IN THE BEGINNINGWE DREAMT OFWORKING WITH CHEERLEADERS, AMARCHING BAND, THE MAYOR.
time we called ourselves For You. The program- mers at the Momentary just started calling us For You, and so it shifted from the name of our pro- ductions, to the name of our company. That simple transformation freed us up to think more expansively about the scope of our work. What surfaced as important was not the number of people involved in each performance but the quality of relationships built with all sorts of peo- ple, from participants to collaborators, producers to neighbors. I am especially aware of the lasting effects of those encounters now that we are physi- cally apart from our newfound NWA friends, and I’m still being buoyed by them. In the beginning we dreamt of working with cheerleaders, a marching band, the mayor. We knew nothing about the region. Literally. “I didn’t even know where Arkansas was on the map,” I declared to a room full of Arkansasians. I regret that I said that. I didn’t mean to offend anyone, I only meant to say we never expected to fall in love. Did you know NWA boasts Geena Davis’ annual Bentonville Film Festival, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and the first and only School of Art in the state at UArk? Or that NWA is the Walmart headquarters of the
world? In NWA you’re shopping locally when you shop at Walmart. The Momentary is just south of, and a satel- lite of, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Crystal Bridges was founded by Alice Walton, daughter of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart. The Momentary was spearheaded by other Walton heirs. Many of us have compli- cated feelings about Walmart, but I came away from this project with a more positive view. I didn’t know the Walton Family Foundation is a generous art ambassador. Crystal Bridges and the Momentary have free general admission. And the names of the gallery and performance spaces at the Momentary honor not their finan- ciers but their former uses. First Things First premiered in Fermentation Hall. DEVELOPING A NEW COMMISSION at the Momen- tary while it too was establishing its beginnings meant things kept changing. At first we were just slated to premier First Things First on opening day. But then more opportunities arose. A sneak preview of the Momentary was announced. The Meet the Momentary Festival took place in Octo- ber, 2019, and we were invited. Then we were
Northwest Arkansasians participate in First Rehearsal at the Meet the Momentary festival in Bentonville
At First Rehearsal , the Mar- shallese dance students and their teacher John drew a crowd with their polyrhythmic virtuosity. As did members of the NWA and Ben- ton County Roller Derby League, who thrilled us with a blocking drill they pulled off without dropping their popsicles. Just when dozens of folks we recruited through an online call-for-participants showed up it started to rain. In addition to the sudden downpour, an 8-piece brass band was playing on the main stage. Total chaos = Erika’s sweet spot. She used call-and-response to direct over the storm and horns. Part line-dance, part soul-train, part Horah, with cameos by the Mar- shallese dancers and roller derby crew, First Rehearsal ended with a double rainbow.
given an artist residency in January, 2020. We ended up visiting NWA three times, culminat- ing in a weekend of performances at the grand opening in February. During the three visits we engaged Northwest Arkansasians in an extended greeting, a series of inaugural acts. When we arrived in October, for our first visit, the building was still an active construc- tion site, so the Meet the Momentary festival took place outside on a sprawling picnic lawn. A severe storm was forecast, but the day started out sunny and hot. We set up shop cordoning off our spot with a red fringe banner and yard signs that said, FIRST STEPS, FIRST PLACE, FIRST KISS. Two at a time, we invited people to participate in an audio-guided duet, inspired by the song “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” made famous by Roberta Flack. We delivered scissors and a ribbon to the pairs. They were instructed to, “Cut! Cut! Cut!” to usher in that ribbon-cut- ting moment: the arrival of the Momentary, their participation in the festival, and the first time ever they saw each other’s faces. We waved streamers like fireworks in the background. Leading up to Meet the Momentary we hired a local (NWA) producer to generate a list of poten- tial collaborators, and to act as a liaison between us and them. Two communities we discovered in NWA were a roller derby league and a group of Marshallese dancers, whose roots are in the Mar- shall Islands, a tiny country in the Pacific Ocean. The local producer’s scouting paid off. But we learned we really needed to connect directly with folks ourselves. So, during the Meet the Momen- tary festival, we also held First Rehearsal , an open rehearsal, to get a feel for working with individuals and community groups.
Drummer Collin Harris and members of the Bentonville West High School Marching Band rehearsing for First Things First
ERIKA’S BROTHER ANDREW, Erika’s mom, Suk, and Wakes,
Erika’s 6 year-old son, traveled with us for Meet the Momentary. Suk holds your hand in both of hers when she meets you for the first time. Wakes, the son of a lighting designer (Allen Willner) and a choreographer-director (Erika), knows how to focus. This family has become part of our artistic family. And I have become part of their family. Erika and I have been work- ing together on and off for almost two decades. Our collaboration is homebase. Deep roots undergird our work, work that steers others towards vulnerability and intimacy.
During this time of the pandemic and physical distancing, visceral memories from our time in Arkansas are helping me feel alive, centered and connected. Here are a few that have been surfacing: Our new friend John, the Marshallese dancer and teacher, came to a dinner party we hosted during our artist residency in January. He brought Melisa Laelan, founder of the Arkan- sas Coalition of Marshallese. We learned from them that Springdale, Arkansas, part of the Northwest region, has the largest concentration
of Marshallese people in the U.S. John gave an impromptu Marshallese dance lesson in the mid- dle of the party. His hips shimmied sublimely. Melisa was in hysterics watching the rest of us try to shimmy like John. I called my husband before bed to report how much fun we’d had. He mentioned an article from the latest New Yorker about the Marshallese population in NWA. Melisa, who had just been laughing in our living room, was right there on the page in an article that featured her and her Coalition to help Marshallese thrive. Melisa and
First Things First highlights filmed by For You collaborator and filmmaker Sarah Wells. The start of the video through 0:45 features the Bentonville West High School Marching Band rehearsal; 0:45-1:25 features Erika, in the For You pink jumpsuit, Ryan and me; 1:25-2:15 features “first dances”; 2:23-2:50 features the Marshallese dancer, John; and 2:53 to the end features the finale. HIGHLIGHTS
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In Dance | May 2014 | dancersgroup.org
u n i f y s t r e n g t h e n amp l i f y u n i f y s t r e n g t h e n a p l i f y
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