EMMA EVELEIN

“Be pure about your thoughts and honest about your vision”

Emma Evelein is a dancer and choreographer, winner of several awards all around the world for her creations of dance films.

-You said that “the urge to dance is almost more important than the movement itself”. What do you mean? And how can you recognize the urge to dance in a dancer?

I think it is very connected to our way of communicating also outside the dance and our way to express emotions: anger, sadness, happiness; they all have different energy.

The urge of expression is linked to what we naturally express in a certain vibration, in a certain energy and if it’s not connected with what we are trying to say, an audience member or even ourselves can get confused. It sends different messages.

The urge comes first and then the shape is a decoration of that, because then you are honest and pure. I think this is the main goal you want to achieve as an artist: be pure about your thoughts and honest about your vision. And tell people what you really think instead of just portrait a certain picture of yourself, faking.

Your dance and your person are always connected, and this connection can change: you change as a person everyday, but the honesty remains also in your dance.

-How important is the music in a dance piece?

I started dancing because of music. For me music is a way to portray a world that we cannot see or touch, but it is there. Music cannot lie: you feel emotions through it because it is able to create this whole world that, even if we cannot see or touch it, we are able to understand. I think dance is able to translate the vision of this world, to make this world shapeable in a way. You can translate a certain beat, melody, lyrics, into movement and it is understandable for people.

-How important is to respect the different personalities of each dancer?

For me it is the essence. Almost with every process I start with asking the dancers to create a solo and it is not because I would not create material, but it is first because I wanna see how my dancers are in that moment. For me it is not about just putting people on stage, creating a shape, it’s about the people who are on stage and, you should really see them, who they are.

-What fascinates you in the possibility of filming dance? And about the theatrical aspect?

First of all I love the angles. In a theatre when you sit down you always have one angle that you see from, while the camera offers so many ways to have certain angles, to have certain choices. And editing video is part of the dance itself: a simple cut can transform the whole meaning of the piece. The way that a dancer moves, the way that the camera moves, what sound, music you hear, what cut, the location, the styling: all these articulations speak about your story. It is not just a dance registered by a camera, it’s all these disciplines that come together.

Instead, in the theatrical world you can have a really tight connection with the audience. The dancer execution and the 360° is very important. In camera you can also think afterwards, while in the theatre you need to be very delicate and humble in building up the piece.

-More people say “I don’t have my own movement”. What would you say to people that are stuck in that?

I think in a time of Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, we have the tendency to look at successful people and think “how do they do it?”, and then we try to make a kind of copy of them. In a way it is not wrong to do this because you learn from people, but you do start to miss the perception of yourself. You knock your own uniqueness with this. Of course you can look around, but you must always stay critical in your head because it is really important to develop your own opinion, vision. Vision is everything, I think you can become more successful as a dancer when you have vision than when you have a perfect technique.

How to do this? Lock yourself in the studio, lock yourself in your room, search for music that really inspires you: you really need to speak to you. The more you can open up towards yourself, the more you are honest with yourself about what you like to do, in your dreams and goals, the more you will find your uniqueness. And in that moment you can really connect to yourself as a person.

-You are also a teacher. How is it to transmit your own movement in other bodies? What do you want to share with your own students who attend your classes?

I think it is incredible. When I teach, I see dancers letting go and trying to reach that movement, and I’m fascinated especially when they try to do it in their own way. I always say in my class “Please don’t copy me”, because first of all you need to go for it and you need to connect to yourself. It is not about the shape that you can offer to others, but it’s the intention, it’s to invite somebody to enter into your world.

-How important is to study?

I think it is important every day. You can do it for 5 minutes, or 11 hours: even if you just realize one thing about your personal world, you write it down and you study. And,if you do it every day at some point you have a book of your studies. It really doesn’t matter how long.

Don’t push or fake it: only do it when you are inspired. Study every day and rest every day, because from the rest the imagination comes and that’s the most important thing.

-What do you want to transmit to the audience?

I love that they can connect with something in their everyday life. We, as humans, are not perfect, we have traumas, we have baggage, we have memories, we have very bad days. The most important thing is to realize that there is so much beauty inside. On a happy day it is easy. In the days that we are conflicted and troubled, that’s where the beauty is, because it is a way to connect to somebody else saying “I feel that too”.

-Describe yourself as an artist in three words.

Honest, expressive and welcoming.

-Can you give some advice to young dancers and choreographers?

Stay curious. Be honest with yourself about what you like and what you don’t like. You don’t have to take the class from somebody that you don’t like. Instead, take a lot of classes with people that you do like: talk to them, ask them about their experience, travel, get to know people outside your network. Get to know people that do completely other stuff and if you have ideas with your imagination, go and execute them. Don’t be ashamed to research things that really speak to you. The more you experience, even in your head, in your imagination, when you are alone, the more you can apply all this in your artistry. Dare to fail, dare to stuck and dare to reach out.

Thank you so much Emma for your art, your vision and thoughts! We are honored!