Interview with Helen Clare Kinney

By SA Tripi

Ishida Dance performs once again at Asia Society Texas. Brett Ishida gives us the best of the best in choreography, artistic sensibility and spectacular dancers. Helen Clare Kinney is one of those dancers. She has performed with outstanding companies and choreographers throughout the world, and it will be our privilege watching her as she makes her American debut.

You were born in San Angelo, Texas where you started dance classes. From there you went to Canada’s National Ballet School in Toronto. If you will pardon the expression, that seems like a bit of a leap. How old were you when you started taking class and how did you get from Texas to Canada? And what drew you to Canada?

Nowadays, Ballet San Angelo has a very developed training program, but back then, we were a motley crew. A guest teacher noticed my big ambitions and told me to consider a professional ballet boarding school. I immediately adopted this idea of a big adventure with unfaltering determination: I remember announcing that I was ‘leaving San Angelo’ to my best friend and my parents, on the fifth-grade playground before doing a single audition. I ended up at Canada’s National Ballet School not just because of its progressive view on dancers’ wellness but also because of its uniquely integrated academic program, which remained important to me. I was buying my very first winter coat and packing my bags by the time I was twelve. I went with my gut and the naive certainty that only a child can possess, but I can’t imagine what a leap of faith it was for my parents.

Helen Clare Kinney / Florian Moshammer

I have a friend who lived in Southern California and as a teen, joined a company in Germany and from there went to Switzerland. She loved being a dancer in Europe and stayed. She lives there.  Do you find being an artist, a dancer in Europe easier or more difficult?

The thing is, I went straight to Europe after graduating in Canada, so I can’t really speak to that. It’s strange to be American but feel unfamiliar with working conditions, networking culture, and other practicalities here. What I will say though, is that what drew me to Europe is the more experimental dance being created there, and I know what makes that possible is the significantly larger amount of public funding channeled into the arts and the social systems designed to support artists. This has resulted in a culture where the general public is seeing, talking about, and making art, which has been stimulating. Geographically, things are closer and there’s always a train you can hop onto to see a show you’re curious about. I’m very grateful to be a part of that system of artistic exchange.

You’ve danced pieces by Balanchine, Billy Forsythe, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, John Neumeier, Ohad Naharin and the list goes on. And it really is a very exciting list. Many different styles of movement. Is one easier than another? Do you like one style more than another? Part of me thinks as a trained dancer you could easily go from Balanchine to Graham. I realize that you don’t do Balanchine one day and Martha the next, but what is the transition like going from one type of work to another (and not necessarily from Balanchine to Graham)?

I couldn’t choose a favorite; it’s fun to put different hats on. The routine of dancing in a company can be militant, so finding freedom in the variation in the repertoire has been imperative for me, even if blisters, aches and pains are involved in adapting to different styles. The process of learning a Forsythe piece scratches an analytical itch, while performing Balanchine on stage is an insane shot of dopamine. I groove most outside of rehearsal when I’m working on a Naharin piece, I’ve done the most narrative research for a Neumeier piece, and a Marco Goecke piece totally possesses my nervous system and has me up at night obsessing over the material.

Dancing Schläpfer allows me to be the biggest version of myself on stage, versus ironing out the eccentricities to fit into an ensemble.

Helen Clare Kinney / Katarina Soskic

You are now a freelance artist. Do you feel a great sense of freedom? What kinds of things will you want to do? Will you stay mostly in Europe or do you want to do more work in the states?

I’ve known where I was meant to be six days a week from morning til night for my entire education and career, so waking up and being in the driver’s seat still feels totally surreal. So yes, I can taste freedom and it is wonderful. As a freelancer, I want to diversify the context and angles from which I use my craft. In addition to dancing, I could imagine doing movement direction for film and theater, dramaturgical research and assistance, curation for dance festivals, choreographic assistance and staging, community workshops, and any transdisciplinary collaboration with artists I find interesting. I don’t think working relationships in North America and Europe must be mutually exclusive – quite the opposite actually. I am looking to develop work in both places.

We are excited that you are working with ISHIDA. Brett is a great talent and the fact that we have her here in Texas is all the better. How is it being back in your home state to perform?

I couldn’t think of a better reason to return home than to perform with Ishida. Not only is Brett a sensitive and unique choreographic talent, but she has a worldly vision for bringing contemporary work to Texas and is an articulate advocate for community-building through the arts. I’ve been waiting to encounter a leader like her in the states and feel that supporting artistic initiatives like hers are important in our current socio-political climate. Personally, I’m thrilled to be back in Texas for a bit – I need to work on my two-stepping, eat enchiladas and chopped beef sandwiches, soak up the horizon line, and hang out with my family!

A question that actors are asked is do you have any plans to direct? You’re a dancer, so the question becomes, are you interested in choreographing your own work? Or starting your own company?

I’m currently applying for time, space, and funds to get a piece on the history of female automatons off the ground, which in its first iteration would be a solo piece that layers documentary video footage, movement, and textile art. I am also choreographing material for a performance artist in Austria in October. So yes, I’m interested in making my own work.

Regarding starting my own company, I’m not sure now. I’m trying to take a page out of my twelve-year-old self’s playbook right now: saying yes to things and seeing how they grow, learning by doing, following my gut, trusting in my support systems, and running with ideas until there’s wind beneath them.

Related Posts

About author

Related Posts

Comments are closed.

Do not miss