"chase fulfilment, not success"
Sam Coren has been working for 5 years with Hofesh Shechter, and also in “survivor” and the opera “Orpheus Et Eurydice”. He has also worked in numerous projects on screen as an actor as well as a dancer. And he is also a brilliant choreographer.
-You have an amazing career working for 5 years with Hofesh Shechter, and also in “survivor” and the opera “Orpheus Et Eurydice”. You have also worked in numerous projects on screen as an actor as well as a dancer. And you are also a brilliant choreographer. What is the key to your successes?
"Success is something very much in the eye of the beholder! On a personal level I like challenge, change and embarrassing myself. Some of my favourite stories are the ones when I’ve been in room doing something I’m totally unsuited for, and yeah that’s slightly traumatic, but also very funny. I think as freelancers we always think of other people as successful, rarely ourselves (we are always one job away from being unemployed anyway). Because no matter how much we do its never enough to feed the appetite for creation (or ego!), there’s always more. For me success is a feeling, and that feeling is fulfilment I think? So sometimes I find more fulfilment from a day of unpaid research that a huge film or well attended show...But lets face it, often its that huge film."
-What fascinates you about the work of Hofesh Shecter? And did his work influence your dance?
"I was always a fan I think, Hofesh’s work is both pretty cool and really silly simultaneously and on a personal level I can connect to that. It also one hell of a sticky style, once its in your body you don’t really wanna move any other way. I found a home there, stylistically I have never been a particularly able dancer (technically), but I like to move, like a human moves, so fell into Hofesh’s work reasonably quickly. I also like the culture of the company, I love the people and how they work on a day to day basis, which is the most important thing when in a company for the long haul. There’s lots of other choreographers/companies who I admire greatly artistically but whom I wouldn’t want to work with on a day to day basis!"
-How were you able to develop your artistry as a dancer and choreographer?
"Ok here’s a weird one. I don’t see my career as a performer and my work as a choreographer as related. There’s performer Sam and there’s choreographer Sam. I don’t necessarily want to create the work I perform in, and I don’t particularly want to perform in the work I make. Of course its not as didactic as that, there’s a bit of spill over. Not to say I don’t find great joy in performing someone else work, just when I get the opportunity to create for myself I look at myself in the mirror and ask ‘what’s YOUR voice sam? what’s your voice’. Then I cry for a bit and start choreographing."
-What is the role of improvisation and research in personal growth as a dancer?
"There’s all the normal stuff like self discovery, research, the joy of possibilities and the unknown. But also improv now days can be equally as stylised as Ballet or Cunningham (think gaga etc), so we have to a be little careful of thinking of it as an entirely personal journey. On a personal level, I think of set material as an end point, the last chapter of the book. You’d never want to jump to it because you’ll have no idea how you got there. Improv and research is the story, the understanding, the creation. When someone teaches a sequence, in a weird way the creations already been done, its pre existing. I want to allow for a process, even if I already know what the end point is, jumping to the end point without allowing yourself to understand is pretty dangerous, unless you have no money or time…which is always."
-How important is technique instead? And how can you define “technique”?
"Like I said before, gone are the days of the traditional techniques of Ballet/Cunningham/Graham, in are the techniques of gaga, fighting monkey, flying low. Theres nothing wrong with that, the new age techniques are much more egalitarian and not based on royalty which is nice, but also, are heavily stylised ways of training, thats how I’d described technique, anything that says there’s a correct way of doing what we are doing, and if you follow this way, you will become more proficient."
-What is the connection between dance and theatre? How theatre fascinates you in dance?
"Dance is a much newer and more insecure art form that theatre in my opinion. Dance education systems seem to fear the introduction of theatrical techniques into the curriculum, evidence of that is actors having regular movement classes and dance schools barely offering anything theatrical, despite physical theatre companies being some of the most sought after by students (and the public!). Maybe because theatre has a richer history, more and higher quality academic writing/inspiration sources (its also better funded!). I remember I got a bit bored of dance and started to explore clown/mask work, and was like ‘Why am I 28 and hearing this shit for the first time?!’. I’m now 33 and reading/practicing theatrical techniques has hugely influenced me as a performer/choreographer, I still dance, but having the ability, the knowledge and the choice to choose how I respond to an idea is huge for me."
-You are also a choreographer. What fascinates you about creating a piece?
"I still don’t know, I’m not sure I want to. Do I have anything to say? is it worth hearing? Who knows. My work often ends up being really satirical, recently I’ve been trying to mix ideas of Clown and Mask work into my pieces. So they are often silly, surreal and self deprecating. I site monty python as a big influence. You know that silly stuff you do on the side of the studio and think ‘oh thats to dumb to do in front of anyone’, thats exactly what I want to put in front of people. Because its funny and weird and charming. I like it when I see audience members heads tilt to the side and I can hear their inner voice saying ‘whaaat?’, hopefully also ‘I like this…but whaaaat?’. What I’m trying to say is that I don’t know yet and the day I do know, is the day I stop trying to make things."
-When you create a piece, what catches your attention in another dancer?
"Often silliness, the ability to laugh at ones self to be comfortable being laughed at, and be playful. Also there’s just something chemical right? Why do you like the kind of music you like, or the kind of fashion/books, why do you like your friends? You just kinda do, we always connect to some people and not others, there’s nothing wrong with that, just human nature. It’s the same in the studio."
-You also worked as an actor and dancer in numerous projects on screen. What is the importance of video dance today?
"I slightly fell into working on screen, that theatrical ability I talked about before came in very useful! I really do love it although I feel quite convoluted about the film industry. At the moment many of the jobs available have become on film, commercial, music videos etc its great these mediums are looking for contemporary dancers but now dancers are climbing over each other to be in 2.3 seconds of a music video, that makes me a bit sad, we are too talented for that and in the long run I’m not sure what it achieves, although I’m certainly guilty of the same. I’m scared it undermines the pursuit of movement being the focus of a film, rather than a glorified decoration. But at least dance for screen can’t be ignored anymore, after this year it’s a necessity."
-What is the difference between dancing in a video or in a theatre?
"Tough question, because they can be as similar or as different as you want. For me the main difference is that on stage you are the driving force behind the work, in that moment of performance its just you, and whoever is watching. On screen we do our best but ultimately you hand over power to the editor/director/dop, your a much smaller part of a bigger machine. On screen whatever is made is eternal, you work for a week on something which is there, forever. On stage you’ll work on something for 3 months that is only performed a few times. Does that make it more special? For romantic people, yes. But I can’t deny the appeal of what is often more money, for less time, for something that is there forever. My ego likes screen, my heart likes stage, but both hold equal importance to my development."
-You set up the workshop ‘Interdisciplinary practice for dancers’. What is it about? How did you have the idea of creating this workshop?
"It was a reaction to the lack of accessible workshops for dancers, and lack of responsibility by dance institutions to address gaps in the curriculum. I fell in love with the ideas of Stanislavsky, Jacque le coque and clowning, but had to walk into a studio with a bunch of actors to attend classes. Which is scary, really scary, and thought I wish there was a place for dancers to access these techniques easier, it was all a about making acting, clowning, mask, movement directing, voice, puppetry etc more accessible. Introduce skills that ultimately could lead to wider employment opportunities and maybe even inspire a bit."
-Can you give some advice to young dancers?
"Keep your goals general, ‘I want to perform more next year’, ‘I’d like to do a workshop in this’ etc Specific goals like ‘I will dance for this person one 6 months and 45 days’ just creating a harsh environment for yourself. Work hard but don’t be hard to work with, instagram is good but doesn’t replace word of mouth, screen is good but doesn’t replace stage, be interested more than interesting, Look back as much as you look forward, chase fulfilment not success, eat ice cream and say cheesy things to yourself in the mirror."