We continue our look at the history of the iconic Dove ballet, “Vespers” created on DCDC and premiered in 1986. In this installment we read the words of Ivye Wright Arnold and Dawn Wood-Carter. Pay special attention to what Dawn writes – she has been asked again and again to restage the ballet on many dance companies. Her recall and attention to detail are phenomenal and, therefore, well suited to the task.
Ivye LaTanya Wright Arnold and Dawn Wood-Carter Interview
How did Dove begin: what were the first rehearsals like?
When Dove walked into the studio, we knew it was time to be on pointe and you better be warmed up. He came in ready to get down to business….bam!!!!
Extremely intense!!! We knew the rehearsals would be tough because he had come and taught some classes, which were easily 2 + hours and HARD!!!!
He began angry, because the ballet he planned to create with 3 men and 3 women had to be sidelined because DCDC was losing most of its men. He was ready to jump ship, but Mr. Ailey told him to ‘suit up’ in essence. If he was going to be a choreographer, he would have to learn to work in all conditions- good and bad. This would be his first ‘real’ challenge, now create.
When and how did the work arrive at 6 women?
There were 7 women in the studio. Evette was in the working process, while Sheri was on the
side, working the music- due to injury. She had sustained a rib injury during our final
performance, the weekend prior to rehearsals with Dove. She did not stay on the side long and
Evette began working the music. Evette was not returning for the upcoming season anyway.
So, it made sense to use the ladies who would be returning. In the beginning, I think he was
throwing stuff against the wall to see what stuck and what didn’t. I am not sure if the number
was there from the beginning or as we moved along, it just worked out that way.
When and why were chairs introduced? Did initial movement explorations involve chairs?
I vaguely remember there being chairs lined up against the wall in the studio. We were in the
Memorial Hall studio at that time, and he started ‘messing’. He told everyone to grab a chair.
Then he had us line up six chairs on the other side. I don’t really remember how things
progressed.
I seem to recall discussions of lit candles placed under the chairs, and or balloons. Does anyone
else remember this?
I do, but we had already set some of the work and I was wondering how lit candles were going
to work in the midst of all of the craziness. We were knocking chairs over left and right!!! So
glad that idea went out the window!!!
Were there other music choices? Did Dove begin working with the Mikel Rouse music? Was the
music introduced at some later point in the process?
After being chewed out by Mr. Ailey, he came in the next day, and he referred to some music
Judy (Jamison) had him listening to and it was the Mikel Rouse music.
How early in the process was the idea of an evening church service (Vespers) introduced?
I think the early church service was introduced from the very beginning. He spoke a lot about
his Grandmother and the time he spent with her. It would always intrigue him of what
happened behind closed doors in those church services. To me, it sounded more like a Baptist
Church verses Methodist which is what I grew up in.
He began referencing his grandmother and her contemporaries pretty early. I think as the
movement evolved, so evolved the story. Remember, this was a complete blank canvas, so to
watch it develop was interesting- even being in the midst, we knew something special was
happening.
What stories did Dove tell you about those church services that he commemorates in Vespers?
He mentioned what he thought occurred behind closed doors, but no one really knew.
I remember him talking about living in the south and spending all day Sunday in church. He
talked about leaving church to go home for dinner and then coming back. He talked about the
‘older’ ladies going upstairs to another room. He says he had no idea what they did up there,
so he allowed his imagination to run wild, and Vespers was the outcome!
Before Dove began his Vespers residencies, what other experiences did you have with him?
I didn’t have any other experiences with Dove, except I would notice he would pop up in
different cities for our performances.
He came to Dayton two or three times to teach master classes and they were HARD!!!!! He
came to many of our tour dates to watch us perform. Before all of that, he had come to Dayton
to guest with Donna on our concert a time or two.
Talk about Dove’s methods of choreographing, demonstrating, and teaching?
He was a very involved and intense choreographer and teacher. He was still able to do a lot of
his choreography, so we knew what he wanted, pretty much at all times. He was very vocal, so
a lot of sounds accompanied his movement to give you the type of intensity he wanted for the
movement. I found him to be the same way as a teacher. He was extremely particular. You
could not fake your way through his choreography nor his class.
His rehearsal was a three-hour period, but extremely intense and highly focused! FOR 30 DAYS
STRAIGHT!!!!!
Did movement spring from him fully realized or did he take time to edit his ideas? A combination
of both approaches?
I think it was a combination of both approached. He gave you the movement but yet gave you
room to make it your own. He had already studied each individual dancer and our
personalities.
I believe a combo of both. When I think about the duet with Debbie and me- he would come in
with movement, and if he felt the need to tweak, he would. But we could not ask for any
revisions to be made. We had already seen what happened with Evette!! You just kept on
working until it felt right.
Once the work was complete and he would come back to make cast changes, he would edit per
the new dancer and if he felt something needing tweaking with the original dancers’ variations,
he would make the necessary adjustments.
How hard/easy was it to deliver what Dove asked of you?
It was tough for me at first because it required me digging a little deeper to truly give it my all.
The movement was fast paced, and it would ignite something deep inside during every
performance. I think each performance was different and we definitely fed off of each other’s
energy. No performance was ever the same and neither were you when you finished.
If he saw you working very hard to do so, he was fairly patient and would adjust if necessary.
But if he felt you were not working to make it happen, he could be a beast! I remember
everyone working extremely hard to produce and it made the process/experience one of the
best any of us every had!
What were the most challenging parts of the process?
I think the most challenging part of the process for me was giving him what he wanted and that
was interpreting what he thought happened in that room at church. Quite honestly, it wasn’t
until I received the Holy Spirit myself was I able to connect the dots. I understood the assignment.
WORKING 30 DAYS STRAIGHT!!!!! Having to work through body soreness that I had never
experienced before while producing. I also think in the early stages finding a cohesive energy
and working as intense as Dove did. We all know in the creative process both parties- artists
and creators have to meld energies. Of course, it came, but I think these were probably a few
of my most challenging tasks to overcome.
Was Dove always serious, or did he show other sides of his personality?
He was serious most times, but as he began to trust us in the process, he would relax and even
laugh. Debbie and I would go to eat with him a lot and he was a very nice person outside of the
studio.
Who did the original designs? Why weren’t they used? Did the entire cast go shopping with
Dove for replacement dresses? If so, what was that like?
I do remember shopping for the dresses. It was brief. We walked into the store, he swiftly
went to one section of the store and started pulling dressed and holding them up against us
before us trying them on. Once we tried them on, it was a wrap. He knew exactly what he
wanted and that was that.
The costumes went through a few changes. He knew he wanted dresses. We went to the thrift
stores in the Oregon and began trying on dresses. He bought up most of the black and navy
dresses. Of course, we began tearing them up right away. They were very nice, but absolutely
not built for dance and especially the type of dance we were doing. We went to the thrift
shops on more than one occasion. He even went alone and would come the next day with a
new dress or two.
Imagine you must restage your part on another dancer. What will you teach them about: sitting,
standing, running, falling, the chair, accomplishing speed without looking frantic, accuracy
without appearing stiff, etc.?
My advice to another dancer doing my part would be to simply let go and just immerse yourself
in the movement. There’s no time to think about what comes next, your muscle memory will
take control, but you will be caught up in the moment of every single step you take. Think
earthiness…………
My connection with Dove was when he appeared out of nowhere in the downstage corner ,
when I was to contract in my gut to change directions…….he scared the living daylights out of
me but then it showed me exactly what I needed to do and feel at that very moment to
complete my assignment.
Let me begin with this sidebar-I have had the pleasure of restaging the ballet on numerous
dancers and all of the above are important aspects of teaching the work. The one aspect that
all of the dancers have that we never had was this huge fear of the work! Yes, we wanted to
please Dove, but this is something larger than that! The ballet has its own persona like I have
never seen! Even larger than ‘Phoebe Snow’! I would probably liken it to ‘Cry’. So, working
through that is part of the challenge of getting the ladies to produce. I am usually only given
two weeks to work. I know the month-long process included creating- but I also believe it
allowed us the time necessary to get comfortable dancing around the chair, working together
and finding synergy,
I try to channel Dove as much as possible and work in a manner very similar to his- with sounds,
pearls of wisdom, drills, drills, and more drills.While the movement is fairly simple on its own- once you incorporate all of the elements that make the ballet exciting- speed, unison, abandonment, calm, reverence, silence among others, it goes from a mustard seed to this huge mountain!!!
In teaching my section, because it is a duet, I must always talk about Debbie’s part also. Me as
the ‘chasee’ and Debbie as the ‘chaser’. The relationship that we brought into the process I
think Dove wanted to capitalize on. I always try to get the chaser to channel someone they
have a very special relationship with and bring those feelings into the movement. Always trying
to calm down the Dawn girl.
What technical hints did Dove offer that made performing his choreography possible?
My connection with Dove was when he appeared out of nowhere in the downstage corner ,
when I was to contract in my gut to change directions…….he scared the living daylights out of
me but then it showed me exactly what I needed to do and feel at that very moment to
complete my assignment.
Don’t remember hints, but I do remember Dove being a stickler for technical prowess. The
rehearsal process was driven by the dancers’ technique. He always wanted clean, precise turns,
stretched legs, pointed feet, high passe, turned out legs when required, parallel legs when
required, big contractions. As I write, one thing does come to mind, when running making sure
the legs are directly under the hips and to get in the thighs. The runs had to be grounded and in
order to run at the speed he required, the alignment of the lower body was imperative!
What characterizes a successful performance of Vespers?
I believe a unified focus and energy, which transports the dance from a performance to an
event that the audience is experiencing. It is not about ‘performing out’ to the audience but
bringing them ‘in’ to the experience.
When a performance of Vesper doesn’t quite hit the mark, what are typical reasons for failure?
Forcing the situation. Trying to duplicate a previous performance. Each time is different, and a
successful run will never feel like another successful run. I love the rawness of the work.
Sometimes we may be way off the ‘cues’, but the synergy of the ladies will always save the
work. If the music has stopped five minutes ago, but the ladies are still working together- you
have a successful performance. To be on every cue, but no synergy, to me they missed the
mark.
The lighting is an important part of the dance, often putting you in near total darkness. How did
you manage to do the choreography?
The lighting just worked for this piece. It probably didn’t seem too dark for me because we
were so in tune with each other.
What are your thoughts on all-male casts? On pointe casts?
As the original cast, I feel a certain ownership, but I know that art must be shared and if these
other types of casting and elements work, then go for it! I am challenged, however, to imagine
the ladies running in pointe shoes! I know how I hauled around the curves in bare feet- in
pointe shoes, not enough rosin in the world to execute with the intensity and speed required by
Dove.
The lighting is an important part of the dance, often putting you in near total darkness. How did
you manage to do the choreography?
Just kept moving! Except the time, I think we were at Miami University Oxford, and we were
running to the chairs before Sheri’s variation. The cue was late, and I was creeping to my chair
because I could not see it and did not want to knock it over. While it was kind of cool, it was
extremely scary at the same time.
Impact
Were you aware of the impact of this piece? When?
I knew it was a great piece in rehearsal. I knew how it made me feel watching the ladies in their
variations. It was extremely exciting! And as we became more in control of our variations, I
knew we would blow it out the water! Did I know 35 years later, it would still be impacting
audiences the way it does? NOT!
What are your thoughts on Vespers being a near international phenomenon?
Pleased to be one of the dancers on whom it was created! A part of dance history!
What did the process from start to finish teach you about yourself? Who were you before and
after this process?
This piece taught me that there was more inside of me to give.
That I measured up! Sometimes you wonder if you are good enough. I learned that while I
cannot please everyone, I worked in a way that was pleasing enough to Dove that he kept me in
the ballet, and I was able to emerge with more self-confidence. I learned to trust the process. I
was extremely nervous about a rehearsal process for 30 days straight! But on the last day, there
was a sense of validation, triumph, we had earned Dove’s trust and out of the ashes rose a
phoenix called Vespers! And almost four decades later it is still a phenomenon!