by Corinne Reilly-Ferretto

What brought you to CMDE? 

“I studied at La Mont institute in Manhattan, and came to CMDE to see a performance with a friend at the studio in ‘1980-something’. I have been connected to CMDE one way or another since.” 

When did you start dancing? 

“As I was growing up, I danced ballet, tap, point work, and got accepted to a Starlit group in highschool where I sang and danced. Although I loved dance, I moved my focus elsewhere for a while. At 17, I declared my major, a subject that was easy for me, math in college, and played tennis and golf. At the time I considered myself very sporty. I graduated and became a computer programmer working for GE.” 

What brought you back to dance?

“One night I was invited to see a performance, where I saw Maria Tallchief (example of Maria Tallchief), a Native American ballet dancer from the southwest. I was so moved by the performance, I wept. 

The next day I went to a dance studio, did ballet and reignited her love for dance. Soon after I found her way to California, working for a software company called URS systems outside of San Francisco. Then another job brought her to Sonoma State University, where I dropped out of computer work, and plunged into the dance world. I had cleverly saved up money, and focused on dance classes. I met Marsha, a dance artist at Sonoma State University who invited her into the world of Modern Dance. I took her first modern dance class. I was floored, modern dance class; “it had everything! It was philosophical, physical, spiritual, psychological, it was art, it was expression…”

From there I started dancing and dancing and after some time I started making dances, group dances in unison that were a lot of fun. I danced everything, there were little dance companies sprinkled all over I became a part of. I danced at schools, on stage, anywhere that wanted dancers. 

In a pivotal moment, a friend asked me, “Are you gonna go to graduate school or stay here and rot?” 

Claire recounts, “At first I didn’t understand what she meant, I danced all the time, but there was a whole world of dance I didn’t know about yet.” 

So I applied to Ohio State where I received a scholarship so I went! There I was a graduate assistant, I taught and danced. At this time my only free time was Sunday, when I did my chores; to grocery shop, clean the house, and homework. The rest of the time I was dancing nonstop, worked with people from Graham, Merce Cunningham, took lots of workshops, tried out different dances, and met wonderful people.

Towards the end of my graduate school journey, I took a class based on Rudolph Laban. I was so enamored by the clarity of the work, I decided to immerse myself in the work and after Sonoma State in California I went on to Grand Valley Colleges in Michigan (now Grand Valley University). Afterwards I was teaching movement & analysis and got funding from the Grand Valley Colleges to study dance in London, in 1981.

What is Laban Movement & Analysis?

“I got certified in the Laban Movement & Analysis which is an intensive program which involves 5-8 weeks 9am-5pm of study initially and then several months to work on your own materials, then come back to show your materials in January, and then work. A second summer, a big project & big paper and then you graduate. This program took a little over two years to complete and then I was certified! Laban movement & analysis focused on the body and integration of the breath, theoretical and experiential system for observation, series of body connectedness, performance and interpretations of human movement. Laban was prolific and created many projects and schools all over the world.”

What were some memorable events in your career so far? 

“When I was working at Muhlenberg College in PA everyone was interviewed after a great performance. Charlie Rose, was a famous interviewer from PBS 13, interviewed me at this event about my dance performances. I smiled from ear to ear, and I smiled, and I have no idea what I said.  

I was asked to perform by the Baryshnikov Arts Center for the opening of the Jermone Robbins theatre at the Baryshnikov Center where I performed for the grand opening in 2005.

From there I, moved in to Teaneck, NJ where I applied to NJ Council of Arts Grant, which I got and it was an impactful moment of ‘okay I live here, I’m appreciated here’ it was such a recognition, it was beautiful ‘this is mine’ moment it inspired me to explore dancing in New Jersey even more. From there I applied to many grants such as the Guggenheim Arts Grant and several Jersey grants, Mid-Atlantic grants, New Music for dance grants, and from this I was able to fully immerse myself in dance and creativity and to collaborate with fabulous people. 

How has your dancing changed over the years?

“Then there was a shift in my artistic attention; I started writing scripts. I started getting involved with language and movement. Writing groups, rehearsal projects. Grammar dances. The invention of my Portables – ‘solo and group work I can take anywhere’. The flip to language was admittedly because I was so physically tired from all the dance I was in, so I wanted to do something with words and gestures, but it was so cool so I made more! “Planted Feet”, was my first big gesture and spoken word Portable. From there I decided to make a piece on Grand Valley, and then a piece called “Portable Lecture” about the gestures of teaching in a lecture hall. I did this by sitting all the way in the back of the class, watching the professors, collecting their gestures from facilitating classes, and putting it together like music. I remembered speaking and choreographing, based on accumulation and repetition, I watched the change in the audience, and it changed me.It broke through the fourth wall, I saw the people all the way in the back leaning forward so then I leaned forward. And there was this connection. There was no going back after that.

I got to a point where I wanted to learn how to stay in shape and be ready for long dance performances. But to go to New York City and take a class and take the bus back to New Jersey, and in those classes nobody would say anything to you, it cost too much, it was lonely… so I found a local workout class to see if that was enough, to keep me in shape and be fine with long performances. And it was, so I continued. At Raritan Valley Community College, I continued to combine dance and movement, each dance is a study of subjects, of something of interest to me. I continue to do more group work, and solo work. After some time the woman who was teaching left, so I took over, moving the studio from Tenafly, to Teaneck, and added movement principles to the classes. So that bodies would last and be balanced. I held classes in a few places in the area such as Bergen Field, Englewood, and Tenafly of New Jersey. Then Elissa invited me here to CMDE to teach and it was so welcoming, I felt at home, right after the pandemic of 2020. I met wonderful people. I love the community that CMDE has cultivated. At CMDE I’ve gotten to choreograph fun group work and solo work that was fun to put together.”

Where do you see the future of your dance and career going? 

Getting Covid knocked me out of dance for awhile, but I made my recovery and continued my movements and analysis. My interests are branching out more; researching creativity itself. Currently I teaches at Montclair, FDU, and has previously taught at Columbia, Raritan Valley, Ohio University, Connecticut College, and NYU in the past, amongst other colleges and universities.  

One interest leads to another. A new project I’m working on is writing a play “Train of Thought” about five women on a train. I’ve put together choreography for other dance companies and continue to make new work for groups and solos.

Where do you see the future of dance?

“We love to dance, we’re always going to be dancing. As for Modern dance it has morphed, it has become so gymnastic and flamboyant. It was based on psychology, feelings, expression, but I think it imploded, it was about the internal dancer’s world, but the audience wanted it to be about them. So it has changed and will keep changing”. Claire did a piece called “Modern on Modern” 50th anniversary CMDE about this subject.