Now in its third year, the Life as a Modern Dancer Blog is posting new content as the 2014-2015 academic year begins. It is an honor to have dancer Sara Rudner be our first artist profile for the new academic year. - Jill Randall, Blog Director
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Photo: Nathaniel Tileston
I was born in February 1944, and lived until the age of 17 in Brooklyn, New York, not far from Brooklyn College. I attended Midwood High School from 1956 – 1960; I commuted for a year to Barnard College (located at West 116th Street and Broadway in Manhattan); I moved to Morningside Heights (Columbia University) in Fall of 1961 as a sophomore, and lived two blocks from my studies – no more long commute, no more late arrivals, and no more walking into exams after they had begun. Since then I have domiciled in 14 different apartments and lofts on the island of Manhattan when rents were as low as $35 per month in the mid ‘60s. At 70 years old I have deep roots in the downtown community where I danced, married, raised a son, commuted to my job as Director of Dance at Sarah Lawrence College, and most recently, lived with my beloved, late husband, Christopher Jacob Ritter von Baeyer.
I received a BA degree from Barnard College in 1964, concentrating in Russian History, and a MFA in choreography in 1999 from Bennington College. In between I prepared for my designation as a Master of Fine Arts under the tutelage of Twyla Tharp from 1965 – 1984, and explored and experimented on my own. As of fifteen years ago, I have had a steady “gig” at Sarah Lawrence College that pays the bills while it challenges and enhances my creativity.
While in college I earned money as a lifeguard at a mid-town motor inn that had a rooftop pool, and after graduation I worked in the office of a Bronx slumlord as a file clerk. I also did stints as an office worker for The Free Southern Theater and the Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation while beginning my adventure in dance with Twyla. In, or around, 1970 Twyla Tharp managed to pay dancers a decent wage that allowed us to share living expenses with others, or live in the cheap apartments that were then plentiful in the East Village of New York City. Twyla’s forward thinking, and an occasional dependence on unemployment insurance, allowed all of us to pursue our dreams.
Early years: I found dance early, around the house, in the school yard, and when I was nine years old, with Bella Malinka in the basement of a music school on East 29th Street and Avenue “I” in Brooklyn. Black cotton leotards, naked legs, soft slippers and then pointe shoes at the barre. A “mommy” pianist (her daughter also danced), whose birthday was a few days after mine, played Chopin Waltzes among other selections. When the school closed I stopped studying dance until I encountered modern dance at Barnard College, but I ran and swam.
My 20s: I was 20 years old when I completed my BA degree in 1964. I received my diploma one day, and was in dance class the next instead of beginning the job with the Social Security Administration that awaited me. I began my studies with Paul Sanasardo at his studio on West 21st Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan that he had established with Donya Feuer. Donya had decamped a few years earlier to Scandinavia to work in dance and film. I also re-visited ballet with Mia Slavenska alongside Paul and other dancers in his company. It was in her studio that I first saw Yvonne Rainer and Deborah Hay among others. Post-modern dancers found ballet. I spent the summer of ’64 at the American Dance Festival at Connecticut College, and danced in a revival of Pearl Lang’s “And Joy is My Witness.” In 1965 I decided that I could not find an essential connection to the dancing I was doing, and returned to college to fulfill requirements that would qualify me to teach in the public schools. But then I met Twyla Tharp through a neighbor, the dancer/choreographer Margaret Jenkins, aka, Margy. I left school and the rest is history. Twyla had already begun her journey, and I was fortunately destined to become a fellow traveler. My first rehearsals with Twyla were in her loft on Franklin Street, downtown NYC, on a soft pine, splintery floor. She suggested I bring shoes, so I brought a pair of saddle shoes. The next nine years were chock full of eye-opening artistic adventures.
In my 30s: I struck out on my own. I married, I made hour-long birthday solos, created my first dance marathon with Wendy Rogers, Wendy Perron and Risa Jaroslow; made and danced duets with the fabulous Wendy Rogers; formed a dance company, the Sara Rudner Performance Ensemble, made dances, toured in the States and abroad, taught in NYC and at summer residencies. I met Christopher Janney, sound artist, and began a project entitled “HeartBeat,” an ongoing collaboration. In the midst of this activity Twyla asked me to appear with her company again, this time as a guest, when I was available. An opportunity I jumped at. I did double duty working with my own group and dancing with Twyla for a few years, but after a detached retina landed me in the hospital on my back for two and a half weeks and many more in recuperation, it gradually dawned on me that creating programs for proscenium stages (the only work my manager/booking agent was finding for me), had never really interested me, but I was still interested in dancing/performing. So, I shut down the Ensemble and devoted myself full time to Twyla’s new work and repertory until injuries sidelined me at the age of 40. As I was rounding that important corner my then husband and I amicably divorced.
In my 40s: I married, for the second time, and had a child, Edward Eli Marschner. Raising Eli was perhaps the single most important event that helped me redefine my focus and values. I finally saw winter, spring, summer and fall in the playground, on my knees in the sandbox. I did not dance publicly for five years until 1990 until Wendy Rogers invited me to make a dance with her for presentation by Danspace Project. During this decade I also worked with Dana Reitz and Jennifer Tipton on creating “Necessary Weather;” danced in a revival of “Deuce Coupe;” I continued exploring the potential of “HeartBeat;” and made a series of solos for other dancers as well as group dances. At the end of this decade it became clear that my injuries needed serious attention.
In my 50s: I had a total hip replacement. Freedom of movement was once again within my grasp; another divorce and the necessity of supporting Eli and me (with help from Eli’s father) diverted my energies to salaried work in Theater and Opera, and finally led to my MFA studies at Bennington College under the guidance of Terry Creach, Dana Reitz and Susan Sgorbati. At the end of my final year of study, Danspace Project celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1999, and I was invited to participate in the celebration. I chose to create another dance marathon in 1999 this time featuring 20 dancers. I collected material I had been working on for a decade and invited working and former dancers to participate. I also became the Director of Dance at Sarah Lawrence College the same year, which made it possible to maintain my household. I thus began an adventure in education that became a source of inspiration and dancing collaborators.
In my 60s: Sarah Lawrence, Sarah Lawrence, Sarah Lawrence, more marathons in NYC, Dublin and Kilkenny, Ireland, Boston and Concord, MA, revivals of “Necessary Weather." Another hip replacement – more dancing and the joy of witnessing Eli begin to fulfill his potential and his dreams.
I am now 70 years old, planning retirement from teaching full time in higher education. I am dancing as I am now, as a maturing being, and enjoying it more and more. I learn new things every day technically and creatively through my current solo practice. But whatever shape my dancing takes, or will take, I remain devoted to Dance as a way of being and knowing.
Some answers:
In general, I look for individuality and passion in a dancer. I care for myself by getting by sleeping at least 7-8 hours every night, I eat consistently and well and avoid junk food (what one eats varies with age). I have studied T’ai Chi and Yoga, both of which have deeply affected my practice. Teaching is one way to notice what your values actually are, and the effort to teach can point out what you need to learn. Teaching also enhances observation, generosity and respect for others and compassion for oneself. Opportunities to work in higher education should always be considered as ways of earning a living and saving for retirement, but there are differences in institutions. In my case, Sarah Lawrence College is where I teach, but my performance and choreographic practices occur outside of the institution. The college generously rewarded me twice in fifteen years to pursue my creative work. I use a computer for communication and research, and I have participated in projects (HeartBeat for one) that use technology to enhance and define the process of creating and presenting dance. But, I have come to understand that we (ourselves, our bodies, minds, and spirits) are the original technology from which all else springs.
Twyla Tharp has created a thorough catalog with photos and videos of her dances. Although the excerpts are short they do represent work that I participated in. The New York Public Library at Lincoln Center, New York, has recordings of some of my work open to public viewing. I believe Twyla’s work is likewise available at the Library.
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As a dancer in my early 50s, reading about Sara's journey is comforting, challenging, and inspiring in equal measures. Just what I need heading into Year 16 of teaching dance to Berkeley public school kids, Year 17 back teaching dance, Year 30 teaching post-college, and Year 46 of dancing all together! Thanks to Sara, and especially to Jill for this proect.
Posted by: Valerie Gutwirth | 08/16/2014 at 10:09 PM