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Kyle Gerry

Interview by L. Valena

First, please describe what you responded to.

I was given an architectural rendering, and the task was to make a dance piece that responded to it. So I picked out a couple of things that I wanted to focus on, and then I allowed my imagination to take those things and turn them into movement.

What things in particular were you drawn to?

One was quite literal. It was just the curves of the building- I was curious about reflecting that in a pretty literal way. In terms of the motion that the dancers were making, and the curves they were creating. The circular nature of the building. Also, in the rendering there is a woman in a red dress in the middle of the building, and she really spoke to me. That's where my imagination came in a little bit. I felt like she had a story, and so I enlisted one of my female dance friends to be in the dance piece to represent that story. Those were the main things that I wanted to address.

Tell me more about this story.

It seemed to me that there had been a lot of activity- maybe even apocalyptic activity on some scale, and it felt to me that she was still standing after a lot of things had fallen away. She was being very resilient and awesome. And so I really had a clear vision of this woman walking proudly and defiantly into this space that had just had a lot of activity.

[Sound of sirens] Isn't it weird how beautiful sirens are? Even though they're so scary, they're so beautiful.

Especially as they start to get further away.

Exactly.

Yeah, it's true.

Can you say some more about your process?

I first focused on the structure. I tried to create some circular movement that happens just inside the circumference of the structure. After creating some phrases that played with some of those curves that I was talking about, I then focused on the female figure. It may just be because I haven't seen a lot of renderings like this, but they just strike me as very isolated, and post-apocalyptic. I think that's why her story started to emerge the way that it did. The circular, more frenzied movement that I created in the earlier phrases I wanted to contrast with this more sustained, slow, luxurious movement. That was the inspiration for the phrases that I created for her. As well as just being dynamic and fabulous. And then I just put them together- the two characters in this little narrative that I created.

So you were the building, and she was the figure in the middle?

Yeah. I think that's exactly right, and I didn't realize that before, but the structure is very violent, although it's just sitting there. Putting something up like that is a pretty aggressive act. And I think we know that anyway, from being around construction sites for big buildings, but also you're making plans and putting all of these materials on it. So I think, now that you say it, that's exactly right.

I love that you staged this piece outside. Can you talk about the place where you staged it?

I wish that I could claim that it was some clear vision, or stroke of genius. Actually, the studio that I was rehearsing in is on that campus, and the structure in the background reflected some of the curves in the piece that I was responding to. Also, I participated in a dance piece for the inauguration of that building in the background- the more modern one. And so right away, I knew we had to do it there, as a nod to that personal history I guess. I love when the universe conspires in that way.

I think that my favorite moment is the moment of surprise when the camera moves away from you, and back the female dancer. There's such a cool gotcha moment, almost. When she is walking in initially, she has such a studied way of moving, that it seems clear that she's the dancer. And then the camera follows you, so I thought that she wasn't involved. But then it doubles back.

How is producing a video like this different from a live performance?

It was interesting, especially since we were on a college campus, and there were people there. Each time you rehearse is a performance in itself- you see people stopping because it's... unusual to run around in the grass in a studied way. So there is an element of performance just to doing the filming, even. And the spontaneity of it, because it's not announced as a performance, so people don't know we're about to start doing that. So I think that informs how we dance anyway, because partly we were doing a live performance.

As far as the video goes, there wasn't a lot of thought to the videography. I didn't have a professional do it- the point was more to just capture the piece so it was recorded, because of the format that you're presenting the piece in. But then, I realized that just the way we had set it up to do it all in one take, the movement that I did is a little hard to see, which I really like because it just leaves the impression of a lot of movement. And then the camera is able to pan in for the female dancer, because in my mind, it really is her story. So I actually thought that the camera gave a nice sense of scale that you wouldn't get in a theater. In a theater, wherever you're sitting to see the performance, that scale stays the same. It served the piece really nicely and probably made it a different narrative than I think it would have been in a theater. Similar to what you're saying about seeing the dancer, and then not seeing the dancer, then realizing that you had seen the dancer.

Yes! That moment almost reminded me of some Buddhist art, where you don't really know what you're looking at until you find out what you're looking at, and then it makes sense. It's like an interesting little switch in perspective.

A Bait/Switch!

Guess I've got switches on the brain! How does this relate to the rest of your work?

Making a piece like this requires a fair amount of diligence- when you're working on something by yourself. I think for other artists who aren't dancers- maybe writers or painters, because of the process they may be more accustomed to it. But I'm first a dancer, I have done some choreography, but my daily practice is with other people, in a studio that someone else has arranged. It's physical dialogue with other bodies. So to be in there by myself, to show up for myself, is a kind of diligence which isn't always required in the dance world. I do want to go, and I know once I get there, there will be other bodies that will inspire me or shape my process.

What was it like to do that?

To be on my own? It was wild. You can do anything when you're on your own, and if you’re the choreographer you can really do anything. You can bring in props, you can use music or not. Anything you do with your body is movement. You can sit there and breathe, or you could do multiple pirouettes, so that amount of freedom is intimidating. Having something specific to respond to is helpful, but as I understood it, there weren't a lot of constraints to the way you could respond to it, as long as you were responding to it. It's still a lot of possibility. And at the end of the day, you're going to make one piece. So I found it challenging. I like structure and specificity, so I still tried to include that in the piece, but I was aware that it as an open place.

Do you have any advice for someone else who will do this? Perhaps another dancer or choreographer?

I feel like I would probably have to do it a few more times in order to give anyone advice, because I was unsure of myself. But I guess I just made the effort to book space and show up, and figured that something was better than nothing, and to stick with it. And something came out of it.

Something really cool came out of it! That moment when the camera panned back to the female dancer I actually gasped.

That wasn't something that I planned, it's just how it worked out with the camera, so that's cool. A little bit of chance and circumstance lurking in this piece.

Well, that's where the gold is, right? Is there anything else you want to say about this piece?

It's my first time doing something like this. In other choreography I was working with someone else who had some parameters for me as well- I've never actually just started from my own vision or volition. It's so cool, because when someone else has an idea for a creation, even if it's really open-ended, you end up going somewhere you absolutely wouldn't have, if someone hadn't approached you with a project. I love that I was making a piece based on an architectural rendering. I didn't anticipate doing that.

Call Number: Y26AR | Y30DA.geUnti

Kyle Gerry is a freelance dancer and teacher based in New York City. He has worked most recently with the Lucinda Childs Dance Company, and has also danced dozens of works by Merce Cunningham, including several of Cunningham’s solo roles. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Columbia University with a degree in Political Science and Economics.