Reflection… Three Years of Urbanity

Posted on July 3, 2011

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July 3, 2011 – Boston, MA – Betsi Graves

As I reflect back over the last three years of Urbanity Dance, my mind becomes a human video reel, filled with flickering images of dances, smiling angels, family and friends that have offered a smile, a hope for the future.  My mind becomes scrambled with Ugly Babies, Electrosonic Bats and even Joey McIntyre.  I’ll let you in for a hot second…

As I reflect over the last three years that is Urbanity Dance, an image appears in my mind… I’m in the hospital giving birth to this baby… it’s a big baby and I feel far too petite to birth this thing.  Plus it’s a bit ugly and part of me wants to shove it back in utero.  Once it’s almost out and wailing, I’m frantically scanning the room for someone to adopt this bad-boy. Just when I thought I couldn’t push any further, everyone around me keeps cheering “Push, push, push.” My dance mentors are holding my hand, saying, “just a little further.” And my family is gasping, “you can do it.” But the truth is, I can’t do it… I couldn’t have done it. We can. It hasn’t been me – it’s been this divine force of community… dancers, artists, supporters, mentors… feeling alive by what Urbanity is offering and ravenously hungry for more.  From Om Asatoma (June, 2008) to Jacob’s Pillow (August, 2011), it took a village…

I stand in shock when I embrace this strange creation- my mouth hits the floor as I wonder whether the seed was somehow genetically modified. It’s been one of the hardest but most beautiful moments in my life, starting this company.  I truly had no idea when I planted the seed that this would catapult into an emerging contempo dance company, having been hired three years later by 15 producers and now opening our fourth season on tour at Jacob’s Pillow, Sam Houston University & the Ailey Citigroup in NYC.  But we still have a long way to go.  I believe that it’s not always the best companies that get to move on to the next level, it’s often the ones that can stick it out the longest, the ones that keep pushing.

Plan as I might, I realize now that Urbanity could not be birthed by a step-by-step Lamaze class, unless it’s “improvisation” Lamaze, ha!  We made mistakes; we learned from them.  We accomplished something tangible; we built on that.  We kept trucking forward in the night, like electrosonic bats that couldn’t see their food but could hear it. The promise of the future of a successful new dance company in Boston kept our ears open and our tongues darting in the night.

Lately I’ve been reflecting about fear in the Boston dance community. In my experience, it seems as though many dancers form cliques, teams of inclusion vs exclusion… this may be human nature or perhaps it’s all in my head. But it makes me happy for the future of dance when I hear about organizations like Boston Dance Alliance or the new Dance Gallery who attempt to “de-clique” the Boston dance scene. Sure, this may be a “cut-throat” business but one woman’s success isn’t another man’s failure. Call me naive (and I’ve been called that a lot these last three years), but I believe the better Boston Dance gets, the better for everyone in the business… kind of like how a cluster of deliciously popular restaurants increased traffic ten-fold in Boston’s South End… why can’t the dance community break down the barriers and start being genuinely happy for each other?  I say, bring on the blueberry cobbler!

It’s a rush of adrenaline, this thing we call dance. I am grateful to mentors in Boston and beyond who have reached out to us as the “new kid on the block” with genuine support and unadulterated compassion. It’s programs like Karen Krolak’s Connect 2 Choreography on SCATV or Jose Mateo’s Dance for World Community Festival that inspire me… dance leaders in Boston allowing us to see beyond the bitter fear of starting a new company and instead, joining hands with us to celebrate the gift of dance. I humbly bow to the dance gods and goddesses in Boston who have paved the way for Urbanity. I hope to take this gift and be able to support new companies in their quest for both monetary and emotional success. When I put everything into perspective and release the anxiety of “making it,” I feel waves of gratitude rush down my back. I feel as though Ruth St. Denis, Virgina E Williams and I are having lemonade on the beach, with our feet moving in and out of the rising tide. My motto as of late: “Every day is a good day when we are lucky enough to dance.” So freakin heck, go dance baby… Beat it up!

Would love to hear comments…

Ciao Bellas,

Betsita

PS: Thanks to all who celebrated our 3-yr birthday party! See some pics here!

PPS: I decided to bust out a little dramatic trailer documenting our last three years:

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