Arts Entertainments

Talking to one of Jamaica’s most exciting dancers and choreographers: Neila Ebanks

YE: Why are you an artist / dancer and when did you become one?

Neila: I think I was born that way. My dance story begins when I was about 3 or 4 years old. My mother sent me to dance classes to rehabilitate my extreme pigeons and I have danced ever since. It is a language as natural to me as breathing.

My art thing for me. I was not the instigator of the relationship. But every day I make the decision to affirm my soul through my connection to Dance. It really is an affirmation of the soul for me.

YE: How would you describe your work?

Neila: psychological, cathartic, stratified. I rarely go for the easy or the obvious. I find that I use my choreography to deal with and work with my own ideas about life and life. My favorite way to choreograph has always been contemporary dance because it can be just about anything you do.

YE: What kind of dance do you do?

Neila: I am a contemporary dancer who LOVES to improvise.

YE: What company / group do you dance with, if you dance at all?

Neila: Currently I dance with eNKompan.E, which is my own company … of one. I have previously performed and guest-performed with the Stella Maris Dance Ensemble, The University Dance Society, The NDTC, L’ACADCO, Dance Theater Xaymaca and various companies in the UK.

YE: What artists / dancers have influenced you and how?

Neila: I have a lot to owe to many. My key influences have been my early dance teachers, Monika Lawrence, Carol Murdock (now deceased), and Patsy Ricketts, who fueled my enthusiasm and passion for dance at a very young age without being condescending.

I was treated like a young budding artist and I learned a lot of professionalism and respect for my art from these masters. Patsy, in particular, gave me great examples of how to embody a performance. I carry it with me to this day. I have also been influenced by Nicholeen DeGrasse-Johnson, now director of the School of Dance. Through his example I have come to understand the fundamental importance of the educational potential of the art of Dance.

My years at UWI saw me working with Joseph Robinson, L’Antoinette Stines and Howard Daly, each of whom broadened the scope of dance for me, showing me another angle, another side of the prism, another possibility: L’Antoinette with its deep connection through dance with the spiritual and the ancestral; Joe, with his always energetic proposals for the impossible; Howard, with his willingness to take risks with the content and presentation.

Needless to say (although I will), I have also been influenced by Professor Rex Nettleford and the NDTC. Every summer of my formative dance years was spent in the NDTC dance season, soaking up the visual lessons of choreography, performing arts, and acting. Furthermore, Professor Nettleford’s bilingual (artistic and verbal) intellect helped me to recognize both aspects of myself and to see the wonderful adjustment of the critical mind and body in motion.

The tutelage of Arsenio Andrade, principal dancer of the NDTC and professor of Cuban-modern technique has also played an important role in the way in which I now understand the connection of the body with rhythm and space. I have also been fortunate to have contemporaries like Chris Walker, Shelley-Ann Maxwell, Marlon Simms, Michael Holgate and Oniel Pryce, who, through their willingness to find the voice through choreography and performance, strengthen my own determination. , every day.

Internationally, I have been influenced by the work of various contemporary choreographers such as Jiri Kylian, Lloyd Newson (DV8 Physical Theater), Ulysses Dove, Bill T. Jones, Twyla Tharp and Mia Michaels.

YE: What other interests do you have outside of dance?

Neila: I enjoy reading almost anything. I am also passionate about yoga. I’m thinking about horseback riding and karate.

YE: What inspires you to stay motivated when the going gets tough?

Neila: The dream that was put in my soul. When the going gets tough, I have to turn inward and remember that dream and the sense of righteousness that the dream produces.

YE: Who are some dance companies that you admire?

Neila: I have always liked specific pieces from each of our main Jamaican dance companies, new and old works. As for Jamaican dancers, some of those who have really touched me are Patsy Ricketts, Arlene Richards, Natalie Chung, Arsenio Andrade, N’Jelle Gage, Simone Harris, Marlon Simms, Chris Walker, Shelley-Ann Maxwell, Anika Jobson, Sade Bully, Guy Thorne. Their commitment to the stage and to their own honesty when on that stage is truly admirable.

Internationally, I enjoy the work of DV8 Physical Theater, Danza Contemporanea de Cuba, Kettly Noel and Urban Bush Women among others.

YE: What are the best and worst parts of being a dancer?

Neila: Dance can fill you with so much euphoria. When you’ve put time and effort into rehearsals and classes, most of the time your emotional payoff is just as satisfying. Knowing that you can communicate ideas big and small effectively without words and also touch the heart of another person through your art is what makes me come back to dance. Also, it is wonderful to have such a complete and connected understanding of your body and its potential.

The same body focus can be the worst part, if one does not handle transition and rest well. Dance is first and foremost a physical art, so the body will wear out, injure itself and need to heal. For some, it will never be what it was before the injury, so the dancer has to be able to understand this reality and go on living. It sounds easy, but it is very difficult.

YE: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Neila: In 10 years I would have entered my 40s. I will be in my prime and I will still be on stage internationally, performing and directing workshops … enriching lives through Dance. My company will be in full swing and will create opportunities for others who wish to dance their lives.

YE: How would you describe the state of the dance world in Jamaica?

Neila: Rich and fertile in ideas, but too fragmented to grow solidly. We have a plethora of choreographers who enjoy the challenges of expressing their views through the body, but I find that most are trying to express themselves in the same way. I don’t see real risks being taken often enough (I’m guilty of this too). I feel like we are holding back and trying to maintain a kind of status quo. As of yet, there is no forum for dialogue and cooperation at its deepest level.

YE: If you could be doing whatever you wanted, what would it be?

Neila: I’m doing it now. The only thing that would increase is international travel and profits.

YE: How have you developed your skill?

Neila: I have formally studied dance and showmaking in Jamaica and the UK, at Edna Manley College and the University of Surrey (Masters in Physical Theater). However, every day I develop my skill, as every day I actively learn more about my trade.

YE: Do you dance professionally? I mean, do you get paid to dance? Want?

Neila: I dance professionally, I choreograph professionally, I lecture professionally.

YE: What goes through your head when you are acting?

Neila: Difficult question. Sometimes there is an inner narrative, images that come to my mind and that help me to carry out the movements with interpretive sensitivity. Sometimes there are counts. Sometimes I am listening to musical cues, looking for signs of movement. Sometimes I actively connect with a member of the audience or someone else on stage. Sometimes there is a disguise malfunction or some other mistake and I am many steps ahead in my mind, fixing it. Sometimes I feel happy that my body is on autopilot. And all of this can happen in 30 seconds or less of dancing.

YE: What makes you want to get out of bed in the morning?

Neila: the gift of life from God. Recognize that the first breath in the morning means I have something to do. I’m not done yet.

YE: Final thoughts?

Neila: If there is a song in your heart, please sing it … A dance, please do it to the end of the street … no matter how many people think you are strange. We all come here with our talents and society tells us to hide them because they make us too difficult to fit in with others. I say do what your heart asks of you and then everyone else will want to fit in with you. That is why you were created in the first place.