We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Noelle Kayser a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Noelle, appreciate you joining us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?
My dad is a lifelong theater actor, and my mother is a retired dancer who currently works as a dance educator. I had the privilege of growing up with them as examples that being a full-time artist in the US was possible—difficult, but possible. Thanks to my parents I never doubted the validity of my dreams or felt resistance from them as my winding path often mirrored their own. They supported decisions that were deemed risky and irresponsible by members of our community, primarily prioritizing my dance training over academics. I left a traditional highschool in order to train during the day as well as in the evening and dropped out of college after my freshman year to pursue alternate methods of continued dance education. Both decisions were the right choices for me and ultimately had a profoundly positive impact on my career. Their support instilled in me the value of art and trade based work, of which the importance of both are vastly undervalued in our society.
Some of my happiest memories as a kid are hanging out backstage while my father worked, watching him in the audience, and at times, performing alongside him. The opportunity to see the inner workings of the theater from a young age has had a lasting impact on the way I make work and exist in my creative community.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Noelle Kayser (she/her). I’m an Atlanta-raised, Chicago-based interdisciplinary creative—a choreographer, dancer, rehearsal director, actor and sound designer. My professional dance career began in 2011 at Luna Negra Dance Theater with an apprenticeship under the direction of Gustavo Ramirez Sansano—where I performed the company’s repertoire domestically and internationally. In 2013, I joined glo, an Atlanta-based collaborative performance platform founded by Lauri Stallings. Other credits include the Proia Dance Project, Erik Thurmond’s Ripple, Gathering Wild, The Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and Scrap Theater Group’s one-woman play Leda (title role).
I was a member of Visceral Dance Chicago under the direction of Nick Pupillo from 2015 through 2018. While at Visceral, I had the opportunity to perform works by Marguerite Donlon, Danielle Agami, Kevin O’Day, Alice Klock, Stephanie Martinez, and many others. I was a member of Northwest Dance Project under the direction of Sarah Slipper from 2019 through 2020. While at Northwest, I had the opportunity to perform works by Sarah Slipper, Wen Wei Wang, Ihsan Rustem, and Patrick Delcroix. I have also performed with Benjamin Wardell’s The Cambrians, Fly On A Wall (ATL), Open Space Dance (PDX) and LED (Boise). In addition to dance, I have narrated 16 audiobooks for Listen Up Productions / audible.com, and appeared in industrial advertising for Grey Television, Kitchenaid, and Whirlpool.
I was the founding rehearsal director, dancer, and administrator for PARA.MAR Dance Theatre under the direction of Stephanie Martinez until the spring of 2023. AT PMDT, I performed works by Jennifer Archibald, Robyn Mineko Williams, Helen Simoneau and Stephanie Martinez. I have been an assistant and repetiteur for Ms. Martinez for her creations on PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, Cincinnati Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, BalletX, Tulsa Ballet II, Bruce Wood Dance, South Chicago Dance Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and Cerqua Rivera Dance Theater. I was the assistant choreographer for Lyric Opera’s Carmen in the 22/23 season.
I have choreographed for Ballare Carmel, Chicago Dance Crash, Boykin Dance Project, COMMON Conservatory, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theater, Moonwater Dance Project, DanceWorks Chicago, Visceral Dance Chicago, Visceral Dance Chicago Trainee’s, SALT LINK Choreography Festival, Dance in the Parks, Hedwig Dances, Open Space Dance and Kit Modus. Her piece for Kit Modus – The Excursion: Realized – was named one of 2018’s Highlights of the Year by ArtsATL.
As a choreographer, the driving force behind my work is the profound desire to process, understand, and find peace in the human experience. I firmly believe in the infinite capacity of dance to forge connections and cultivate empathy within ourselves, towards others, and for our environment. Through both linear and non-linear narrative structures, I delve into personal and collective histories, exploring the nuanced layers of our shared existence. Additionally, I am intrigued by the intersection of non-fiction and fantastical elements, weaving together elements of fantasy and fable to expand the boundaries of storytelling
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
As I grow older and gain more experience, I strive to be as generous with my information as possible—both to my peers and younger, up and coming artists. Throughout my life there have been key moments where another artist has gone out of their way to advise, connect, or mentor me in some way that has changed the trajectory of my career. In the instances that immediately come to mind, these folks did so without any pretense of ego. They went out of their way to make me comfortable inside a vulnerable experience, asking for help in a field that can have stark and inequitable power dynamics.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
I continuously ground myself in that my worth as a person is not tied to how my body or work is received and that cruelty is not a fruitful source of motivation.
There were times when lost in existential thought, I would marvel at the idea that ‘my livelihood depends on how people feel when they look at my body or the movement that comes from my body.’ When I got cut at an audition, wasn’t selected for a role within a dance company, or didn’t receive an award I was nominated for and wanted badly, it was easy to spiral into thinking, ‘I did my best, but they didn’t think it was good enough; therefore, I am not good enough.’ When dealing with something as subjective as art, which is critiqued by individuals with their own complex lived experiences, belief systems, and biases, it’s crucial for my well-being that I separate others’ perception of the art that I create from my own sense of personal value. I dance and I make dances, but neither are who or what I am.
The latter is self explanatory. To some degree we’ve all had either a teacher, choreographer, director or our own mind attempt to berate us into excellence. It simply doesn’t work. It’s vital to be able to take stock of what you do well as well as what could use improvement. Honesty doesn’t have to be brutal and it’s ok to take a break.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.noellekayser.com
- Instagram: @noellekayser
- Youtube: @noellekayser
Image Credits
Todd Rosenberg, William Frederking, Ashley Chappell, Michael Slobodian, Topher Alexander, Amanda Delgadillo, A.Deran Photography