Kristen Hedberg is double-dedicated to craft -- to both dance artistry and dance writing
-- and commendably dedicated at that. At the same time, she has a warmth about her that makes you breathe a little easier just with her presence. For the next installment of my Artist Chat series, I chatted with Kristen about her path in dance and dance writing, the value and practice of making the arts more widely accessible, how she's kept creative through COVID, and more.
Kristen Hedberg
A path in dance writing and performance
Kristen came to dance as an excitable, energetic three year-old. Like with many young dancers, her parents put her in dance classes to channel her energy more constructively -- "which I think ultimately worked," she notes. Kristen danced tap, jazz, and ballet recreationally through elementary and middle school.
She was first exposed to modern dance in high school. "Heart wise," she says, that was the first time she felt like she could see herself on a professional path as a dancer. She then attended the University of North Carolina School for the Arts and the Martha Graham School (NYC) for higher education. She embarked on a professional performance career in NYC after graduating, and has been doing that ever since.
She was first introduced to dance writing in high school through quarterly academic assignments to attend and review a professional dance performance. These were called "critiques" rather than "reviews", she explained, and were meant to be "a reflection of what we saw [in the performance]."
Kristen loved this practice, in part because it got her to go out and see concert dance work that she otherwise wouldn’t, and to meet people she normally wouldn't. She would meet people through critiquing practice who would become part of her creative community -- something that continues to this day through dance writing and dance performance.
With the latter, she notes the small world nature of the dance world -- making it easy and natural for tight-knit communities to develop. She’s reviewed the work of choreographers she’s danced for, for example.
Kristen also loves the free space to share her thoughts and what resonates with her that dance writing offers, to have her own authentic voice -- which there isn't always the space for in dance classes and rehearsals. She’s always loved writing in general, too, she recounts.
She didn’t practice much dance writing while in college, she says, but she wanted to get back into it once she graduated. After graduating from college in 2017, Kristen put out on social media that she’d be happy to come see and review a show, and then publish it on her own website platform (check it out here!) -- all she needed was a ticket. She would also post on the Dance Enthusiast’s open review option. Kristen’s dance writing practice grew from there.
What matters most
Kristen is also passionate about access to the arts, and through that building communities that support the arts. She's thoughtful about important details like what format dance is shared in and how accessible it might therefore be to various audience members. Through connections at the Martha Graham School, she’s aligned with artists who have really shown that spirit of accessibility and community -- artists such as Megan Curet, for whom Kristen danced for many years through Curet Performance Project.
For Kristen, community, authentic expression and sharing that expression equitably is what really matters when it comes to art. She shares a special memory that underscores these values for her, one that makes her more proud than "getting the gig" or any other achievement of hers as a performing artist. She took a virtual somatics class with Tallahassee, FL-based Joanna A. Mauer, a choreographer she's been working with. Mauer led an improvisational exercise in which she paired movers together, with one person improvising and one observing.
Kristen was paired with someone who wasn't a professional dancer. Watching this person move, she was struck by the person’s unaffected and organic movement quality. She thinks that inspired her to be “the most present and non-judgemental” she’d been in a long time when it was her time to improvise. Kristen’s movement partner shared that she’d never seen someone be so communicative with her movement, and that she was drawn to see more dance performances once the world beat COVID and things were fully open again. “That floored me,” Kristen shared, “because that’s what I want to do in my career, to communicate with dance and inspire people to engage with and support the art form.”
Creative life through COVID
Kristen’s 2020 was similar to most dance artist’s: “2020 was a slow year,” she shared, “I was appreciative of any opportunity to dance with others, whether virtually or in-person.” She danced in four dance films last year -- often receiving choreographic instruction via email or Zoom. These films were each led by Lindsey L. Miller, Megan Curet, Mikaela Papasodero, and Charles E. Scheland.
For each process, “the experience felt so fleeting, because we were all missing dance so much,” she shared. The longest process lasted about one month, but even that felt short. “I could have [been in that process] for a year!,” she shared. Thankfully, for the last two films’ processes, the dancers could meet in space under COVID protocols; “normalcy has been inching its way back,” Kristen says.
Kristen was also been able to review performances from home. The most intriguing aspect of reviewing dance virtually was that if the performance was not live-streamed, she could pause and rewind if there was something she wanted to see again. “That was really interesting because in a live performance, dance is there for a moment and then it vanishes -- but with dance films, you can stop and see something again,” she explained. Kristen does prefer to see dance performances straight through, and she would honor the experience like she was in a theater, “but it was interesting to know that the pause option was there,” she says.
Kristen also got out her sketchbook again during COVID. She’s always loved visual art, but often hasn’t had time to practice creating it. She got a job nannying a baby at the beginning of the pandemic. She would walk him in Central Park before his afternoon nap, and take pictures of nature blooming all around -- the sakuras, tulips, and daffodils. “Spring 2020 was the most beautiful spring I’ve ever seen….Central Park was like an oasis, [giving] reassurance in a very difficult time,” she shared. During the baby’s nap she would draw those pictures of flowers and other beautiful natural subjects (it didn’t feel right to be on her phone, and the news could just feel too sad, she said).
Next steps on her creative path
Kristen is currently rehearsing virtually with Joanna A. Mauer, for a new live work to be presented in October 2021 at the Brunel Sculpture Garden in Boiceville, NY. Kristen also started an apprenticeship with Jon Lehrer Dance Company in May 2021. Rehearsals with Jon Lehrer marked the “first time in a very long time sharing the rehearsal space with 10+ dancers...I’m excited and thankful to be in person with other dancers again,” she shared.
She’s felt safe doing that, as the company is working under rigorous safety protocols (from Gibney Dance and Baryshnikov Arts Center), and she also knows all of the dancers she’ll be working with to be trustworthy and responsible. Kristen also hopes to keep drawing, as well as re-engaging with NYC’s tightly-knit dance community. “I miss that feeling of going to an open class and seeing a friend randomly,” of being in the midst of community in dance that organically emerges.
Kristen also believes that the “forced downtime [brought by COVID] forced us to learn how to handle downtime, how to be bored -- which can be hard for us, being so used to being so busy.” She hopes that the enhanced ability to take downtime, to rest and restore, “will help us to come back even stronger” and help the world address the healing that it needs to do.
She hopes that we’ll remember what downtime felt like and make that more of a priority. If we can take Kristen Hedberg’s lead, we’ll also prioritize community, accessibility, free exploration and authenticity. The value of those values can’t be overstated, so thank you Kristen for lighting the way!
Photos by Danel Photography
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