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.
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