J-Sun Noer, Annie Hanauer, and Nora Jenneman on the 2020 Spring Dance Concert

The University of Minnesota Theatre Arts & Dance Department produces a number of shows every year, from one-off events to consistent, annual installments. The Spring Dance Concert is one such installment, occurring each Spring semester. The show is performed by University Dance students and features work from local and international choreographers each year. This year’s Spring in the Winter concert highlights choreography from UMN Dance alumna and internationally acclaimed dance artist Annie Hanauer, instructor and b-boy J-Sun Noer, and a number of advanced undergraduate students. The concert is directed by TAD professor Joanie Smith. Both Annie and J-Sun have undertaken significant work focused on ability and physical inclusivity in the world of dance. J-Sun is developing a practice he calls Ground Theory, which explores bodies and physical space as they relate to dance. 
 

Nora Jenneman, UMTAD Dance Staff
The Dance department brings in many talented choreographers. What has it been like selecting and working with J-Sun and Annie on this show?
Nora Jenneman: Annie Hanauer is a graduate of the Dance Program, who has had/continues to have a successful performance career in Europe since graduating twelve years ago. I love to see connections among generations of Dance Program students and alumni that happen in the studio and in conversations about career path, community, and related. J-Sun already has connections in the Dance Program as an instructor, Teaching Assistant, and graduate student in the department. Choreographing with a student cast for this concert is a new way for him to share his research (creative and scholarly) with the program, as well as providing a performance opportunity for our BA and BFA Dance Majors.
 
What can you tell me about the student choreographers? What does it mean for a student to choreograph this production, as opposed to performing in it?
NJ: It is a great opportunity for undergraduates to have their choreographic work mentored beyond the classroom and supported with production values such as professional lighting design. The works selected will either represent the program at the regional American College Dance Association conference or were selected as alternatives for the conference. The works adjudicated at the ACDA will receive feedback from national artists/educators/scholars/critics and be considered for the National Festival in the late spring.

Annie Hanauer, Choreographer
You attended the University of Minnesota, but now work internationally in dance and choreography. What is it like returning to the department you graduated from?
Annie Hanauer: It’s a real pleasure to reconnect with my teachers and revisit a phase of life which, for me, was full of lots of change and growth. I recognize that I took a lot of important learning with me from lots of my professors in the Dance Program, and it’s nice to see them and appreciate their work, and also to see how far I’ve come in my professional life since that time. I haven’t been back to the campus for over a decade, so it’s been a trip down memory lane. I’ve also been doing some teaching in the wider Twin Cities community, and it’s great to reconnect with what’s happening and see what’s changed and what remains.
 
How does this dance community differ from others you’ve worked with?
AH: In general, I work in different places around Europe which, because it’s geographically smaller, facilitates lots of exchanges between communities and countries. In a larger place like the U.S., that cross-pollination can be more of a challenge. Depending on the country, there also tends to be a bit more public funding to support the arts that we have here. What strikes me about the students I’ve met so far here at the U of M is their strong work ethic, which feels quite specific and is something to celebrate.
 
What can you say about your experience working with this group of students?
AH: The group I’ve been working with have been really great at trying all the ingredients I’ve thrown at them and diving straight into the deep end. I’m really pleased with their openness and curiosity, and their ability to enjoy going into slightly unknown places. Since I work a lot with improvisation, in a creative process it’s important to me that dancers are able to take an idea and explore it from their own viewpoint; that ability to research is what I would expect working with a professional. They’re a bunch of fierce movers and they’ve been wonderful to work with!

J-Sun Noer, Choreographer
Your background is primarily in Hip Hop. How is that style and experience integrated into this production?
J-Sun Noer: I must first explain that breaking is a Hip Hop dance form, but many others that are lumped into the category are not. Krump, House, Rocking, among several other forms, are what we would call Street forms. This specific dance work is rooted in breaking, my participation in the abstract era of the form, experience with various injuries, and working with my partner. The abstract era was 1995-2005 when creativity was valued over execution and we rebelled against traditional techniques. I also have experienced several injuries which made me work around being unable to use a leg or arm. My partner, Yan, is unable to put weight on her arm and wanted to learn how to break, so I began to develop a different way of moving. This has led me to teach several variations of a single movement in my courses to make inclusivity a priority. Ground Theory is the next iteration of developing an aesthetic that values how different bodies move and incorporates this movement into fundamental techniques. The work is on sides, backs, and stomachs; there is no upright movement except for the three live musicians (Yan Pang, Stefon “Bionik” Taylor, and Queen Drea).
 
What does Hip Hop/breaking mean for this community of student dancers?
JN: Hip Hop dance and culture is deeply embedded in the practice of breaking. The historical connections cannot be detached from the movement regardless of how it is changed. We cannot disconnect from the original community of African American youth and the marginalizations perpetrated on their bodies up to the present moment. We deeply discuss ideas of inclusivity and attend to violences which resonate through time and space. The dance work attempts to make some of these issues visible through a horizontal world connected to our world and, therefore, perceives these issues from a different perspective. Disability has been part of our discussions and my academic research, and the precarious positionality of an able-bodied dancer doing this type of work. I have to remain vigilant, accountable, and responsible when speaking, writing, and choreographing with disability as part of the focus of the work.
 
What can you say about your experience working with this group of students?
JN: These students have been courageous and outspoken about the work. They travel with me on a journey over a new landscape layered with history and offer up honest opinions. They have contributed to the choreography and allowed me space to try different things and, in fact, encouraged risk-taking. I am grateful for their presence and investment in Ground Theory.
 
Is there anything else audiences should know about this show?
JN: This dance work is not only part of developing an inclusive aesthetic as part of technique, it also asks questions about what is valued in dance. What sort of bodies are dance bodies? I believe that Ground Theory is just the beginning of reframing dance for my future works.