In a special effort to raise awareness about the Braswell Arts Center Virtual Benefit Gala, we are proud to present this years featured artists.

Who are you? And a bit about your training and experience?

My name is Spenser Theberge and I’m a choreographer, performer, and teacher based in Los Angeles.  I’m a graduate of The Juilliard School and a former company member of Nederlands Dans Theater I & II, The Forsythe Company, and a guest artist with Kidd Pivot, Gothenburg Opera Dance Company, and the ARIAS Company.  I make work independently and with my partner Jermaine, and that work has been commissioned and presented by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, LA Dance Project, The Broad Museum, Gothenburg Opera Dance Company, Korzo Theater, NAVEL, Place des Arts, and Springboard Danse Montreal, among others.  I’m a former dance faculty at the California Institute of the Arts, a Princess Grace Award winner, a Presidential Scholar in the Arts, and a YoungArts winner.

What inspires you?

I’m inspired by process.  I love the act of creating, of figuring something out in the moment, maybe even more than the final product itself.  My work incorporates improvisation for that very reason.  The way improv forces a state of presence, so immediate and so urgent, is a quality that I can’t seem to get enough of.  For me, that’s where I go for inspiration – I go to the moment.

Tell us about the work you are presenting or dancing in?

More Less was made in collaboration with Jermaine Spivey and commissioned by The Broad Museum in Los Angeles in the early months of the pandemic.  It was during a moment when audiences weren’t allowed in the museum and the idea was to create work that allowed the audience to feel the special architecture and design of the building.  A lot of the work Jermaine and I create is about performing process in real time, and this piece is no different.  It’s an improvised score, and while we know where we want to get to physically and narratively, all of the movement and text is improvised in the moment.  

Hardest part of your job?

I feel like that depends a bit on the day and on my mood!  Generally, I’d say the hardest part is how inconsistent access to resources can be.  It’s challenging to find momentum as a creator when our system is so dependent on gatekeepers providing opportunities.  

Who has been the most influential person/people in your life? or Career? and why?

Well, that’s super easy to answer.  Jermaine has been the most influential person in my life, for sure.  What I’ve learned from him about patience, presence, and integrity has changed my life forever.  I’ll simply leave it at that because elaborating would take me days to write.

Something you like to do other than dance?

I love to write, I love design, I love to sculpt, I love to run.  For me, there’s something about composition and proportion that I’m fascinated with.  I love any way that I can play with those ideas.

Your wildest dreams for the dance world?

Continued diversification of experience, representation, leadership, presentation, audience, and performers.

Something you would change in the REAL world?

(I’m leaving this one blank… it’s a bit too loaded for me to be able to answer right now)

Please help us raise awareness about the Braswell Arts Center Virtual Benefit Gala, we need your support to reach our campaign goal for the new Braswell Arts Center at Aeschenplatz. Join us if you can!