Got the ‘Moves’

They take the
idea of mentoring seriously at Harlem Stage. Their annual E-Moves series, which
takes place over the next two weekends, matches up developing choreographers
with more veteran artists. “We pair the mentors with the artists, and we really
leave it to them to establish a relationship—which we hope goes beyond the
E-Moves experience,” says Brad Learmonth, Harlem Stage’s director of
programming, who established E-Moves, now in its 12th year. “We aim to find a good match of
choreographers. So that in each case they complement and learn from each
other.”

The younger
artists, identified as “emerging” or “evolving” depending on where they are in
their careers, get a prominent showcase for their choreography as well as a
crucial learning process. Each of the two E-Moves programs includes short works
(10 minutes maximum) by four emerging artists in its first half, with the
second half given over to an evolving dancemaker.

Those in the
emerging category are in their first years as dance makers. Learmonth describes
the “evolving” category as “people who have taken that step from emerging to
being able to sustain 45 minutes of work. We felt that Johari Mayfield and
Brandon Albright, two artists we’ve worked with several times in the past, had
really taken that leap. Brandon’s been doing a lot of touring, and got real
acclaim for his work last year at DanceAfrica. And we knew that Johari was
working on a substantial piece with significant support, not only from us but
from HERE.”

E-Moves was
created as “a dance series that introduced emerging artists of color who were
pushing the boundaries, in a showcase that displayed different forms,”
Learmonth explains. And while its format has changed over the years, the
overall focus has been consistent: “We always try to strike a balance. We try
to have diversity in the mix, both culturally and form-wise. We always try to
have some tap, some hip-hop and then a variety of contemporary dance. We always
are on the lookout for movement that comes out of ballet. We try to find things
that will push some buttons [and] bring something new to our audiences.”

The connection
between the emerging/evolving choreographers and their mentors is a crucial
component of E-Moves. This year’s mentors include Ronald K. Brown, Nora
Chipaumire, Francesca Harper, Reggie Wilson, Janet Wong and Kevin Wynn. For the
first time, the mentoring assignments are one-on-one; in the past, E-Moves
assigned several choreographers to each mentor.

Chipaumire, a
powerful performer who is a former member of Urban Bush Women and now presents
her own work, is mentoring Marguerite Hemmings. Chipaumire rebelled against the
standard concept of the mentor’s role. “Most
people think of mentorship as somebody comes to look at your work, gives you
feedback, and that’s it. When E-Moves asked me to mentor last year, I told them
that what I’m interested in is how one artist on a different level with another
could have a relationship over a period of time in which the conversations are
not just about what that artist is working on right then and there, but what
the overall long-term goals are. How can we both push each other to grow and
develop? I think knowing what’s driving someone to be making dances at all is
more important than whether this one piece she’s working on becomes a success
or not. Of course everybody wants to make a successful piece, but how do you
arrive at making a successful piece?”

Hemmings, whom
she first mentored for last year’s E-Moves, graduated from Columbia University
but wasn’t a dance major. “She’s mostly
invested in hip-hop, which isn’t my language that I use. The challenge has been
to provoke her into thinking deeply about what she wants to make. She can ask
me questions whenever she has them. She sends me information, mostly written,
about what her intentions are, and how she’s going about accumulating the raw
material, the research or the people and how all that is developing. Then I
read her material and ask questions, if something is unclear to me.

“I’m intrigued by her,” she says of Hemmings. “She’s a very
smart, intellectual, talented young lady who hasn’t studied dance in the
traditional way.” In her mentor’s role, Chipaumire impressed on the younger
choreographer the importance of “the research and the rigor that you put in
your body every day, regardless whether you have a performance coming up or
not. The rehearsal process, the building process, is as rigorous energy-wise as
the performance.”

Harlem Stage
tends to nurture and sustain artists through various stages of their career.
Kyle Abraham, once an E-Moves “emerging” participant, will be presented there
in a new work next year. And the Hemmings-Chipaumire connection has yielded
further dividends: Hemmings will
be in the cast of Visible, a world
premiere collaboration between Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and Chipaumire,
premiering next fall at Harlem Stage.

E-Moves 12

Apr. 8 & 9,
15 & 16, Harlem Stage Gatehouse, 150 Convent Ave. (at W. 135th St.),
212-281-9240; 7:30, $20.