Artist Story: Elizabeth Lentz

EBL Dance

I grew up as a serious bun-head. I studied ballet 6 days a week, I only listened to classical music, and, yes, I was even a Young Republican. I remember watching my first modern dance concert and literally thinking, ‘Why do they always think dance always has to be about something? Why can’t it just be pretty?’

The irony that I have since grown up, come out, fallen in love with gravity, danced ferocious Body-slam works with guns and gasmasks as well as classical modern dance pieces filled with line and grace, never ceases to amaze me. But I think that I always come back to these questions of who is watching modern dance. What do they know about it? How do we increase audiences for this fabulous art form? How do we create a strong community that enables audiences to engage with, be inspired by, and change their lives for the better because of modern dance?

Kay LaSota and I created the Other Dance Festival (ODF) in 2002 out of these questions. Seven years ago there was really no place in Chicago for modern dance works to be seen together. Mo Ming, a large presenting organization had disbanded years before. Links Hall’s focus was on emerging artists and more solo work. The NEXT Dance Festival had ended. And while Dance Chicago presented a wide variety of dance acts, giving audiences an excerpt from an abstract modern dance piece followed by Irish dance, tap, and high kicks, it was unable to give the necessary context for Chicago’s modern dance.

The ODF became our way to highlight Chicago’s thriving, innovative modern dance community. We started with two weekends of 12 invited artists (some companies and some individuals) and a break-even budget of $3000. I remember sitting at the first production meeting and looking at all of the brilliant artists gathered there, from Nana Shineflug and Shirley Mordine, grande-dames of Chicago modern dance, to newer artists Atalee Judy and Sheldon B. Smith, just to name a few. This was community; this was a chance for the media to see us as a whole; this was a chance for audiences to come to the festival because of one group they knew and loved, and to fall in love with others as well.

And the audiences did come. We filled each of the 75 chairs at Hamlin Park’s Studio Theater, added 10 more chairs, brought out carpet squares for people to sit on the floor, then we tucked even more standing up against doors and risers. People were crammed everywhere, they were loving it, and they were talking about modern dance. Kay and I were shocked.

We dubbed the ODF, ‘The Little Festival That Could”. The next year the Chicago Tribune listed the ODF in the Top 5 Dance Performances to see in the Fall, putting our Fest in the same category with the Joffrey Ballet and national tours of major dance companies. The audiences kept coming and the artists kept clamoring for this performance opportunity. As a result, in the last six years we have presented over 70 dance pieces (55 of them premieres) by roughly 30 dance artists and companies to 2400 audience members from across Chicago, the suburbs, and neighboring states. In 2007, TimeOut Chicago called the ODF, "intimate, expertly curated. The only place you can see 16 of the city's top modern dance artists packed together into three weekends of artistically loaded lineups."

Each year Kay and I try to span the modern dance spectrum with the dance artists we invite. Then we program each weekend’s show in a way that represents this variety, so audiences might see an abstract work next to a piece of dance theater next to a mixed media work, or solo artists complimented by company works. The idea is to give audiences something they might know and love at one moment, and challenge them the next. Most of the time, the shows are hugely successful and audiences are amazed by the breadth of work happening in Chicago. For times when it doesn’t work, and the show turns out to be awkward, well, at least the ticket price is one of the best deals in town.

One of the major things that keep this fest going is the sense of community. I love walking into the theater on show nights and seeing all the dancers from all the various companies warming up together. They talk, stretch, dance around each other, and catch up on each others’ lives. The dancers share a “dressing room” in the Childhood Education Room across from the theater… when you’re sitting in tiny chairs, surrounded by bright colors and padded cutouts of the alphabet, you have to have a sense of humor! I also love that the artists always stay to see each others’ performances. We modern dancers have far too few opportunities to share stories and revel in each others’ art, and the ODF has become one such place.

The audience contributes to this community as well. They continue to sit packed into the theater night after night, year after year, to see great art. We have a tradition of unpredictable weather for the ODF, so the audiences have endured steamy hot conditions as well as frozen ones; blown circuits causing power outages to stage lights; and a tornado that knocked out power to the entire neighborhood 45 minutes before show time. Luckily that year was our 5th anniversary and we had birthday cake for everyone. It was intended for intermission, but became a pre-show treat while we waited in the dark, praying for ComEd to Let There Be Light. You never know what you’ll get at the ODF. I think this sense of excitement and spontaneity, from both the dance works and the Fest itself, are part of what keeps the audiences returning. And the responses on our audience surveys show that we have an insightful bunch- they rave eloquently about their favorite works and have piercing comments about others. My hope is that they are also talking to each other about these opinions, asking questions and developing their own aesthetics.

Let’s not forget the Funders in our community. Over the years the ODF itself has received grants and funding from local groups like Alphawood Foundation and The Sara Lee Foundation, and from the National Endowment for the Arts. It also has become an easy place for representatives from these groups to come check out what dance artists are creating these days. The media coverage from the Fest can be very helpful to individual companies as they apply for their own funding.

One of the greatest challenges to the ODF now is how to keep the Fest fresh. Seven years later, “The Little Festival That Could” has grown mightily, becoming the kick off for the modern dance season in Chicago. Artists rely on the opportunity to have their work produced by someone other than themselves. Kay and I now receive DVDs from artists across the nation who hope to be in the ODF. We have made major updates to the seating in the theater and to ticketing procedures. As the Fest becomes more and more established and respected, how do we keep the kitschy, fun, adventurous feeling to both the Fest and the artists we present?

As we try to answer this, I think back to the original questions: Who is seeing modern dance? What do they know about it? How do we increase audiences for it? How can we continue to create and celebrate our wonderful modern dance community? Kay and I invite new artists each year. We update our facilities but keep in mind that the intimacy of the festival is its strength--the feeling that these artists are performing just for you, and you owe it to them to engage with their work, like it or not. We encourage the artists to put out mailing list sign-ups and fliers for upcoming shows, and we create lobby displays to help the audiences get to know the artists better. And we hand out candy… everything in life is better with candy.

I continue to be obsessed with ways to attract and educate new audience members. I would love to see the ODF address more directly the role of Chicago modern dance in the national dance scene. This might mean facilitated discussions, feedback sessions, or an open forum. I also have large-scale, grand ideas for marketing dance in general: we have “One Book, One Chicago” promoting literacy in the city, why not “One Dance, One Chicago” promoting art and culture? Or when Chicagoans receive their city sticker in the mail, perhaps 2 comps to a random dance performance should come along with it. Might be to Hubbard Street Dance, might be to the ODF. Might be these plans never happen, but I’ll keep using my big mouth and big dreams to make more dance possible.

Elizabeth Lentz has toured France, Brazil, Mexico and the U.S. while dancing with Tennessee Dance Theater, Chicago Moving Company, Breakbone Dance Co., Lucky Plush Productions, and many amazing independent artists. Currently, she teaches in the Dance and Theater Departments of Columbia College Chicago, as well as at Loyola Academy. Elizabeth also choreographs sketch comedy and leads workshops and retreats on Spirituality and Movement. Each fall, Elizabeth co-produces/curates The Other Dance Festival, proudly presenting many of Chicago's finest modern dance companies and choreographers.