By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Brooke Mainland, a member of Eisenhower Dance Detroit, says a few things may come across to Sitka audiences when they see her and Joshua Hlavaty perform “Moonlit,” choreographed by Joshua Manculich.
“It’s a very personal piece for us,” said Mainland, who’s been dancing since age five and is in her seventh season with the dance company. “I feel like it’s easy for us to connect – we’ve been here the longest, so it’s a nice piece for us to be able to go out there and enjoy, and do what we love – and not feel stressed about it.”
Eisenhower Dance Detroit will perform 7 p.m. Saturday, September 17, at the Performing Arts Center. The show is presented by the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, and features seven members of the professional contemporary dance company.
Alex Hlavaty, Eisenhower Dance Detroit senior company member, warms up in the Sitka Fine Arts Camp’s Allen Auditorium dance studio Wednesday. The company will kick off its Alaska tour here 7 p.m. Saturday at the Performing Arts Center. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
“We were excited to have the opportunity to have them here, because Sitkans love dance, and this is one of the top contemporary dance companies in the U.S.,” said SFAC director Roger Schmidt.
They are led by artistic director Stephanie Pizzo, who also choreographed the closing piece for the show, “Surge.” She is one of the founding members of the 32-year-old professional contemporary dance repertory company.
This is the first stop in the Alaska tour, which heads next to Haines, Skagway, Talkeetna, Anchorage, Valdez and Nome.
Tickets for the Sitka show are $20, at the door and fineartscamp.org.
Since arriving in Sitka, the dancers have worked with kids at Baranof Elementary and Keet Gooshi Heen, and will have a master class with Sitka Studio of Dance members tonight.
The Sitka visit has been a long time in coming, after the pandemic put the Alaska tour on hold. So far, it’s exceeded expectations, Hlavaty said.
“We were unsure of the community and how it was going to differ from what we’re used to in Detroit, this big bustling city where everything is so fast paced, and everyone focused on themselves,” he said. “But everyone has been so welcoming here, everyone stops to talk to us. We mention our show, and they said they’ll be there. Very warm and welcoming.”
The three who spoke to the Sentinel after a rehearsal in the Allen Hall dance studios talked about some of the pieces the audience will see, and about why – and how – they became dancers.
“I’ve been kind of dancing out of the womb – very poorly,” Hlavaty said. “And I would dress up in a lot of dresses and Disney character dresses that I made my mom sew for me by hand. And she said, ‘I’m tired of this – if you’re going to dance, you’re going to do it the right way,’ so she enrolled me in a dance school.”
He has been with the company since graduating with a bachelor in fine arts and dance from Western Michigan University. Mainland has been with the company since graduating from the University of Arizona and spending a year training with other companies in the Chicago area.
“I started as an apprentice here and now I’ve worked my way up to be a senior company member, and we’ve been touring ever since,” she said.
Mainland said dancing is a natural fit for her.
“Dance for me is my second language,” she said. “I’m not a very social person, I’m definitely an introvert and I feel like dance really gives me a voice. And I’m able to express how other people would maybe want to feel, but can’t always say it themselves. I feel like they can find that within our movement and our performances.”
Hlavaty said some of everyone’s personalities should come through in one piece in particular: “Legacy Island,” choreographed by Norbert De La Cruz III. The choreographer asked each of the dancers how they would like to be remembered.
He thought about the Hollywood dancers who inspired him, such as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.
“It changed my life because I wanted to dance like them, and if I can make a difference in someone’s life if they watch me perform, that’s what I would want,” he said. “(De La Cruz) created my role as the sun, giving life to everything that’s happening on stage.”
Other dancers in Sitka are Emy Bezbatchenko, Tara Charvat, Kyle Halford, Lillie Hamilton and Imani Williams.
Pizzo has been with the company since it started. It takes its name from founder Laurie Eisenhower, the founding artistic director. Pizzo was the youngest dancer in the company.
“I have worked my way from being a young dancer to a more seasoned dancer, into a rehearsal director and assistant director,” she said. Eisenhower asked her to take the artistic helm when she retired, which Pizzo was honored to do.
“It’s a continuous legacy, but also (I wanted) to learn about myself, my own artistic vision,” said Pizzo, now in her sixth season in the role. “And it’s been a really exciting journey.”
Her choreography can be seen in the show, in the final piece, “Surge,” which is a tribute to Detroit, her hometown.
“It’s very much about the resurgence of the company and in the resurgence of anybody who has been to that place where you feel like you kind of hit rock bottom,” Pizzo said.
The creative team of composer, choreographer and costume designer are all Detroit-based.
“The focus on Detroit was, as my first step out into the role of artistic director,” Pizzo said. “The very beginning of the piece starts out as very dark, and slowly as the piece evolves, you start to see the dancers starting to feel that resurgence in their bodies and the choreography starts to change, and the music starts to change and the light starts to change and it starts to take some momentum.
“The idea – that connection – that human connection that we have, of feeling like we are in a place that we can be so down about ourselves and our self worth,” she said. “But if you really dig deep and you can find that little light, you can allow it to grow and bloom and blossom. You never want to give up, you know? That’s how I felt about the city, and it’s been exciting to be a part of seeing it really start to change.”
