In Service to the Art: A Conversation with Elisa Clark

Masazumi Chaya, Robert & Elisa running rehearsal for AAADT . Photo by Danica Paulos

Elisa Clark is one of those indispensable people without whose intelligence, versatility, and understanding of choreography the dance world could not function. When I spoke to her in July she was in the middle of running rehearsals for Robert Battle’s newest creation for the Paul Taylor Dance Company. (It will premiere in the fall.) Clark has a long history with Battle. She was a founding member, and later company manager, of his company, Battleworks. These days, she is rehearsal director at the Mark Morris Dance Group, where she danced from 2005 to 2011. Before that she danced for Lar Lubovitch and others. I first noticed her when she was dancing with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (2013-2017). And as if that weren’t enough, she’s also a certified life coach, and has taught extensively. Clark’s career spans a surprising range of styles, choreographic voices, and functions. She is a linchpin of the profession.

I interviewed her as part of my research for an article about the Juilliard Dance Division, which she attended from 1997-2001, and which turns 75 this year. I’d been meaning to interview her for a while. I found our conversation so interesting that I’m happy to reprint it here, in an edited version.

MH: What is your background?

EC: I grew up outside of Washington, D.C. and as a kid I went to Maryland Youth Ballet. I grew up on the classical ballet trajectory. My mother was a ballet dancer, who had danced in the corps de ballet at ABT in the ‘60s and ‘70s. I thought that was what I wanted to do. Then I had a couple of teachers who helped me be less “bunhead” in my thinking. One was a man named Eric Hampton, who was on the faculty at Maryland Youth Ballet and a Juilliard alum. He had been invited by Ben Harkarvy to join Nederlands Dans Theater. When he came back to the States he had his own company: very Kylián-esque, Hans van Manen, that sort of aesthetic. I loved what he did because it used my technique, but wasn’t just putting on a tutu and doing the classics. I also think that because my mom was a ballet dancer, finding my own way within dance meant branching out into contemporary and modern. I auditioned for Juilliard and got in, and I thought, great: I don’t have to pick ballet or modern — I can do both.

MH: What did your training at Juilliard consist of?

EC: The curriculum was really established. You had ballet every day, and the freshmen had Graham and Limón; sophomores had Graham and Taylor-style classes; third year we went back to Graham and Limón; fourth year we worked more with guest teachers. We all had to take ballroom dance our freshman year with a husband-and-wife team, Yvonne Marcea and Pierre Dulaine, the couple who were featured in the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom years ago. And there were a couple of electives. We could take a class called Elements of Performance with Pauline Koner from the Limón world; she was about 90 at the time. There was also a woman named Indrani who taught classical Indian dance. Jazz with Joe Lanteri was always popular, but we had to wait until sophomore year to take it.

MH: I know you studied with the former Paul Taylor dancer Carolyn Adams while you were there. What was your relationship with her like?

EC: We were very close. I had her my sophomore year; our class was really small, only six of us. There was that intimacy of a small class size. She and her sister used to run the school of dance at New York State Summer School of the Arts in Saratoga — they ran it for something like 30 years — and the summer I graduated from Juilliard, she invited me to perform on her faculty concert. Years before, she had also invited Robert Battle to perform there.

Elisa demonstrating for Robert at the School at Jacob’s Pillow - unknown photo credit

MH: Did you and Robert Battle meet through her?

It was in August of 2001. In May of that year, when I was graduating, one of the things I performed on my senior solo concert was a solo of Robert’s, as well as a Paul Taylor duet. Robert didn’t stage it on me himself, but we did work together a little bit in the studio. Then, three months later, he gave his final performance as a dancer with Parsons, and then drove to Saratoga the next day. I feel like I was really at the right place at the right time. He was ready to start Battleworks. And there I was.

MH: Did you know what you wanted to do at that point?

EC: Looking back I realize that when I graduated I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. Mark [Morris] received an honorary degree from Juilliard at my graduation, so that was also serendipitous timing. I’d done auditions, and gone to Europe my senior year to try to take company class and figure out what to do. I put pressure on myself, thinking I needed to find the one company I was going to have my career with. I graduated without a job, not knowing what to do. I kept taking class, primarily with Igal Perry whose work I had performed at Juilliard. I had also performed work by Lar Lubovitch, and I loved the way his movement felt on my body. Rebecca Rigert, who was one of his dancers for a long time, told me he would be doing a season and that I should call him. I waited until I graduated, then called, nervous as could be. I got an automated answering machine and nervously left a message. A couple of days later, I came home to my answering machine flashing, with a message from Lar: “Hi, Alyssa, it’s Lar. I’m doing a season at City Center this fall, and I have a spot for you if you’re interested.” I saved that message for as long as I kept that answering machine.

Elisa assisting Mark in Banff- photo by Susan Weber

MH: How did you meet Mark Morris?

EC: Mark got his honorary degree at my commencement. Benjamin Harkarvy, who was director of Juilliard Dance at the time, came over to me and my parents on the plaza and said, “I need to speak with you — Mark’s having an audition in June, this may be it, this may be how we get you a job.” I went to the audition, made the callback, got into the last ten people or so, but didn’t get the job.

MH: How did you end up dancing for him?

EC: Mark was teaching an open ballet class at his building in Brooklyn. You could drop in and take ballet with him, I went whenever I could fit it into my schedule. He’d given me some corrections in class. After Friday class I had a whole conversation with myself in my head: “Elisa, you have to go downstairs and introduce yourself to him. You came here to establish this connection.” So I went down to the office floor, asked someone, and shockingly, the front desk person went and got him. I said something like, “I just wanted to introduce myself, thank you for class — my name’s Elisa, I love your work, and if there’s ever a chance to dance your work, it would be a delight.” He said, “Well, you’re pretty good — not bad,” something like that. He said to leave my information, so I just wrote down my email and phone number on a piece of paper.

A month later, I got an offer from the company manager to cover for L’Allegro. Somebody got injured the third day of rehearsal, and I was thrown in. It all went okay. Then I was asked back in December to do The Hard Nut, and that also seemed to go well. That led to becoming an apprentice, and then a full company member.

MMDG in Grand Duo - photo by Jim Coleman

MH: You’ve worked with all these major choreographers—have you ever thought about trying your hand at choreography?

EC: When I was at Juilliard, Composition classes were required, and I did make a couple of things that made it to the big stage, but I think I already knew that wasn’t my thing. I was more drawn to assisting others in their creation process.

MH: How do you learn to become a choreographic assistant and rehearsal director?

EC: It’s interesting because there isn’t formal training. But I think my relationship with Carolyn Adams, and being mentored by her, allowed me to develop certain aspects of my work in the studio. I was often asked to help out during auditions for the next school year, that kind of thing. I really learned and soaked up the value of process and not rushing toward the final product. That may be part of what has landed me in these positions as rehearsal director and stager, which are process-related.

MH: What do you feel drives your work?

EC: I feel so fortunate to be in service to this art form. I’m not a dance-maker, but I’m very aware of the value I bring to the people who have that kind of genius. What’s better than being able to support somebody with that kind of brilliance, who makes the world a better place through the work they’re making?

MMDG in L’Allegro (Craig Beisecker, Maile Okamura, Elisa Clark) - photo by Elaine Mayson