“What you try to show is not improv, it is feeling.”
Tess Voelker is a dancer in NDT2. She studied at the Walnut Hill School and Joffrey Ballet Academy in the US. She joined Ballet Dortmund for a year and joined NDT2 for 3 years. Now she is ready to work with NDT 1 from next season.
What made you first realize you wanted to pursue a career as a dancer, and why especially a contemporary dancer?
“I have always preferred contemporary dance rather than Ballet, but I knew that Ballet is a fundamental technique for most dances. I have always believed that by doing Ballet as a basis, I can turn into both ballet and contemporary dancer, I have always opened my mind. I went to NDT summer intensive in 2014, and by the experience there, that became my goal. And once I started joining NDT2, I could admit myself as a contemporary dancer.”
What is a typical week in NDT?
“Normally, we work from Monday until Saturday. During the week, we start from 9 am until 5:30 pm and on Saturday, we start from 11 am until 4 pm. And we have Saturday off once a month. When we prepare for the show, we have a class at 9:30 am and do a rehearsal from 11 am until 2:30 pm. And then we have lunch and take a bus to go to the theatre, then dinner, break, and show, and then come back to the company by bus at around 1-2 am.”
How do you feel about joining NDT1?
“I am really excited about it. I never have thought about myself joining NDT1 because I imagined mostly NDT2. I have slowly climbed all the steps so far for my career which is satisfying. Now since I have been in NDT2 for 3 years, I feel a bit more comfortable being in the company and the company now quite trusts me which I like. But I will do exactly what I have done so far in NDT2 while I am in NDT1.”
What do you mostly focus on while doing Improv and some tips for young dancers?
“What I love about improvisation is that there is no goal. It is simply about what I want to do. Normally with a lot of rehearsals, I struggle with rules or expectations. However, improvisation is about how you enjoy the moment so everything is up to you. I mostly get inspiration from music because music itself sets the mood already. With these sets, I just play around and try weird things and I discover new interesting movements. Also, Gaga really taught me to realize dance is all about feeling, and the image is secondary. Teaching yourself how to feel and know what emotion that expresses. And improvisation is a tool you can learn from. What you try to show is not improvisation, it is feeling.”
What makes you excited the most during your career?
“All the moments when I just had a show. It is not about whether I nailed the piece, but it is about how I performed the piece on stage with enjoying the moments. Also, when you look at your colleagues, you can feel that they also feel the same way. It is the most satisfactory. Especially, for NDT2, we work so so so much, we feel sympathy among the dancers.”
What has been the biggest challenge so far?
“Many Injuries. When your body limits you, that is challenging for dancers. The biggest challenge is you. I am my biggest enemy. As dancers, we look at mirrors and get corrected all day and our job is to be judged. It is a hard balance to accept that yet not judge yourself to remain vulnerable. You should let it happen rather than push yourself hard. The times I feel awful about my dance are the times that I am trying to be something. I try to let it go and have the dance teach me rather than consciously try to mold it.”
Is video editing your hobby? How did you start?
“I am so happy that you found my Youtube videos! I love making videos. Most people know me as a dancer, but nobody actually watches them. It is just my hobby, but I always have had a passion for it. When I got my laptop for the first time, I tried to make music videos with my friends. My videos are mostly focused on music like dance so if I ask people to see my videos, I recommend them to listen to the music rather than see the visual effect itself.”
How are you dealing with the quarantine? What do you do in order to keep your body in shape?
“ I do some running dance in an empty yoga studio. Learning to live differently by realizing that my house is not only for the place to rest.”
What kinds of dancers do you want to be? Long term goal?
“I love the idea of researching my own movement. I would like to focus on my language rather than interpret others. So having my own company with a group of dancers like how Sharon Eyal and Hofesh Shechter have done will be nice. Also, in order to expand the range of the audience, I want to collaborate with other art forms like band, DJ, and producers.”
Thank you so much for the interview, Tess! We are honored to have this opportunity.
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