Today we’d like to introduce you to Becca Hoback.
Hi Becca, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I started building Enactor Productions in 2018 to explore what it means to be a human being having a relationship with your body. I had worked with professional dance companies before but wanted to identify my specific vision for making and performing. I started by showing up to the studio alone multiple evenings each week – after my official rehearsal day and teaching engagements were done – and began improvising and choreographing on my own. I took a lot of notes and learned a lot from the process. Since then, I’ve continued to show up to the studio each day and dream up solos I want to create and collaborations I want to facilitate. I kickstarted these collaborations by traveling to Tel Aviv – a major contemporary dance hub – to connect with choreographers Ben Green and Roy Assaf. Locally, I facilitated several community movement workshops (“Body View”) to create space for people of all abilities to connect with their bodies as a vehicle for self-expression and emotional processing. I partnered with OZ Arts Nashville to host some outdoor showings of my solo work-in-progress during the pandemic and had an intimate collaboration with Ana Maria Lucaciu in a creative residency. After much planning and hard work, my first full-evening solo program (“Enactor”) premiered at OZ Arts in June 2021. Launching this triple bill and a few of my self-choreographed works at the Kindling Arts Festival equipped me with videos and experience. I began sending my materials to international festivals and residency applications, and now I’m spending most of fall 2022 in Europe, traveling from festival to festival and sharing this work abroad!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Developing this work has been a challenging process. Everything happens in seasons: sometimes my energy is high, I’m able to work rigorously within the rehearsal studio and creative process, and sometimes I feel like I can barely peel myself off the floor. Waiting for live performance opportunities to return during the pandemic was incredibly challenging; I was picking up momentum before March 2020 and had to pump the brakes and find ways to stay engaged in my movement practice even through such an uncertain time. I have also struggled with confidence, and it is challenging to stay motivated to create when I doubt myself. It was always a challenging journey, but I learned a lot from the process, including the hard parts! Still, I’ve been so lucky to count on some amazing friends and family, local dance organizations, and art enthusiasts to help me develop this project further through the difficult times.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
As I’ve gotten more specific about the work I’m making and performing, I’ve considered myself a “collaborative movement artist, performer, and choreographer” or a “dance-theater artist.” The most recognizable title I carry would be “contemporary dancer,” but that can mean so many different things! I’m passionate about processing life experiences and emotions through physicality, and I try to create space for others to do the same through my work. I try to perform genuinely, vulnerably, and dynamically while making space for a little levity and humor! By creating evocative shows and improvisational movement workshops, I hope to connect people to their bodies, emotions, and experiences in a meaningful way. I’m most proud of the ways people have responded to the work: when audiences and participants leave feeling inspired, alive, and expansive, I feel fulfilled.
In terms of your work and the industry. What are some changes you expect to see over the next five to ten years?
I hope more independent dance artists break out of traditional dance company structures to create work and forge their creative careers. The last two years have shaken up the default dance career path. I believe we will see a more diverse and dynamic palette of dance works by empowering individual artists to experiment, create, and perform! I’m curious to see how the fast pace of life and technology, in contrast to the spaciousness of the last years of the pandemic, will affect what we see onstage and onscreen. This is a time we’ll be unpacking for a while!
Pricing:
- If you join me on Patreon, you can step into my Open Rehearsal Studio to see exclusive behind the scenes footage of my most recent projects and work: creative processes, community happenings, and videos from the archive. Join for $10/month: https://www.patreon.com/beccahoback
- Also on Patreon, you can join my Studio Sessions to experience a monthly guided improvisation video that you can access anytime, from anywhere in the world! We’ll dig into some of the themes I’ve been exploring in my solo work and recent collaborative processes. I’ll also lead and share some of my choreographic phrase-work from time to time. Studio Session members will also receive all of the Open Rehearsal Studio content: https://www.patreon.com/beccahoback
- If you are a presenter interested in programming my work, please refer to my repertoire and reach out via the form on my website to inquire about performance arrangements: https://www.beccahoback.com/enactor-productions
Contact Info:
- Website: www.beccahoback.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/becca_hoback/
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/beccahoback
Image Credits
Andrea Behrends, Tiffany Bessire, Stacy Widelitz, Grant Claire
