Rosie Herrera

Choreographer and dancer Rosie Herrera has danced with various modern troupes, studied classical singing and worked with the hybrid theatrical ensemble Circ X as an improvisational performance artist. She recently created her debut full-scale, surreal dance theater piece, Various Stages of Drowning: A Cabaret, for the Miami Light Project's Here and Now Festival.

An interview with Rosie:

Background?

My performance debut was to "Sopa de Caracol" in my backyard shed to a very small group of neighborhood kids and my reluctant family when I was five years old. With no extra money for dance classes this remained my performance medium well into my early adolescence.

By the time I was 15 I was dancing hip hop professionally with local dance companies like Live in Color and dancing and acting in Spanish cabaret productions at El Teatro de las Bellas Artes in Little Havana.

I had the good fortune of being cast as a showgirl in several productions with the amazingly talented Nestor Cabell. This was my first foray into the cabaret world and this is where I really learned what the lifestyle of a performer would be like. I was happily committed every weekend to performances despite prom, birthdays or anything else.

At the cabaret I learned how to do makeup, how to improvise, how to be a showgirl, how to be a comedian, and how to work in an ensemble. Most of all, I got to watch and learn from the other performers who came with years and years of experience from Cuba and whose attitudes about life, art and sexuality were drastically different from anything else I had experienced.

In high school I had always done theater, but my incredibly high speaking voice made it hard to land any roles that were not character roles. I went to a vocal coach to address my issues with my speaking voice and he introduced me to the world of opera.

I had always wanted to sing and the new repertoire freed me to sing music that was actually suited to my voice. With the classical training I created a vocal foundation that allowed me an incredible knowledge of my voice and an incredible appreciation and admiration of the human voice in general. My love affair with opera remains my strongest, most romantic affair of my life.

I continue to study with the same teacher from the Performer's Music Institute, Oscar Diaz, Jr., and to perform with the Institute's opera ensemble where I, from time to time, stage or choreograph scenes and recital programs.

Be that as it may, I never matured into the sultry alto I always thought I was inside. Besides, I had always felt that I was more expressive with my body than with my voice. So, when I was accepted to the University of Florida on an academic scholarship I decided miming would be the natural choice.

At UF I took my first modern dance class under the advice of the theater instructors and had a paradigm shift. For the first time in my life I felt I knew exactly what I was meant to do. I threw myself into the dance major and eventually transferred to the New World School of the Arts, where I studied ballet, modern, jazz, Caribbean, and composition, amongst other things. At New World is where I began choreographing. It quickly replaced everything else on my list of things I like to do.

Once I graduated with my BFA I began working with the interdisciplinary performance ensemble Circ X. As a performer, Circ X allowed me the opportunity to explore as an improviser, not only movement-wise but also theatrically within a varied amount of atmospheres. With Circ X, I also assisted in choreographing and directing rehearsals for weekly cabaret productions that included singing, dancing, circus skills, and burlesque.

I also danced professionally with local choreographers such as Bill Doolin, Freddick Bratcher and Octavio Campos, and continued to work in the commercial dance industry doing music videos and live performances for recording artists as well as choreography for drag and burlesque performances.

Influences?

As an artist I have always said that my biggest influences were Michael Jackson and choreographer Pina Bausch. I had always wanted to dance for them. I felt an affinity with their work that I haven't felt with anyone else's work.

In terms of my choreographic inspiration, that comes from the regular experiences of my life. Often they are dreams or daydreams. Once the image or situation comes to me, then my brain kicks in to make sense of it all and organize the images into a cohesive thing that I decide is important or interesting enough to explore.

I try to surround myself with people and situations that invoke a sense of wonder, mystery and love and that keep me sufficiently inspired. I also keep my eyes open when I'm dining alone, or driving or washing dishes.

Miami?

I decided early in my dance career that I wanted to make Miami my artistic base. Choreographic influence comes from everything that surrounds you--architecture, language, fashion, weather, everything. And in a place like Miami where the colors are bright and the light bounces off of Art Deco buildings, the people are speaking Spanish, Creole and Portuguese and the beach is close--I am happy and more than anything I am inspired.

I also am incredibly interested in the dancers and performers in Miami. The cultural variety and history of the largely immigrant population is incredibly interesting and specific to Miami. Most important of all, Miami is warm. And although that may seem trivial, sunlight changes people and it changes their bodies. I am more interested in working with the bodies that are full of sunlight.

On the other hand, Miami is a very challenging place to be an artist. There is very little funding available to even the most successful of local artists, especially in the performing arts. There are so many talented artists that eventually leave Miami because the resources, venues and community support are not there. I can speak from personal experience in saying that it is impossible to make a living in Miami as a professional dancer or performing artist unless you are a ballerina or stripper. Although, the last couple of years have brought a resurgence of local Miami artists, largely due to Art Basel. With the creation of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts I also feel that more opportunities will arise and talented artists will find more and more reasons to stay put.

When a community stands behind its artists it makes an investment in its future. There are several organizations that have been diligent in their support and development of local Miami artists. For example, the Miami Light Project is an organization that has launched the careers of dozens of successful choreographers, playwrights, filmmakers, dancers, and musicians.

With MLP's commission of my previous piece, Various Stages of Drowning: A Cabaret, as part of their Here and Now Festival in association with the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, my career has been catapulted to the national stage. They are the only organization in Miami that commissions new work from local artists. This is no small feat. As an audience member of the Here and Now for close to a decade I can always trust that they will present the most innovative, exciting theater work in Miami.

Future projects?

I hope to continue to make work and ultimately would like to show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and tour.

Rosie Herrera Dance Theater; www.rosieherrera.com.