We were lucky to catch up with Robyn Wilson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Robyn, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the story behind how you got your first job in field that you currently practice in.

All I’ve ever wanted to do is be involved in Dance. My first “job” was helping a toddler dance class when I was in high school to pay for my private lessons. I learned a lot from the teachers who mentored me, and it inspired me to continue further in the dance world. As soon as I had a permanent home in Chicago during my second year of college, I took two days to gather every dance studio in the area’s contact information. I made a LOT of calls. August isn’t the best time for hiring teachers, but that didn’t stop me from trying to get involved in any way I could- cleaning mirrors, organizing payment plans, anything to get me into the dance world I knew. Dance in college can be something of a left turn if you grew up in studio dance, and while I love creating and doing art in this way, I wanted to stay anchored in the dance I already knew I loved. One studio answered me and said they were looking for a front desk receptionist. It felt like the universe telling me I’m taking the right path. I rode my bike almost 2 miles to the interview, and the vibrant pink and green studio welcomed me with open arms. I took on the weekend shifts so I could work enough to pay the bills while being in school full time, and I ended up working there for six years. I’ll always be forever grateful to All About Dance because they gave me the first opportunity to explore arts administration and how to support and fund the art I love.

Robyn, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

So I am a professional dancer and choreographer, as well as a stage manager and lighting designer. The former has been a passion since I was young, as I grew up doing studio dance (think “Dance Moms” but less gymnastics tricks). In college I found myself branching out to different styles of dance that I would learn and perform, such as Modern, West African, and Hip Hop. Modern has been my primary focus since leaving college as a performer and choreographer. I now perform with Dance Uprising, based in the Ann Arbor area, and am a co-founder of the We/Are Collective in Chicago.

As a founder of the We/Are collective, I provide lots of the technical consulting, lighting design, and sound editing/creating. I work mostly remotely, but the other fantastic artists on this team; Nik, Reign, Phylinese, and all of the incredible dancers we’ve worked with, have made it their mission to keep me involved and informed on every level. They are out in Chicago creating beautiful work and oftentimes host improvisation based classes for all kinds of people with a relationship to movement. Check us out?

As a teacher for both children and adults, I don’t strive to create the world’s best dancers- I mean who can even quantify who’s the “best”? I have a desire to increase the relationship we have with our bodies. I seek to find a world where everyone can feel the intricate infinity that lives within them, especially as technology begins to improve our lives more. Knowing how to hold another human safely could help save yours or someone else’s life- or at least your bodies. I also have a strong sense for building all kinds of skills not necessarily related to dance and the body for my 18 and under students- how to work in a team, how to be a leader, how to regulate our emotions, how to have disagreements. I try to be transparent and open as much as possible to help kids learn that as adults, we have bad days and get upset too! It happens, and emotions are meant to be felt.

Now stage managing and lighting design is a job I was welcomed into through an apprenticeship with Jacob Snodgrass. He is a fantastic artist in Chicago who, at the time, was doing almost exclusively dance lighting design. At the start of the pandemic, I had had an internship with the Dance Center of Columbia College as a production intern who cleaned the stage, prepared the dressing rooms, and got to sit in on tech/dress/through designing. It was fascinating, fun, and informative. About a year in to the pandemic, Jacob called me and asked if this was something I really wanted to do. After I agreed, we did a whirlwind of a show in a parking lot where all of the lights and sound needed to be set up and tore down each show. It was such fulfilling and fun work, I just had to do more. From there I built connections being a stagehand, load in crew, and finally designing and stage managing by myself. I love using this art to enhance the world being created on stage, screen, etc.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

I believe the most helpful part of dance is connection. You can’t know if someone carries the same energy as you until you’re in the room together. And I know this is going to sound very crochety old person at 26, but seeing people face to face and engaging in human touch is invaluable. Obviously always be safe in these situations! But sometimes someone may not remember your name, but they could have remembered how you danced. What negotiations you had on the dancefloor. Human connection is everything.

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

While helping to manage the We/Are collective, trying to increase engagement on social media is a must in order to secure future funding and audiences. The times where we have collaborated with other groups, such as Uncommon Ground and Chicago Dancemakers Forum, we have gotten a lot more attention- and our partners did too! Finding other groups with similar missions as yours can help mutually benefit both groups with long term support.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.wearecollective.online/
• Instagram: robynwillllson and wearedancecollective and danceuprising
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgtBYSUzgtBT0xFBZqP2hig

Image Credits
Phylinese Brooks (@UBX3photography) Nicole Lockheart (@awake.dreaming)