When Andrea E. Woods Valdés, chair of the Dance Program, extended a residency to Juel D. Lane this Fall, she gave the choreographer carte blanche with his creative process. What materialized was an original work contemplating what dance classes will look like in the future and addressing how to maintain the authenticity that defines our individuality. “Discovering Your Voice: A Dance Class” debuted at the fall concert November Dances and featured eight student dancers: Michela Annamaria Arietti, Alyah Burnett-Baker, Indigo Cook, Leah Esemuede, Helen Pertsemlidis, Sadé M. Jones, Antonio Marrujo and Neha Rodricks
When sophomore Michela Annamaria Arietti learned Dance would have a guest choreographer, she gave the Internet a search to learn more. Traditionally trained in ballet at La Scala in Italy and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, she liked what she found.
“I’m currently exploring more contemporary dance styles, so I was excited because Juel’s style looked unlike anything I’d done before — and his dancers were mesmerizing,” she explains. “I thought that I’d just show up to the audition and see what happened.”
After a successful audition, Arietti concentrated on the rehearsal process with rigor and intensity.
“I never trained in modern dance at that intensity, and I definitely noticed a change in how my body moved and interpreted the choreography,” Arietti shares “It was challenging — but that was exciting.”
We sat down with the choreographer to learn more about his residency, the work created and the goals he set for the students.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Can you tell us a little about the piece?
“Discovering Your Voice: A Dance Class” is about finding and utilizing our authentic voices — even if you're not a dancer. In a way, this piece takes aim at the idea that while this is a dance class, it’s a bird’s eye view of a dance class from the audience’s perspective. While I hope that when people see this piece, they’ll recognize the typical dance practices, I also want them to explore what can happen when they allow themselves to imagine.
That personal freedom to imagine takes me back to my own childhood. As a young boy, I would sit in my room and thumbtack sheets on the wall to make little homes. It was a way for me to just escape, and I still carry that little boy with me. He reminds me that it’s healthy to daydream and imagine — and manifest.
What was your creative process like in the Rubenstein studios?
Every university is going to bring something new, but I always like the surprises that come out. I gave myself a goal to come in and be really calm and collective — and just play. I didn’t want to come to Duke with the mindset that “I’m going to do it this way.” I need a few hours to get to know the dancers, and they need to know me, too.
As I choreographed, I was strictly painting, and the dancers were part of the canvas. There were moments when I tried polka dots or added more blue, and then there were times when I added some seasoning. As those exchanges played out, that’s where the give and take between choreographer and dancers happened.
It’s always a joy for me when I choreograph because I have these beautiful artists who are willing to put their bodies through multiple things. That working regimen goes back to the dance classes where we’re working to shape what we want to say and how we want to present ourselves.
What did you hope the students would take away from this experience?
I wanted each of them to hear their inner voice — and trust it — and to be able to position themselves to know that they’re living, breathing bodies and their thoughts are important. I’ve learned in this industry that there are a lot of people who look alike and have the same dance moves. After a while, it gets boring, but it’s always refreshing to see something new.
Hopefully, the students understand that as artists, they formulate what audiences see. Whether they choreograph or continue to perform, they have agency to be themselves, and if they strive for people to leave a performance and say, “I want to know more about you as an artist,” that’s it.