CREATIVE CONVERSATION - Jacqui Dugal and Dolly Sfeir
WE KNOW THE OPTIONS FOR ONLINE VIEWING ARE ENDLESS THESE DAYS, AND IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO KEEP UP WITH ALL THE VIRTUAL ENTERTAINMENT WE HAVE AT OUR FINGERTIPS. IN CASE YOU MISSED “CONVERSATIONS WITH CREATIVES,” OUR NEWEST SERIES FROM LPAC IN YOUR LIVING ROOM WE’RE GIVING YOU THE RUNDOWN ON LAST WEEK’S INSPIRING, THOUGHT-PROVOKING CHAT BETWEEN PREVIOUS RESIDENT LPAC ARTISTS, JACQUI DUGAL AND DOLLY SFEIR.
This interactive, open conversation was moderated by Queens-based performer, choreographer and producer, Jacqui Dugal, and featured Dolly Sfeir, a Lebanese choreographer from New York City.
Dolly and Jacqui were both part of Miki Orihara’s NuVu Festival 2019 at LPAC. Dolly’s piece, “hi are you like me” was an ironic presentation on the finance world and its inhabitants. It explored concepts of human individuality and the pursuit of contentment in this age of anxiety and insecurity. The work began at Mare Nostrum Elements Emerging Choreographers Series but took root while Dolly was in college in California.
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DS: It was a lot of curiosity all the time. People-watching, observing, trying to dance what that stress and anxiety feels like...And then planning, a lot of planning. I have tons of notebooks, I take a lot of notes of anything and everything. And then working in the studio. I was inspired by the dancer’s humanness and what they bring to the table as dancers. The music is really important to me and I focus a lot on it in the creative process so it’s a whole and not two separate pieces.”
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DS: “It changes all the time. I think I haven’t created enough to have a very strict way (or hopefully I will never have a very strict way!) and I think that’s part of it, growing and playing. I try to investigate the narrative a lot, I am very interested in theatricality and translating ideas into character and people in the most authentic and truthful way instead of starting with movement, but tapping into how to move from a certain state, how does this character that is this size and has a raspy voice move.”
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DS: There’s good days and bad days and trying to accept both. In the beginning I really slowed down all the way. Just redefined a lot of words in my life like productivity and accomplishment and success and joy and feeling good. I’ve been filming animals a lot -- that’s been really fun. I’ve been working the muscle of directing my eye through film and having non human subjects. They’re so unpredictable and you have to stay there for several minutes to see what happens. I haven’t really been moving on a regular basis and there’s always some guilt with that. But I have to listen to that and not force it cause it just doesn’t feel good if I force that.
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DS: Fear will always be there. Learn to love it. If you don’t know your voice yet, that’s fine and exciting. There’s always going to be more to learn and be curious about. Don’t be scared of rejection. It will happen again and again and again. Make work that you’re interested in and that you love and is true to you. The rest doesn’t really matter. If it starts from there, people will want to see it