Ballet Arkansas‘ spring calendar is heating up.
Next up in its 2017/18 season is DanceWorks on Saturday, April 28, at the ballet studio in downtown Little Rock. During this lowkey performance, attendees can get to know more about Ballet Arkansas through an exciting afternoon of dance classes, an evening of live performances and an informal chat with the artistic staff. This event is free to the public, but donations are welcome.
In preparation for DanceWorks, we caught up with Paul Tillman, now in his eighth season dancing with Ballet Arkansas, who is choreographing a new piece for the event. To learn more about Paul’s new work and his choreographic process, come see “Chimera” at DanceWorks on April 28.
When did you first realize you were interested in choreographing? When did the first opportunity arise for you to choreograph?
PT: I first realized I was interested in choreography in high school when I got the opportunity to choreograph on the pre-professional company I was in at the time, Dallas Ballet Company. The name of the piece was “Cacophony.” It was a wonderful and revelatory experience that made me want to develop my voice as a choreographer more.
Tell us about your choreographic process. What comes first — music or movement?
PT: Whenever I am working on a new piece, I select a few different songs that inspire me, I choreograph to all of them and blend all that different movement into one piece. The music always tells its own story, so finding a way to extract that meaning without being overly obvious is what I strive to accomplish in a piece.
What inspires you? And what has it been like to create a new work on your colleagues?
PT: What really inspires me when I’m choreographing is the dancers. Finding what highlights them and how they interpret my vision is my favorite part. In this case, with my piece “Chimera,” I’m working with my colleagues which has been a blast. It feels like we are collaborating through the entire process.
What do you want people to take away from your new work?
PT: What I’d like for people to take away from my piece is that ballet can be fun and approachable. The inspiration behind it comes from a more serious and deliberate place, but I hope that it comes across as energetic and vibrant.
Events like DanceWorks are only possible with the support of the community. Because of this, Ballet Arkansas is launching a Back the Ballet campaign to raise funds for the organization. On April 24 from 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Ballet Arkansas is asking for help to reach the goal of $15,000, which will make events such as DanceWorks and the collaboration in May with a world-class pianist possible. Update: Despite recent developments, this collaboration event will still be held at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre.
Learn more about the current season at the Ballet Arkansas website.