interview with heather mcardle
by asimplesound
photos by gary noel

where are you from and how did you get here?
California. I got here via U-haul trailer and a run down Kia from Miami (South Beach), Florida. I rode all the way through hell weather with my dad to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I lived in what is now Videology’s foreign film section.
what other mediums are you working with besides
movement?
I am working with photography & film. I am trying to find a nice blending of them in my work. I don’t like to over saturate my work with technology, but sometimes I find it extremely relevant. I intend to keep a strong movement focus while adding these elements into the work when necessary. Thus far I find them quite necessary and useful in furthering the visual elements. Combined properly I think this fusion can be electrifying. I believe it will help the future of dance in the arts.
did you love the first solo you ever made on yourself?
In general I do not enjoy solos; I have had to make them because it’s hard to find multiple people to make work with that have the same schedules. The first solo I ever made was called” Two Minutes and Thirty Seconds,” that’s how long it was and it was just enough time to get on, do my thing, and get the heck off. It was a great piece!
describe the type of class you are teaching these days?
Radical contemporary based movement that moves and sweeps through pedestrian places. I call this pedestrian place, “normal people” movement. This normalcy, more human like movement twists and releases in and out of the contemporary dance. Make sense. I like to be all over the place. I know people like to sweat and get a workout from dancing, but I don’t find that I like to do that every week. Sometimes I am super gestural and floor bound while other times fluid, full of spirals with long kicky legs. Basically, some might have expectations for my classes but I don’t want people to. I want to provide the most human dance experience ever. Meaning I’ll suck ass sometimes while other times teaching like a like a guru. The dancers taking class may also have a simular experience….that is real, and that is what I support; the struggle to continue. Ultimately, it’s all about the breath!
in what ways do you use improvisation in your dancing?
In my work I always leave a couple of sections open for improv, but they all have a theme that they are directly related to the piece. I find this keeps the work fresh, and my relationship to the performance space, performers, and audience open for growth and spontaneity.
what are you working on now?
I am still working on my solo, “The White Life”, but once that’s complete I will be creating a duet for Lindsay Ashmun and myself. I will simultaneously be continuing to work on what I am calling my masterpiece entitled, “Self-Storage” it is a full length evening about the title and possibly becoming a three-part trilogy resulting in an animated film.
for more information about heather and her work, visit her website at www.blueprintviolation.org