Interview with Choreographer Ann Powell

Interview with Choreographer Ann Powell

Q. Have you always been a dancer? Did you dance when you were little? What kind, if so?

I have been dancing my whole life.  My family lived in Hawaii when I was very young, and I learned a toddler version of hula.  Then we came back to Texas, and I took ballet and tap, and then jazz when I was a little older.  Oh, and some square dance, twirling, and probably a few other movement forms.

Q. When and for what reasons did you consider studying dance at a college level?

It was a series of decisions.

I wanted to major in dance when I attended college right out of high school, but I got guided (or pushed) into engineering.  I got my degree in Computer Science and worked in software development and evaluation for many years.

I took ACC’s Middle Eastern Dance class (it’s in the Kinesiology department), primarily because it sounded like a fun dance form.  The schedule was convenient, and the location was near IBM where I worked.  Then I got hooked and took Middle Eastern Dance something like 15 times, whether the location and schedule were convenient or not.  The quality of instruction was outstanding.  The price was low.  The experience itself was deeply transformative.  Helene Christopher’s class took me from interested amateur to professional belly dancer. 

Then came another decision.  I felt like my own dance education as a child was inconsistent and incomplete.  We moved a lot, sometimes in the middle of the school year.  Sometimes my family couldn’t afford dance lessons for me.  When I started my own business, teaching children’s dance, I wanted to fill in gaps in my dance knowledge, to improve myself as both a teacher and dancer.  So, I started taking classes through the Dance department at ACC.  And, again, the quality of instruction was outstanding and the price affordable.

At first, I didn’t think I would seek a degree, almost like I wasn’t worthy.  But I kept taking classes, and I realized that a degree would be possible for me, even at my age (I’m 58).    Getting a degree in dance will mean so much to me!

Q. How has dance helped you throughout life?

I met my husband because of dance.  I broke up with the guy I had been with and went out with my sister and her husband to a bar to drown my sorrows in dance and drinks.  Husband and I literally met on the dance floor, with the sounds of late 70s disco blaring in the background.   Three weeks later, he asked me to marry him.  Three years later I accepted.

Dancing is a way for me to process emotions, events, or decisions in my life.  It’s like therapy through movement.  If I’m sad or upset, dance helps.  If I’m particularly joyful, then what better way to express that than through dance. 

I try to go to an improv dance event at least once a week.  It nurtures me physically, emotionally, mentally and even spiritually.

Q. How has studying dance helped you throughout life?

Studying dance has allowed me to support myself with my own business.  It is so great to actually DO what I LOVE!  Without the structure and knowledge that I gained by studying dance, I would not have had the skills or confidence to teach others.

Q. What has been your take away feelings about making choreography and being part of a choreography class?

This has been a wonderful class.  I’m proud of the work that I have created.  I’m awed by the beauty in the other students’ dances.  I’m touched by how we’ve all shared and grown closer.

Q. Was the process difficult, easy?

The process was both difficult and easy.  It’s hard to dig deep for the emotional impetus from which to create.  It brings up stuff that I don’t necessarily want to deal with right now.  But I trusted my instructor, Darla Johnson, and I tried my best to follow what she was showing us.  And when I did, sometimes a little piece of choreography would blossom into being.  And then another.  And another. 

Parts were really easy.  Once exercise Darla gave us in class developed into the basic structure for the last three minutes of my dance.  Then I got on Pandora, hoping to find music for my dance, and a song I was familiar with came on.  It sounded like it might work, so I jumped up and started doing the choreography I had just created in class.  It fit beautifully, right to the last note, like it was meant to be!  And then I tried it again, and again, and ended early each time, ha ha.  I finally worked it out.  So, yeah, both easy and difficult. 

Q. Would you have changed anything?

Probably not.  I had wished for more time to work on this choreography, but I hope and plan to work with this choreography again in the future. 

What is the importance (to you) of the piece you have created this semester?

I’ve created a lot of dances for kids.  And I’ve created a fair amount of belly dance choreographies.  Both of those can be limited dance vocabularies, to different degrees.  This was the first time I created a dance for adults, that wasn’t confined to any established movement vocabulary.  I feel like I leveled up, became a better, more complete dancer.

Q. Is there any specific message you wish for your audience to take away from your choreography?

If your calling presents itself, GO WITH IT and quit trying to deny it.  You are worthy and you have a gift to share with others.

Q. What are your plans for the future in movement and dance?

I’m getting that dance degree that I didn’t get when I was young.  I want to have my own dance studio space in which to create, teach, perform and make a living for myself and others.  I want to publish my class plan systems, to create residual and retirement income.  I hope to inspire others to find a love of dance within their own soul.