Critical Correspondence

University Project: Jana Feinman, Director, Hunter College Dance Program

in conversation with Maura Donohue

Interview: 04.07.09

Maura Donohue: I really enjoyed the work that Camille King and Nicole Wolcott both made for your students at the recent Hunter Spring Dance Concert. How do you bring in artists for your repertory class?

Jana Feinman: The repertory class is a special opportunity for our junior and senior students to learn from choreographers who have already achieved some success in the dance world. When we invite a choreographer to teach this class, someone whose work will be challenging for our students, we basically ask them to recreate or create a piece that is no more then ten minutes in length. The artist selects by audition a minimum of seven students to perform the completed work. They rehearse the students twice a week in two hours sessions for six weeks, and provide the music and lighting design for the work. We trust the artist to treat our students with respect and be committed to the process. Each semester we try to vary the experience both aesthetically and technically by choosing choreographers of many contemporary dance styles, from historic to cutting-edge, whose work will engage our students and motivate them in their own creative work. The repertory class is not a requirement for the majors but an elective but, as you can imagine, a very popular course for our advanced students. It informs the dancers in many ways: it teaches them about process, commitment, style, pliability, and performance. Afterwards, many of the students go on to study with the choreographer outside of college. If this course sparks passion in the students and creates a positive environment for experiencing more about process and performance, then the course is a success. Most recently we have performed works by Susan Marshall, Larry Keigwin, Mark Morris, Camille Brown and Nicole Wolcott. It is wonderful to offer our students the opportunity to work with emerging choreographers—those actively trying to build a career—as well as those who are recreating master-works of the 20th century. Most of the invited artists live and work in New York City so the stipend is often more reasonable than it might be for a university housed outside of New York. In cases where the fee for the choreography is greater than the grant money we are allotted, we can offer space grants in exchange for projects involving students. We are glad to be able to offer this kind of barter arrangement, as it creates a viable ongoing relationship between the professional community and our educational institution. For many years we have been fortunate to receive outside funding for the repertory class but have recently been informed that, because of the current state of the economy, the monies may not be available to us next year. If this is the case, we will have to approach the College President for support of this invaluable educational opportunity.

Maura: Your students also benefit from the various adjunct faculty you pull from the NYC community. How has your thinking about which artists to bring in to teach changed?

Jana: I am not sure that our thinking about our faculty has changed over the years but obviously the students have changed. When we hire adjunct faculty, we observe them teaching at other venues and then invite them to teach a class or two at Hunter. It is important to us to hire adjunct faculty who are skilled dancers but who are also sound pedagogs. Not every dancer is a good teacher, and we are truly interested in artists who are able to “teach” the students the “how” of movement and, during the course of the semester, involve the students in investing in their individual growth as dancers. Teaching a class over a semester is clearly not the same as teaching in a studio situation and many professional dancers are not aware of the differences. It is the responsibility of the full-time faculty members to mentor those who are new and provide leadership as master teachers. The adjunct contract is for a semester—it is not a renewable contract, but can be renewed often. In fact, many of our adjunct faculty have been with us for several years and the students repeat classes with them because they are so inspired by their teaching. Our faculty is eclectic in style and each one brings a unique and inspirational energy to their teaching.

Maura: You’re offering a variety in training for the dancers, which is so relevant today. Very few dancers work with only one company anymore. How else are you training them for a life in dance?

Jana: Variety is important, but the philosophy of the dance program is sound in its conceptual approach to teaching. In other words, the actual movement experienced in each class is different, but the conceptual underpinnings are the same. There are several ways we prepare the students for their lives in the real world. We offer a Senior Seminar, which covers a variety of practical life issues: resume and grant writing, arts management, professions circuitously related to dance like body work, somatics, writing about dance, etc… Artists from various organizations—DTW, The Field, and Pentacle—are invited to talk about the many services they offer. Every other year we offer a full-day workshop related precisely to preparing for a life in dance and how to navigate the world after graduation. We are also members of the DTW College Partnership Program, which offers our students a variety of opportunities for discussion and mentorship. Most importantly, our dance program has an open door policy—the students can talk to the faculty on a one-on-one basis to express their fears and gain insight into possibilities for their futures.

Maura: What do you want them to carry with them when they leave?

Jana: A sense of self-esteem, accomplishment and strong work ethic. We feel that our students graduate with the ability to be good citizens—independent creative thinkers no matter what profession they pursue. Specifically, in terms of dance, the creative element is a really important part of our program and the demands we place on the students in terms of process and independent work teaches them more than they could ever learn in a classroom and, we hope, empowers them as they move on in their lives. In technique, the training of the body/mind system we teach prepares our dancers as efficient movers who can adapt to any style. Lastly, we hope that our students carry with them a passion for their work and for life.

Maura: I’ve seen your students in action and they very obviously work extremely hard. How does this happen at a public, commuter school?

Jana: Our students miraculously manage to do it all and I am in total awe of each and every one of them. Not only are many of them straight “A” students, most of them work to support themselves, take a full load of general education liberal arts courses and rehearse several nights a week as well as weekends. I don’t know when they sleep or do their homework. Our expectations are high, and I think the students are aware of that and try to live up to the expectations we all share. The students feel really satisfied after their performances because they know they have gone beyond what they ever thought they could do and they can own their accomplishments. Recently, we took 20 students to ACDF for the first time and they felt a great deal of pride in their work and their education at Hunter. Overall, our students are amazing especially since it is so much harder for them to stay in school and succeed due to their outside responsibilities. It is for this reason that I developed our international touring program. Twenty to thirty students have traveled and performed in the Czech Republic, Mexico and Tobago as part of our cultural exchange, touring program where they had the opportunity to learn from other cultures and share their knowledge. These experiences will inform the students for the rest of their lives in ways that we cannot even imagine. Our strength is rooted in the fact that we are a team and work together to accomplish our goals.

Maura: What is your vision for the future of dance and this program?

Jana: We have recently proposed a three-pronged masters degree program: (1) a

Five-year BA/MA in Teaching leading to NYS certification in dance. (2) An MA in Teaching leading to NYS certification in dance meant to service those students who already have a BA in dance and who want to teach. (3) An MFA degree for artists who want to develop their work, and prepare for college teaching as a career. At the same time we are expanding our undergraduate program from 34 to 42 credits. Our five-year plan is to have our three graduate programs up and running and to make important revisions in our undergraduate curriculum designed to make the program even stronger. In view of this expansion, we have proposed a renovation project, which will include a state of the art studio theater as well as an upgrade of our current facilities. Included in our plan are new and exciting ways to interface with the NYC dance community. Living in the “dance capital” affords us opportunities that are unavailable elsewhere and it is our hope to make unique and meaningful partnerships for all of our students. We are grateful for the support of our college president who is working toward gathering the resources necessary to make our five-year plan a reality.