December 2022

Who you are as an artist is undoubtedly influenced by the teachers you encounter along the way. Similarly, being exposed to different artistic practices can have a significant impact on your development. Today’s guest, Annie Rigney, started dancing at the tender age of three and hasn’t looked back since. She spent her childhood and teenage years rigorously honing her craft as a ballet dancer and even founded a local dance company with her friend, where she had her first experience as a choreographer. It was only after Annie arrived at the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance that she became aware of the liberation that lay in other dance forms and approaches to movement. In our conversation, Annie recounts how she was first introduced to new techniques (like Graham and Gaga), the teachers that took the time to work with her one on one, and how these experiences gave her the tools to begin to move beyond the limitations of ballet. We hear about her time in Israel, her discovery of the Ilan Lev method, and why becoming an Ilan Lev practitioner was one of the best decisions she ever made. Annie then moves on to describe her return to New York, the culture shock she experienced after four years abroad, and how the American approach to dance and movement differs from those of Israelis. We wrap things up by discussing Annie’s recent return to choreography after a ten-year hiatus, why she felt she had needed to wait before returning to it, and what her plans are for the future. Annie’s love for dance is evident throughout this conversation, and the knowledge she has accumulated is nuanced, profound, and thought-provoking. Be sure to tune in to hear all this along with her wonderful insights on a range of fascinating topics, from healing through dance to the art of repetition! 

Key Points From This Episode:

• Get to know today’s guest, Annie Rigney, and how she first fell in love with dance.
• Annie’s love of music and her dedication to ballet throughout her childhood and teens.
• The dance company Annie and her friend started as teens.
• How running a dance company introduced Annie to choreography.
• Annie’s time at SUNY Purchase and how she was introduced to modern dance.
• The rigor, discipline, pain, and emotional abuse that characterized Annie’s early dance training.
• How new dance techniques and teachers helped Annie rediscover her body.
• The show by Batsheva that changed Annie’s plans to focus on choreography after college.
• The Gaga dance course that Annie took with Bobbi Jene Smith and how it altered her trajectory.
• Annie’s move to Israel and the time she spent training in Tel Aviv.
• The support and love Annie has always felt from her parents.
• An overview of the Ilan Lev method and how it transformed Annie’s mobility and movement.
• How Annie became an Ilan Lev practitioner and how her understanding has grown over the past 12 years.
• Why the Ilan Lev method is all about efficiency and effortlessness.
• How conflict can stimulate art and healing practices.
• Annie’s experience playing Lady Macbeth for three years in Sleep No More
• What this taught her about repetition and performance.
• The pressure Annie felt to create excellent choreography after her ten-year hiatus.
• How the COVID-19 pandemic gave her the freedom to experiment with choreography.
• What Annie is working on right now and how she has been influenced by surrealism and theatricality.
• The community that Annie has been able to build around the Ilan Lev method in New York.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

ilanlev.org

annierigney.squarespace.com

Annie Rigney on Instagram

Conservatory of Dance | Purchase College

Gaga

Martha Graham Dance Company

Batsheva Dance Company

Bobbi Jene Smith

Ilan Lev

Moshe Feldenkrais

BIO

Elizabeth Yilmaz-Dobrow is a professional dancer, teacher and producer in New York City. She received her B.A in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College where she now serves on the Dance Advisory Board as the Nominating Chair. She is a former company member with Ballet Hispanico of New York.  This is Elizabeth’s ninth season dancing with The Metropolitan Opera Ballet. Productions at the Metropolitan Opera include Bluebeard’s Castle, Eugene Onegin, Turandot, Le Nozze De Figaro, Meistersinger, Werther, Die Zauberflöte, Parsifal, Manon, La Traviata, Aida, The Magic Flute and Tannhäuser. The last five of which have been transmitted live in HD to over 70 countries across the globe.  Elizabeth is a co-producer of the salon series Art Bath NYC. Art Bath is part art party part immersive concert, featuring world renowned artists in the historic Blue Building on East 46th St.  Elizabeth toured internationally with “Angelina Ballerina, The Musical", danced at Walt Disney World, and is a proud member of the American Guild of Musical Artist Union.  Elizabeth teaches dance throughout the United States and is on faculty with the 92nd Street Y and the Joffery Ballet Trainee Program in NYC. She has also taught ballet and musical theatre for Regional Dance America, Mile Square Theatre, Marymount Girls School, the Passport to learning project in New Jersey, the National Choreography Intensive and private lessons in Manhattan, Metro-Atlanta, and virtually.