Strebgate

Well we can’t possibly ignore the latest offstage dance-drama regarding Elizabeth Streb and Terry Dean Bartlett. For those who need a refresher:

Article 1

Article 2
My perspective on all this? Its difficult to say. Personally, I am obsessive regarding the health of my dancers and students. I willingly change choreography if someone has an injury or if there is no way for them to physically do the movement–in fact its called “Choose Your Own Adventure” in my class. Just make your way through that section and everyone join up at a certain part. Even in my own choreography, I never make dancers do the things that only my body and its weird construction/flexibility can do. In fact, I believe its the duty of a choreographer to step outside of choreography based on your capabilities to make sure you are creating movement for the sake of the piece. (Another class motto: Just because we can do it doesn’t mean we should.) Now, there is a time and place for extreme physicality given that everyone has signed on. No one who joins Streb is under any illusion that they are doing tai chi. The real question is Terry’s firing due to the supposed embarrassment he’s caused the company. I’ve met Terry casually and seen him perform and overall he seems like a genuinely nice guy. Obviously he could not have risen to be the associate artistic director without the respect and appreciation of Elizabeth Streb so his supposed, months-long behavioral issues seem a little far-fetched. So my opinion, I think that if Streb had not had all these big projects on the horizon it wouldn’t have been a big deal. I don’t think she would have worried about embarrassment within the modern dance world. But, off-Broadway? Money at stake? That’s when people suddenly worry about their reputations and start to run over anyone who gets in their way. I have no proof. These are just me thoughts.

July 23, 2007 |

Comments

Leave a Reply