Sarah Levitt interviews Shula Strassfeld

In this post from Dance Exchange on the Road , Liz Lerman Dance Exchange dancer Sarah Levitt interviews fellow Dance Exchange dancer Shula Strassfeld. Here is an excerpt:

“Shula Strassfeld packed up her life in Toronto in 2007 and moved to DC to join the Dance Exchange. In addition to performing with the company, Shula is very involved in our work combining dance and spiritual practice. I caught up with her this morning before rehearsal.

Talk a little bit about your dance background.

I didn’t start dancing until college–no one believes it. I had always wanted to dance. Then I was in Boston, taking the GREs, and we had a lunch break during the test. I walked past the Capezio store in Harvard Square and went in, bought a leotard and tights, and didn’t go back for the last half of the test. I just thought: I want to try dancing, and if I don’t do it now, I’ll never do it.

When did you first meet the Dance Exchange?

I took a workshop with the Dance Exchange when they came to Toronto in the mid 90′s. I’d known about the company for…forever, I think! My first real interaction with them was at their New York audition in 2005.

What do you remember about the audition?

It was great! I walked up and down the street in front of the Ailey Studios for about twenty minutes before I got up the courage to walk in the door. Matt, Martha, and Peter ran the audition and we had a really good time for a couple of hours. I was quite shocked when I got called back. It was the most enjoyable audition I’d ever done–everyone was so nice!

What was your first performance with the Dance Exchange?

I danced in the 30th Anniversary concert at the University of Maryland’s Clarice Smith Center in 2006.

Do you have a favorite moment from a performance or residency?

One of the first community residencies I did was in Japan. There was a man in the group who was in a wheelchair. His speech was very hard to understand. Very limited mobility. We got a sense that he was very smart, but he couldn’t hold on to the sequence [of movements]. I did a duet with him in the show, and I had to keep coaching him when the audience couldn’t see. Afterwards, he had someone write a letter for him about the experience. It was read at our closing circle and had everyone in tears. It was the first time in his life he was noticed. He was really recognized as a human being–so incredible.”

Click here to read the rest of the interview. To view video of Strassfeld performing, visit the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange site here.

Image in the post is of Strassfeld enjoying herself while on tour in Dublin, from Levitt’s post.