Words in Motion is the latest event in the UBC Chan Centre’s Beyond Words program. From Friday, March 18 to Saturday, March 19, three writers and three choreographers will join forces to transform literature into a physical and dynamic dance performance.
Nancy Lee, Associate Professor at the UBC Creative Writing department, was matched with choreographer Paras Terezakis to adapt her short story collection, Dead Girls, into dance.
Nancy Lee
How did you get involved with Words in Motion and what made you interested in seeing your work “danced out”?
The Chan Centre approached me, and what made me really interested was that dance was probably the furthest artistic discipline from what I do. For me, writing is a very cerebral and non-physical experience, so to have that work translated into something that would involve the body and was a physical experience just seemed fantastic.
I think Wendy had done some work to curate some good combinations of people. We gave copies of my books to Paras, and he thought thematically there was a lot of intersection between his experiences as a choreographer and the stories that were being told in Dead Girls.
Okay, well that allows us to mosey on easily to the next question! Could you give us a brief breakdown of the premise of Dead Girls? What is its central message or theme and why do you think it succeeds as a dance interpretation?
Sure! So Dead Girls is a collection of eight short stories, and they all hover around the idea of a serial killer/murderer being arrested in Vancouver for the murder of women in the Downtown Eastside. So I was writing the book around who cared about these women—who some citizens of society thought of as disposable—and what it says about our city when we are willing to let this go on without paying much attention.
I thought it’d be good for the dance adaptation because a collection of stories is different views on one central theme. I didn’t want a literal interpretation; I really wanted another artist to bring their own perspective to it and that’s exactly what Paras has done.
Paras Terezakis
How much of a hand did you have in the choreography?
We had a week of intensive workshops in the fall where Paras would give the dancers different assignments to work on. And then he had me give assignments as well. At one point, while the dancers were doing improvisation together, Paras was actually writing words inspired by the dancers’ movements. At another point, Paras said: “Okay, Nancy, you give them movements to do now!” And I was like, “Whoa, I don’t know what movements to give them! I’m kinda out of my depth here.” And one of the dancers said, “Just go look out the window at people walking on the street. And whatever you see out there, describe it to us and we’ll do it.”
So there’s a lot of back and forth. Paras is constantly inviting me to give feedback and we’re really trying to make it as collaborative as possible.
In previous interviews, you’ve mentioned aspiring to be a ballerina and studying photography; how has your experience in other art forms affected your writing?
Well, I will say that the “aspiring to be a ballerina” was really just a dream! But I’ve always always admired people who can dance. So, for me, when I’m writing I do pay attention to the physical relationships between the characters, and I’m a very visual person which is why I’m drawn to photography. I tend to write around sensory images in a scene and then the physical dynamics between characters.
Do you have any advice to readers who are aspiring artists themselves, that you think is often overlooked? Should we all become photographers and dancers?
I think it’s important to draw inspiration and motivation from all different art forms. I’m really interested in any artist who’s passionate about what they’re doing in their discipline. Paras and I talked about how we got to see how another artist works in their discipline and there are definitely differences but also similarities. So I think if you’re an aspiring artist, listen to what other artists have to say about process, then borrow anything you can use to make your process work for you. And just let yourself be inspired by what other people are doing.
Words in Motion runs March 18-19 at the Telus Studio Theatre. Tickets are $20 for students, $27 for faculty and staff, and $32 for the general public.
Interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and length.