Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Emery.
Sarah, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I began taking ballet at the age of four. I decided at the age of ten that I wanted to pursue dance as my career and began training in Norfolk, VA at the Tidewater Ballet Association. At the age of 14, I spent a summer training at the Boston Ballet and was invited to train with them for the year. My parents did not want me to move so far away from home in VA, but they knew that I needed more intense training to achieve my goal of becoming a professional ballet dancer.
Instead, they sent me to North Carolina School of the Arts where I completed my sophomore to senior years in high school. I trained under Balanchine’s New York City Ballet’s prima ballerina, Melissa Hayden.
Upon graduation, I was offered three apprenticeships with ballet companies – Pittsburgh Ballet, Arizona Ballet, and Tulsa Ballet. I chose the Tulsa Ballet. My time there and later my time as an apprentice with North Carolina Dance Theatre led me to question whether it was what I really wanted. I quit dancing for a couple of years and waited tables.
At the time, I was living in Charlotte, NC and got word of a new, unique company in Charlotte called the Moving Poets Theatre of Dance. They were a multi-disciplinary contemporary dance company that combined other art-forms with contemporary dance. I danced for them as a principal dancer for eight years. I liked how experimental they were, and during my time there I learned how to become less of a technical dancer and more of an artist. I had opportunities to choreograph with them as well and realized it was something I had a passion for.
In 2006, the company’s founding director, Till Schmidt-Rimpler, decided that there was not enough support in Charlotte for the Moving Poets, so he closed the doors and moved back to his home in Berlin, GE to establish the Moving Poets there. At the time, I was very settled with my life and did not want to pursue dance outside of Charlotte. I worked on independent choreography projects, found freelance dance jobs and taught ballet. I also received a degree in graphic design for supplemental income.
In 2012, I received a call from Till (the Moving Poets’ founding director), asking me if I’d like to start the Moving Poets back up in Charlotte and lead the company as the artistic director in the states. He had successfully formed the company in Berlin and wanted to create an artist exchange between Berlin and Charlotte. I agreed and took the challenge on. We were starting all over in Charlotte as a non-profit; however, we still had a dedicated audience who was excited for our return.
To get the company started, I was doing everything – writing grants, fundraising, bookkeeping, marketing, directing and choreographing… to name a few. It was a lot to take on, and I learned a lot. After three years as the Charlotte artistic director, I decided that I wanted to develop something of my own and step down from the Moving Poets. Till was in a place where he was spending more time in Charlotte and could manage both companies. I had been in Charlotte for 20 years and decided I was ready for a change.
I spent a short time in Florida and then ended up in Atlanta where I have family and where I know there is a lot of support for dance and the arts. I have been here for about a year and a half and have started my own contemporary dance company, Watershed Dance Theatre. Since then, we have participated in three dance/art festivals, have developed a short dance film that has been accepted into various film festivals and have just closed on our first full-length production in Atlanta. We are looking forward to growth and new experiences in Atlanta.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. As a dancer, there was always the challenge of facing rejection on many occasions and finding the strength, confidence, and willingness to keep pushing forward.
Running a non-profit, we face many financial challenges. We currently do not have a staff, so I am doing everything on my own. We are very new, so we are also trying to figure out how we can build our reputation, audience, and support.
Starting out in this field often times the only return you get for your efforts is by looking at the art that you have created and seeing how it has touched those who experience it. Those are the moments that give me strength and let me know that I am on the right path.
Please tell us about Watershed Dance Theatre.
I formed Watershed Dance Theatre in 2017, as a non-profit organization serving as a platform for performances, festivals, film and creative projects in contemporary dance.
We are located in the Atlanta metro area. Watershed’s vision is to ignite the senses and foster unique experiences through thought-provoking, contemporary dance theatre works. Our movement quality is a combination of modern and ballet.
We utilize the freedom and grounding elements of modern dance and bridge it with the fluidity, strength and technical demands of ballet. We are unique in that we often combine dance with other art forms or means of communication to tell a story.
Our work has something for everyone. We entertain and inspire. I am most proud of the unique artistry and quality of the work we do. In the near future, we wish to develop an outreach educational program that will help bring the arts to Atlanta’s youth.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
As far as Watershed Dance Theatre is concerned, it is too early to say. As far as my dance career, it is easy to look back on some of the path choices I made and have regrets.
However, those choices led me to where I am today, and I think I am where I should be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://watersheddance.org/
- Email: info@watersheddance.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/watersheddance/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/watersheddance
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-fQoPmwC3RqvQBSOT_Qbkg
Image Credit:
Shocphoto, Jeff Cravotta, Chris Morrissey. Dancers: Sarah Emery, Aaron Nedrick, Audrey Baran, Alyce Cristina Vallejo, Lara Davis, Bekah O’Toole.
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