We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Eva Stone a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Eva, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I started a meaningful project about 45 years ago. The project was focused on becoming a professional choreographer. My passion for making dances began at the age of 14 in high school and blossomed through my undergraduate and post graduate studies. I’m a bit of a rare bird in this art form, having learned the craft and skill of choreography before learning how to technically dance. It’s like writing a symphony without knowing how to play an instrument. My journey has been somewhat backwards, and where once I thought it was to my detriment, I now find it to my benefit. It’s a rare job title, one that I reassured my kids as they were growing up that no other parent of their friends had.

The art of making dances is a complicated one. Most people don’t understand what I do for a living, including direct members of my family. I belong to an unusual tribe of physical thinkers and kinesthetic problem solvers and communicators. My work asks me to share my opinions about the world using a nonverbal and abstract movement language. I’m aware how a majority people find little to no interest here, but from my vantage point, I see a lifelong commitment to a beautiful and ephemeral art form. As the great and genius creative Crystal Pite states, “In dance, we have no artifacts.” I find this both terrifying and deliciously thrilling.

My meaningful project then begat another meaningful project. In 2018 I initiated a program at Pacific Northwest Ballet School in Seattle where I am on faculty. The program is called New Voices: Choreography and Process for Young Women in Dance. It is designed to mentor and educate the next generation of female choreographers.

It is not a hidden fact that significant commissions from mid to large size ballet companies in the US are predominately given to men. This gender inequality is unnerving in a field dominated by women and a perpetual problem. There are many possible reasons behind this obvious inequality, but one can speculate that because women are traditionally occupied with long rehearsals, men in our field traditionally have more downtime. This allows for time to experiment and explore, and over time builds status and reputation. This, in turn, sells tickets. And it’s no mystery that every dance company loves a sold-out house.

As a female choreographer, I felt it was important to do my part to rectify this problem. Starting choreographic education early in a young dancer’s life not only feeds their creativity but builds confidence and a sense of individuality as expression. I wanted to pass on my passion and love for this art form and wholeheartedly believe its power to serve every part of a dancer’s journey. We discuss and explore form, structure, creative devices, artistic intent, and the power of movement as a visceral and human language.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a professional choreographer, producer, curator, and teaching artist. I live in Seattle and I am on faculty at Pacific Northwest Ballet School where I teach modern dance technique and choreography. I also manage a program called NEXT STEP at PNB, assisting company dancers on their choreographic journeys.

I am a commissioned choreographer and have worked with many dance companies throughout the US over the past 30 years. I produced a contemporary dance festival for 14 years called CHOP SHOP: Bodies of Work that was focused on bringing dance to both new and experienced audiences through education, experience, and performance. I enjoy brining my art form to folks who are not normally connected to it. I give lectures and seminars about dance, choreography, and the creative process.

I received a BFA from Arizona State University in Dance Performance and Choreography and a Master of Arts Degree in Choreography and Choreological Studies from Trinity Laban in London, UK. I formed my dance company, The Stone Dance Collective in London and then relocated to Seattle in 1996 where my project based company still continues.

I am most proud of receiving the largest commission of my career at the age of 56 with Pacific Northwest Ballet and equally as proud of the father/daughter dance for a wedding set to Metallica that I made for a friend. No commission is better than the other. I love them all and I love my work.

I am available for teaching seminars, workshops, and residencies. I offer a way of looking at the creative process that is beyond typical. I love working with other creatives and deconstructing the world around us. I am interested in collaboration with other artists of all genres and interests. I also choreograph musicals and for commercial events. I am also the producer of WANDER/WONDER: a sculptured dance happening that takes place in a sculpture forest on Whidbey Island, WA every August. More information at www.evastonedance.com

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

So often from dance audience members I hear, “I just don’t get it.” or, “I’m not sure what was going on.” Dance is an abstract and non-verbal movement language that is easy to be intimidated by. When given my Reading Dance lectures, I tell my audiences that whatever the dance piece reminds them of, is what it is! A great way to enter a piece of art is through the title. There is so much information that the artist is giving away in a good title. Next, be conscious of the space you are looking at art in. This tells you how you get to interact with it. A black box theater is way more intimate that 3ooo seat house. Then, hopefully, the choreographer will let you into their world with lighting, costume, music, and a movement texture and language that will reference something for you. If there is tension, think of a time you experienced tension. If there is softness, think of a time you felt softness. Let your own life experience guide you through this abstract work. Movement is a universal language and we all use it every day…from hugging someone or slamming on the horn in our car or reaching for a cup on a high shelf. Give yourself permission to have an experience, memory, or sensation and trust that you have it right.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My mission is to create as much work as I can, inspire as many students as I can reach, connect with as many other artists in my own or other fields, to learn something new every day, to make a difference in someone’s creative life every day, to have and give positivity (even when thing are bad, which they often can be), to set an example of how artists in my field should behave, teach, and mentor, to continue to fix what and/or who is broken because of outdated and cruel/fearful methods, to honor my art form by reaching into the parts where the light does not alway shine, to give voice to my journey, my history, my inherited tragedies and the stories that accompany those tragedies, to say yes to everything no matter how tired I am, and to have it all culminate, after a long and productive life, to vibrantly and flambouyantly self-combust in a dance studio at the tender age of 101.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://evastonedance.com
• Instagram: @stonedance_prodcutions
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eva.stone.94/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evastone/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@stonedanceproduction

Image Credits

Photos by Lindsay Thomas