We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alexa Capareda a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Alexa, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?
I feel extremely fortunate that my “pays the bills” job — as a Rehearsal Director and Resident Faculty at Ballet Austin– is fully within my industry of dance . My duties fall at the intersection of structure and creativity, whether that means re-staging a preexisting choreographic work/repertory or creating new work of my own from scratch. My job requires an immense attention to detail, but also gives value to nuance and artistry. I love having a specific set of goals and standards, to be in a more supportive role within a large organization, working daily with inspiring dancers and my colleagues in the artistic staff. However, it can be challenging (but not impossible, at least) with this full-time position (that is beholden to the ballet company’s season calendar…) to fit in outside projects that are more for me and satisfy my own interests and pursuits. My days tend to be long and non-stop, and any free time away from the Ballet Austin studios I inevitably fill with rehearsals or meetings towards collaborations with other artists (mostly Austin-based choreographers, theatre makers, musicians, film and visual artists, etc.). While I enjoy the constant gear-shifting and spinning many plates at once, it can be taxing, with a relentless calendar. I do sometimes wonder what it would be like to have a “normal” job, but that vision is somewhat formless, as I have lived comfortably in the ballet/dance industry for the decades of my life. I do have a B.A. in English, and adjacency to the world of academia is sometimes enticing, but I have my apprehensions. I do have a diverse skillset… and probably too many interests. So, at the moment, I quite honestly feel I have a dream job. That feels a bit saccharine when I type it out, but I’m content.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I received my early classical ballet and contemporary dance training at the Philippine High School for the Arts in my native Philippines. After moving to Texas, I trained professionally at Ballet Austin. I continued dancing in Canada at Ecole Superieure de Ballet Contemporain de Montreal before joining Mario Radacovsky’s Balet Bratislava in Slovakia. I began exploring my own choreography before leaving Europe, winning 3rd prize at the 2013 Festival of Choreographic Miniatures in Serbia.
I joined Ballet Austin’s artistic staff and Academy faculty in 2015. As Rehearsal Director for Ballet Austin TWO and the Butler Fellows, I have restaged ballets by Stephen Mills, Nelly van Bommel, Nick Kepley, Thang Dao, and Jimmy Orrante for Ballet Austin TWO, assisted guest choreographers Alexander Anderson and Joshua Manculich with their commissioned works, and created original pieces for BA2 and the Butler Fellowship Program. Maria and the Mouse Deer, my new ballet for BA2 based on Philippine folk stories, was awarded a Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
I am artist and Assistant Director with Jennifer Hart’s Performa/Dance. I have co-produced and performed with Frank Wo/Men Collective and worked with Austin entities ARCOS, BLiPSWiTCH, Jennifer Sherburn, and Magdalena Jarkowiec. My work has been featured in collaborations with sound artists/musicians Steve Parker, Brent Baldwin, Henna Chou, Lynn Lane’s Transitory Sound and Movement Collective, Austin Camerata, LOLA Austin, and visual artists Tom Suhler and Susan Scafati. I have been commissioned by Houston Contemporary, Columbia Repertory Ballet, and ZACH Theatre, and I have presented work at the Blanton Museum, Big Medium, Austin Dance Festival, Barnstorm Dance Festival, and Fusebox Festival. I recently had my acting debut in Salvage Vanguard Theater’s Decapitations, and I have a growing interest in expanding my skillsets within the greater creative industry. I have also assisted several arts entities with marketing and social media.
In 2017, I received an Austin Critics Table Award for Excellence as a Dancer. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in English (with High Honors), and a minor in Theater and Dance from the University of Texas at Austin.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Go see things! All artists want is to share. Whether that means going to see a performance or watching a video, etc. Art craves connection and participation, and the way artists build their networks is through meaningful, genuine interactions with audiences.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me, it’s the feeling in the room after a performance, in which you FEEL the audience’s response and genuine reaction. No words can match the electricity and vibrance of a live, responsive audience. Words are the next best thing though — the conversations I’ve had in which people shared how my work resonates with them have been incredibly rich and affirming. Examples: feeling the kids bouncing around to the music and giggling to a performance of my original story ballet and labor of love, Maria and the Mouse Deer (2022) /// speaking with a queer person about how the non-heteronormative partnering in my contemporary work moves them and makes them feel seen.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://alexacapareda.wixsite.com/dance
- Instagram: acapareda
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCGDg-t-a0yX3F8hyJ1ii_A
- Other: https://linktr.ee/acapareda
Image Credits
Sarah Annie Navarrete Anne Marie Bloodgood Matthew Bradford Essentials Creative