Q&A With Fernando-Gina Patterson and Octavo

Company Dancer Fernando Sabino has worked with STUDIO THREE choreographer Gina Patterson here in Richmond and in her native Austin, Texas over the past few years. Here, Fernando answers some questions about what working with Gina is like, and the process of making STUDIO THREE World Premiere, Octavo.

How long have you been working with Gina?

Gina first came to Richmond Ballet in 2008 to set Silence for the New Works Festival, so it has been three years that I’ve been working with her. Last season she invited Maggie Small and I to go down to Austin, Texas to work with her on a choreographic project where she was showing work. She created a pas de deux for us, and we were also in a piece that she restaged along with other dancers involved in the project.

What is your favorite aspect of her creative process?

I like working with Gina because it’s like an exchange. She doesn’t come to the rehearsal with a step already set in her mind, instead she works with me and the way that I can move. She gives me the basic step, and I can expand it in a different way so that it works for me, as long as it conveys the same emotion. She says, “I have this idea,” and I work with her in creating the steps. This way I can be free because I do the movement naturally.

Gina loves to work with the Richmond Ballet production staff to incorporate intriguing sets, costumes, and lighting designs into each of her productions. How have those aspects of her works affected your performance aesthetic?

Right now we are working with fabrics in her piece, which isn’t always easy because I have to judge how to work around them. But, it’s good to have these kinds of props on stage. I think it’s fun and it’s a great challenge!

I know that you and Dave Watkins are friends. How do you like dancing to his music?

That’s funny because one time Jesse Bechard (former company member) and I asked Dave if he wanted to make an exchange. He improvised some music on the dulcitar and we improvised dancing. We stayed in the studio for hours just messing around and creating movement. I’m so glad now that I have the opportunity to perform to his music.

What kind of movement vocabulary does Gina use when creating her work?

Gina always has something specific that describes the type of movement she wants to see: rocks, trees, birds, chocolate sprinkles. It doesn’t matter, she’ll find anything!

How is Gina’s choreography different for you as a dancer from other contemporary artists with whom you have worked?

While with other choreographers you don’t always know what they’re looking for emotionally when they teach you movement, Gina has an idea in mind. She doesn’t come and just tell you the step. She works with you and makes sure it looks good on you, so that you don’t have to struggle to make a step work physically or emotionally. She wants you to go out and be confident in the movement that was created, and you never have to do a movement that you’re not used to because it comes from you, within.

Also, Gina isn’t afraid to let her work develop in a new direction. She drives the piece towards the way where it will flow naturally, while still keeping the same idea and concept.

What do you like about working with Gina?

I love it. She’s a great person in the studio and outside the studio. We have a good relationship, and I enjoy talking with her and sharing experiences. Because of that, when we’re in the studio working together, we can almost read each others’ minds when we are creating movement.

How has Gina’s choreography challenged you as a dancer?

Working with Gina is always a challenge because she always squeezes as much as she can out of your dancing. It’s also a challenge to make a movement that comes from inside you, which is exactly what Gina’s choreography requires. I like it, though, because I get to use my own imagination in the creating process.

(It seemed appropriate to make reference to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in retelling the fun that was had when The Royal Ballet School joined the School of Richmond Ballet here in Richmond for an exhilarating weekend of collaborative performances!)

Listen my bloggers and you shall hear
Of when the Royal Ballet with Richmond did appear;
For three days in a row we gave shows free of flaws,
With audiences on their feet, all we heard was applause.

One if by stage left, two if by stage right;
with students in the wings our shows did delight.

Ready to valse with high legs and fluid arms; In our weekend day adventure our viewers were charmed, For the Richmond folk's hearts we uplifted and warmed!

Following a fantastic weekend performing Giselle at the Carpenter Theater at Richmond Center Stage, we trainees and apprentices at the School of Richmond Ballet (SRB) concentrated full force on preparing for our performances with graduating students from one of the most renown ballet schools in the world. As novices in the professional dance world, all of us were thrilled to have the opportunity to shine front and center, representing our very own Richmond Ballet to the best of our abilities. As the performances approached, we all felt prepared to put our best foot forward (whether it be dressed by pointe shoes, character shoes, or Russian boots) in the three pieces that we presented: an expert from Act II of Giselle, Valse Fantaisie, and the Russian Character Suite.

When performance week began we were filled with nervous excitement anticipating the arrival of our guests. The students of the Royal Ballet School (RBS) arrived on Wednesday after a long plane flight into New York City, followed by a bus ride down to Richmond. These 17 and 18-year-old RBS students-- a few of whom actually came from the United States, but most from various regions of Europe-- sounded tired but also excited about the events to come. We had the chance to meet and share stories with some of them the following day in between rehearsals and when they joined us in ballet class. They shared the same enthusiasm and nerves we did!

The next three days were a whirlwind of sweat, adrenaline, costume changes, and thrills. We performed five times over the weekend, alternating RBS and SRB pieces throughout each program, both groups taking every possibly opportunity to watch and learn from the performances of the other party, frequently cheering one another on from the wings. We also enjoyed receiving the royal treatment (pun intended) as we celebrated with a gala reception at the beautiful Bull and Bear Club on Friday, kicked back at a RBS/SRB dinner social hosted by our very own BRAVO team on Saturday, and joined the Richmond Ballet family in showing our visitors Richmond’s finest in historical beauty at the Tuckahoe Plantation on Sunday.

Throughout the rehearsal and performance process that weekend, we took pleasure in having the chance to visit with the dancers from the Royal Ballet School and hear about life as a student of ballet on the other side of the Atlantic. I was pleasantly surprised to see how much we had in common with one another. These are young, eager, vivacious dancers just like us, who shared the same daily struggles, passions, and joys that we all encounter in the world of dance. Just like us, they have put in countless hours of training, dealt with painful injuries, and are now finally seeing the fruit of their labor as their careers begin to take flight. Regardless of our diverse upbringings, the same traits of discipline, dedication, and, most of all, zeal for the indescribable delight of dance had brought us to unite on the same stage for this unique occasion. I'm sure our audiences could sense this common denominator of dedication to a dream that is finally coming to fruition for the next generation of professional dancers. Unanimously the students of RBS and SRB share a love for dance: it surrounds our thoughts and our aspirations; it is our most preferred activity. Eagerly we look forward to encountering more amazing opportunities like this one, and look forward to cheering one another on in the future as we endeavor to awaken and uplift the human spirit through dance from sea to shining sea!