50% Off Action Plumbing, Heating & Air 40% Off W Lounge 40% Off 9th S Delicatessen Latest Blogposts TV Tonight: Parks & Recreation – With Louis C.K. HB497 Immigration Hearing Rally Set for Friday Book Review: EVERNEATH by Brodi Ashton Bill to Repeal 2011 Guest- Worker Law Defeated in Committee Shallow Shaft Wine Dinner What was your 2012 CWMA highlight? Concert review: Testament at The Depot Now a Dollar Feb. 17 Local music spotlight on national airwaves TV Tonight: Survivor: One World Latest Blog Comments POSTED // 2012-02-09 - POSTED // 2012-02-09 - 0 Like 5 likes. Sign Up to see what your friends like. GAVIN'S UNDERGROUND RDT: Charette by Gavin Sheehan This Saturday, we'll be seeing the return of the most chaotic and creative competitions you'll see all year: Charette! The annual RDT fundraising showcase divides up the company's 40 dancers between five teams comprised of two choreographers, who then create short pieces that must contain certain themes and other “ingredients,” to be performed on stage later in the evening. Audience members can check out the rehearsals and bribe judges with “funny money” to help any particular dance win or lose at night's end. Home / Blogs / Staff Blogs NEWS FOOD MUSIC FILM/TV EVENTS A&E PROMOTIONS CLASSIFIEDS CWSTORE Text to search... Search BLOGS OPINION BEST OF UTAH GUIDES VIDEO DIGITAL PAPER 55.5% Off 4 Hours of Cleaning The E- Edition: CW page by page converted by Web2PDFConvert.com
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50% Off Action Plumbing,Heating & Air40% Off W Lounge
40% Off 9th S Delicatessen
Latest Blogposts
TV Tonight: Parks &Recreation – With Louis C.K.
HB497 Immigration HearingRally Set for Friday
Book Review: EVERNEATHby Brodi Ashton
Bill to Repeal 2011 Guest-Worker Law Defeated inCommittee
Shallow Shaft Wine Dinner
What was your 2012 CWMAhighlight?
Concert review: Testamentat The Depot
Now a Dollar Feb. 17
Local music spotlight onnational airwaves
TV Tonight: Survivor: OneWorld
Latest Blog Comments
POSTED // 2012-02-09 -POSTED // 2012-02-09 -
0
Like 5 likes. Sign Up to see what your friends like.
GAVIN'S UNDERGROUND
RDT: Charetteby Gavin Sheehan
ThisSaturday, we'll be seeingthe return of the mostchaotic and creativecompetitions you'll seeall year: Charette! Theannual RDT fundraisingshowcase divides up thecompany's 40 dancersbetween five teams comprised of two choreographers, whothen create short pieces that must contain certain themesand other “ingredients,” to be performed on stage later in theevening. Audience members can check out the rehearsals andbribe judges with “funny money” to help any particular dancewin or lose at night's end.
Home / Blogs / Staff Blogs
NEWS FOOD MUSIC FILM/TV EVENTS A&E PROMOTIONS CLASSIFIEDS CWSTOREText to search... SearchBLOGS OPINION BEST OF UTAH GUIDES VIDEO DIGITAL PAPER
55.5% Off 4 Hours of Cleaning
The E-Edition:CW page by page
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Repertory Dance Theatre:Charette
Charette
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RDT
Charette
Reperoty Dance Theatre Before the events kicks off, we'll be chatting with RDT dancerand the competition's creator, Nick Cendese, as well as studiochoreographer and Charette judge Janet Grey, about thehistory of the performance and this year's competition, plus afew thoughts on local dance. (Photos by Mickey Hoelscher)
Nick Cendese & Janet Gray
RDTUtah.org
Gavin: Hello, everyone. First thing, tell us a little bit aboutyourselves.
Janet: For the last 30 years, I have made my living entirely inthe dance arts as an entrepreneur, teacher, mentor, concertchoreographer, musical theater choreographer, University ofUtah adjunct associate professor teaching jazz, tap, andmusical-theater dance techniques, guest lecturer, and nowserve on Southern Utah University’s National Fine ArtsAdvisory Board.
Gavin: How did you each take an interest in dance and whatinfluenced you to start performing?
Janet: My interest in dance blossomed as a pre-teen. I was
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fascinated with William F. Christensen and the Utah CivicBallet’s --now Ballet West -- magical presentation of TheNutcracker, and totally obsessed with the dance movementin the movie West Side Story. Remember, this was a NEWmovie in the 1960s! I have also been a fan of RDT for 45years, and remember watching and being inspired with theirfirst year of performances in 1966, and still inspired topresent day.
Gavin: How was it growing up learning the craft, and how didthe decision come about that you wanted to make a careerout of it?
Janet: While I was pursuing my science degree in psychology,I became passionate about jazz dance and musical theater. Irealized the advanced training I needed was in Los Angelesand New York. A few well-respectedteachers/choreographers I met in these cities encouraged meto pursue my choreographic ability. Thanks to theirmentoring, I have had consistent work opportunities.
Gavin: Nick, you came up with idea for Charette. How did theconcept for this show first come about?
Nick: I was stuck in a traffic jam with Nathan Shaw andNatosha Washington and we started talking about dance anddance-related topics. I mentioned to them that I thought itwould be really fun to do a dance version of Iron Chef with aspecial dance-related secret ingredient that severalchoreographers would have to use to create a dance. Theywould be shown to an audience and the audience woulddecide who the Iron Choreographer -- for lack of a better title-- was. We had so much fun talking about possible secretingredients and brainstorming who would be great ascompetitors. A few weeks later, when Linda asked for ideasabout possible fundraisers, I brought it up.
Gavin: What was it like for you pitching it to RDT and having itadded to the regular season?
Nick: Linda and the dancers were very enthusiastic about theidea. From the beginning, Charette seemed to get a lot ofpeople really excited, really quickly. I think, at its core, it’sjust a fun idea and a fun event that people really enjoy. While
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there may have been some worry or concern the first year weput it on -- what are we doing, how things work, etc. -- theaudience reaction and enthusiasm just seems to grow witheach year. I’ve heard many people say it’s their favoriteevent of the year.
Gavin: What was the first production like and what lessons didyou learn along the way?
Nick: The first year’s production was possibly the mostsimple form we’ve done. We have very traditional secretingredients. One major difference between Iron Chef andCharette is that on Iron Chef, each contestant creates dishesbased on the same secret ingredient. The judges compare twopeople’s use of the same thing to see who did/used it better.Linda felt very strongly that this wouldn’t work for Charette.She didn’t want to see five dances all with the same secretingredient; each dance had to be different. Over the years, thesecret ingredients have changed and gotten more ‘abstract.’We haven’t done anything with a traditional dance approachfor a while. I don’t know what the plan is for this year, but I’msure it will be fun.
Janet: Nick pitched the first Charette as a parody to the edgyreality TV show Iron Chef. He asked me to be one of the firstjudges because he wanted the ingredients of my sarcastic,brutal honesty and warped sense of humor on the panel --reality theater! What a great opportunity for satire with real-time non-edited dancer/choreographer successes,embarrassments, perhaps even the possibility of NASCARhuman-body crashes. I was an enthusiastic first judge, and Iproudly reign as the only judge to be invited back for everyCharette.
Gavin: For those who are unfamiliar with the concept forCharette, give us a brief synopsis of how the performancesare created and the work that goes into putting them togetherfor opening night?
Nick: Charette is an evening experience that allows you to gobehind the scenes and see how a dance is made. You can walkinto the studio, sit down, and watch the creative processunfold. No one takes themselves too seriously and, usually,the funniest or most irreverent dance wins. If you’ve neverseen the choreographic process in action, this is a real treat.
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You get to hear what the choreographer says, see what theydo with their bodies, how they coach the dancers, etc. On theevening of Charette, over 40 dancers get together, work withfive different choreographer duos for one hour and perform atwo to three-minute work. There is nothing like it all year –it’s a one-of-a-kind thing that can’t really be imagined unlessyou come!
Gavin: What made you decide to turn this into a competitionrather than just a showcase like other performing artscompanies have done with their own versions?
Nick: Charette is a competition in the very loosest sense ofthe word. From the very beginning, we knew that we wantedeveryone to get some kind of award. No one should go homeempty handed. There is no cash prize. The winners get small -- very small --medals. No one, to my knowledge, has everreally taken it seriously enough to put it on their resume orbrag about it to people!
Gavin: Janet, you're involved with the local dancecommunity in your own ways. Briefly tell us about your owncareer and the work you currently do.
Janet: I currently manage my 10-member Janet Gray Studiosfaculty. I recently completed a month-long choreographicresidency at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. Iam involved with local theater and just finished TheFantasticks at the Egyptian Theater in Park City, and MissEver’s Boys at The Grand Theater. I also adjudicate and dodance workshops for Utah Shakespearean Festival’s HighSchool Competition.
Gavin: How did you become involved with the judgingprocess for Charette, and what's kept you coming back everyyear?
Janet: I was a former jazz-dance professor of Nick’s at theUniversity of Utah. I believe he first invited me because heneeded my personality qualities -- “my bark and bite, tell itlike it is” honesty. Because Nick pitched Charette as a parallelto Iron Chef, my gimmick is to describe all the movementwith foodie terms. For example: As the dancers took theirposes and created the dramatic beginning, it was as if theyhad been marinated in savory salty brine. Their pulsating,syncopated movement was as if a giant whisk had begun toemulsify them into a wonderful, sticky cohesion. Why do Ikeep coming back? This is the best party in town!
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Gavin: As a judge, what do you both look for in theseperformances and in the dancers themselves?
Janet: I absolutely cheer the choreographer whounderstands their craft, dance elements and choreographicdevices. The tribe of volunteer dancers needs to understanddance techniques, have a highly developed sense ofimprovisation, confidence, spontaneity and great sense ofplay.
Gavin: As part of the evening's festivities, guests are given“funny money” to bribe the judges into voting for a particularpiece. How much of a role does that actually play in yourdecision making, and what's the strangest bribe you'vereceived over the years?
Janet: Bribery! That is the GAME! Remember, this is afundraiser, and corruption of the usual norms is fun andexciting. The strangest, most successful bribe I remember iswhen the nefarious Peter Christie was one of the competingchoreographers. Peter is highly competitive and arranged forone of his assistants to deliver an envelope bulging with cashto secure his win as “Iron Choreographer.” It worked!
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Gavin: Who have some of the previous winners been over theyears, and what kind of work have those people gone on to dosince?
Nick: Our most successful competitor has been NatoshaWashington – winner of Charette 2005 and Charette 2009.She’s told me that since her wins, she can’t leave the housewithout being mobbed by adoring fans. She can’t go to thegrocery store without being asked for an autograph, and heraward-winning choreography is currently being performedby the Bolshoi Ballet in Russia. I hope you get my sarcastictone!
Janet: One of the past winning pieces I remember was a piecewhose choreographic theme was “reduce, reuse, recycle.” Idon’t remember the choreographer, but the final dramaticimage was RDT’s own Chara Huckins-Malaret buried under amass of old newspapers. She became an organic Mother Earth-- or was it Medusa? -- rising from the trash, weaving,spiraling, and reaching for her spotlight.
Gavin: Who will be participating in this year's competition,and what are all your thoughts going into it?
Nick: I am excited to work with my partner in crime,Natosha, as one of this year's dynamic duos. I have such agreat time working with her, in ANY capacity, that I’m sure
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this year will be a blast. As they say at the Oscars, it doesn’tmatter who wins, it's just such an honor to be in the companyof so many great artists.
Janet: I am excited to meet and watch this year’schoreographers and judges. I am researching up-to-datedescriptive foodie terms for the evening.
Gavin: Going local, what's your take on the Utah dance scene,both good and bad?
Janet: Utah, and especially Salt Lake City, has a wonderfullydiverse dance-arts scene. Look at all the companies using theRose Wagner Performing Arts Center: You can experienceRDT, Ririe Woodbury, SB Dance, include Samba Fogo andother community dance programs. Then look at all theUniversity dance opportunities from Weber State, U of U,SLCC, UVU, SUU and BYU. We can also experience otherprofessional local companies like Ballet West and touringcompanies booked into the Capitol Theatre and KingsburyHall. We are saturated with dance arts. Who cares about goodand bad, just get off the couch, buy a ticket, and make yourown judgment!
Gavin: What's your opinion on other local dance companiesand the work they're doing to promote the art?
Janet: I appreciate the community-outreach programsoffered by our local performing arts companies. Theseopportunities expose elementary school-age children toanother realm of performance possibilities. Community out-reach provides the opportunities for students to experiencedance, theater, symphony and opera productions. It alsocreates a future audience base.
Gavin: What advice do you have for anyone looking to getinto professional dancing for a career?
Janet: My advice for anyone considering a professional dancecareer is to get a liberal arts education. Take care of yourinstrument -- body -- and diligently train your instrument. Becurious about everything, from literature to science. Pay
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attention, observe and interpret the rhythms in life.
Gavin: What can we expect from both of you over the rest ofthe year?
Janet: My motto and expectations for the rest of the year: Getup and go to work everyday because something wonderfulmight happen!
Gavin: Is there anything you'd like to promote or plug?
Janet: Here is what I would like to promote. GET OUT OFYOUR COMFORT ZONE, GET OFF THE COUCH, TURN OFF THEDIGITAL DEVICES. GO BUY A TICKET AND ATTEND A LIVEPERFORMANCE!!!
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