go back to school for graduate school? What did you want to do, learn, discover, explore?
Graduate school proved to be a very important stage for my artistic development. I think it was really valuable to do this later in my career, after I had worked professionally for about 17 years. It really served as a time of growth where I was able to put my needs and desires first. This was different than dancing with a company where I put my main energy toward the organizations I was working with. It came at a good time in my career journey as well, after I had freelanced for a couple of years. I really saw it as a retreat and a time to concentrate and question my own work and what I was trying to say. It was wonderful to not have the distractions of the run around in New York. It felt like a stepped out of my real life and entered a time of reflection.
As a choreographer, what do you look for in a dancer?
I think work ethic and trust are as valuable as talent and ability. Someone who works really hard and is behind me is so important. I would rather have a healthy attitude in the studio than talent that doesn’t work hard or comes with attitude. I want a dancer to inspire me and tell me things I didn’t know about my own choreography. I want them to push me to unexpected places. I also think it important to have fun and enjoy the process so all of these things collectively contribute to that.
What are 3 pieces of advice you want to give to aspiring choreographers?
1-Make a lot of work.
2-See a lot of dance.
3-Seek a trusted mentor and artistic sounding board and actually listen to him/her even if you don’t agree. Then, do what you feel is right.
What are the key skills a modern dancer needs in 2013?
I think adaptability is important. The model of staying with one company for a career has shifted and there are a lot of repertory companies out there now. A dancer must be versatile and be able to work with a variety of choreographers. A dancer needs to be smart so they can pick up material quickly and retain it. Time really is money. A dancer also needs to be creative. A lot of choreographers work collaboratively with their dancers and don’t always give all the answers. They often look to the dancers to generate material or to participate in exploratory improvisations. Find your own voice and believe in it!
Daniel Charon, Erin Owen, and Ryan Corriston (Doug Varone and Dancers); photo by Phil Knott
As you begin your new role as Artistic Director of Ririe-Woodbury, what are you most excited about? How about balancing artistic work and administrative work for the company?
I feel so fortunate to join a dance organization with such an esteemed and amazing legacy. I come at an amazing time when the company is celebrating its 50th anniversary season. We are celebrating by acknowledging the past as a way to move into the future. I have been given the opportunity to lead this new vision and direction by both creating my own work as well as commissioning choreographers that represent the current dance landscape. I am so excited to give some of these choreographers an opportunity to continue their own creative explorations and bring their vision to the Salt Lake City community, a thriving arts landscape. As far as administrative work goes I am definitely learning to juggle this with my creative work. I’ve realized I need to give myself space to think about my work but the administrative work is actually creative as well. It’s wonderful to have a team around me. We work together, supporting each other as we continually embark on this important mission of bringing dance to the world.
Final advice to young dancers:
Stay creative, hungry, and passionate. Meet a lot of people. Be nice and be generous. Work hard. Things can take time so be patient. Stay open to opportunities even if they take you to unexpected places; there is dance everywhere. Support your peers. Don’t think you know everything. If you like a company or an artist, go to their workshop. Most importantly, be yourself; don’t try to be anyone you’re not.
Comments