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Victoria was born in Washington D.C. and received her training from The Maryland Youth Ballet. She spent two seasons with North Carolina Dance Theater II, performing with the company in ballets such as Balanchine's Agon and Divertimento #15 and appearing in featured roles with the second company in The Sleeping Beauty and Balanchine's Who Cares, among others. Ms. North spent one season with Aspen Santa Fe Ballet where she was honored to appear in Nicole Fonte's The Wall and as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. She then danced for Complexions Contemporary Ballet for two seasons. Under the direction of Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, Victoria originated roles in Rhoden's Artifice, Mergers, and Chapters. In New York City, she is currently a member of New Chamber Ballet and of Avi Scher and Dancers and attends Columbia University. Ms. North is a cofounder and current Artistic Director of Columbia Ballet Collaborative. The following is an excerpt from an email interview LOLAstretch New Media Intern, Stephanie Wolf had with dancer and LOLAliaison Victoria North. SW: Your dance resume has been very diverse. Tell me a little bit about some of the companies you have danced for. VN: When I graduated from high school I joined North Carolina Dance Theatre's second company in Charlotte, NC, where I danced for two seasons. I then joined Aspen Santa Fe Ballet in Aspen, CO for a summer and winter season. ASFB is a very small company and didn't have a full-time position available at the time. Luckily Dwight Rhoden, the director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, saw me perform and asked me to join his company. I spent two years with Complexions in NYC before starting school at Columbia University. Since then I have continued to dance professionally through small gigs in New York and Washington, DC. I am currently a member of New Chamber Ballet and of Avi Scher & Dancers, two New York-based companies. SW: How has your experience with each company been different? VN: Growing up I was passionate about classical and neoclassical ballet. NCDT was the first company that exposed me to the world of contemporary ballet. I saw the main company perform works by Dwight Rhoden, Nicolo Fonte, and Alonzo King and thought, "how can they do that?" Aspen was the first company that really taught me to move in a contemporary way. Because they are such a small company, the directors and other dancers took the time to work with me individually. While I was there, I was especially excited to perform a ballet by Nicolo Fonte because his work was some of the first that sparked my interest in contemporary movement. Complexions was an environment that pushed my contemporary abilities to the extreme. Dwight's works are incredibly demanding! I think that, of all the companies I've worked with, I learned the most from Complexions about different forms of movement. I am still passionate about ballet, and the choreographers I currently work with through CBC, NCB and Avi Scher & Dancers allow me to combine ballet and contemporary movement in a rewarding way. SW: Jumping to the present, you are currently the Artistic Director and one of the founding members of the Columbia Ballet Collaborative. What was the process of building CBC like? VN: In a word--crazy! The five of us who started CBC were mainly interested in getting dancers on campus together for a weekly ballet class and a small-scale studio performance. I had no idea at the time how much interest there would be in what we started or how many opportunities it would bring. On a personal level, three years ago I was mainly interested in being involved as a dancer. Today I am the Artistic Director for CBC--a huge step! I have learned a lot about what it takes to run a company financially, practically, and emotionally SW: How has CBC evolved over the years? VN: Three years ago CBC's debut performance consisted of about ten dancers performing in a small studio-theater. Today we are preparing for our second appearance at Miller Theatre, which will involve 25 dancers. We have been featured in TimeOut NY , The New York Times , and Dance Magazine . What is more important for me, though, has been the opportunity to work with so many amazing choreographers and dancers. I feel that CBC is a place where dancers have a unique opportunity to work with diverse choreographers and really grow artistically. Providing that environment is the main aspect of CBC that, for me, has evolved over the last three years. SW:Where do you see CBC going in the future, and do you hope to stay involved after you graduate? VN:Even though all five founders are graduating this year, I have complete faith in the future of CBC. In fact, most of the people running CBC this semester won't graduate for a few more years, and new dancers join every semester. Because of its location, Columbia attracts many dancers to campus, so I don't think CBC will ever run out of new talent. CBC holds a weekly ballet class on Saturday mornings, which I hope to attend even after I graduate. I will always remain involved by attending performances and helping out if needed. But CBC is for undergraduates at the University, and I think that it will be important for each new "generation" of the company to find its own identity and set its own goals. SW:You continued to dance with NYC based companies while you were a full time student at Columbia. What were some of your greatest challenges when it came to balancing the two? VN: Balancing school and dance has been quite a challenge. At first it was mostly difficult because I hadn't been in school for several years and I was rusty with completing schoolwork efficiently. Now as a senior, I feel much more competent with my schoolwork, so the main challenge I face is scheduling various rehearsals and meetings around my classes. I also have had to learn to plan my school schedule so that I can take ballet class every day (I take Nancy Bielski's class at Steps). Sometimes I have rehearsals at odd hours--late at night or on the weekends--and if I can't take class almost every day I worry that I will get injured in rehearsals. Daily ballet class also keeps me sane during really busy periods because it is time where I can just focus on myself and not worry about my hectic schedule! SW: What are you majoring in? VN:My major is Neuroscience and Behavior, which is basically a biology and psychology double major. I also have a concentration in math. SW: I am sure you are getting excited to graduate in the spring. What are your post graduation plans? VN: I am currently planning on staying in New York after graduation. I have lived here for almost five years, and the city really feels like home. Plus, I don't think my boyfriend would be too happy if I moved. One possibility I am currently considering is whether or not I want to attend Medical School, something I have been interested in for a long time. I am particularly interested in sports medicine for obvious reasons! But in order to apply I will need to complete a few more classes, which I might do next year in a postbac program at Columbia. SW: Do you plan on continuing to dance? VN: Yes! One thing I am certain about is that dance will always be a part of my life. I plan to continue dancing professionally with NCB and Avi Scher & Dancers here in NYC, and I am also open to new opportunities should they arise. SW: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?. . .in 10 years? VN: In five years I might be finishing up Medical School, if that is the path I choose to pursue. Ten years is way too far ahead for me to realistically think about because so much can change in that amount of time, but right now I would say that I hope to have a family by then. I also hope to still be dancing, in some capacity, 5 and 10 years down the road. SW: How did you hear about LOLAstretch? VN:Through my friend, Emery LeCrone. Emery and I dance together in NCB, and she has also choreographed several works on me, so we spend a lot of time in the studio together. She got me interested in LOLAstretch. SW: What is your favorite LOLAstretch leotard? VN: I love the shrug-off, especially in the new spring colors!
{Victoria rehearsing in a Shrug Off Leotard from LOLAline Spring Collection. Photo by Steven Schreiber.} The views expressed in this interview are those of the interviewee and do not represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, LOLAstretch. Archived Featured Dancer Interviews: |
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