Apr. 26, 2002
Anderson brings experience to Moving Arts
By Mary Ellen Hunt
TIMES CORRESPONDENT

Charlie Anderson wants to put even more "moving" in Moving Arts Dance.

"I just really want beautifully moving dancers," says Anderson, a former dancer with New York City Ballet and new artistic director of Moving Arts Dance, based in Walnut Creek and considered one of the East Bay's top modern dance companies.

Despite a busy schedule of teaching, choreographing and directing in preparation for the company's performance Friday in Walnut Creek, Anderson sparkles with energy.

He says he's ready to move the 13-member company -- which is known for its commissions from modern choreographers such as Bill Evans and Tandy Beal -- to the next level.

Dance has always been part of Anderson's life. His parents, Zola Dishong and David Anderson, and his stepfather, Richard Cammack, all danced for San Francisco Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, so young Charlie grew up immersed in the ballet world.

"I can't even remember when I started dancing," he says.

Born in San Francisco, he spent much of his childhood in New York while his parents danced at American Ballet Theatre. After briefly returning to San Francisco when Dishong and Cammack took posts at the San Francisco Ballet School, he went back at the age of 14 to train in New York, where he was one of the lucky few selected for Baryshnikov's short-lived professional training program at ABT. "There were six guys and six girls," he recalls. "We took five classes a day, (on) everything: dance notation, modern, fencing."

When the program closed, Anderson studied at the prestigious School of American Ballet, and attracted the notice of New York City Ballet, which offered him his first contract at age 20. "Everyone asks why I went there when my parents were from American Ballet Theatre, but my mom wanted me to work with (George) Balanchine."

Unfortunately, that desire went unfulfilled. Balanchine died before he arrived, so Anderson instead danced under Peter Martins. "I was there in a really interesting time. They were coming out of Balanchine's shadow. It was his company still when I came in. Now it's all Peter. I didn't know it was interesting then, I just knew that everyone was really uptight. Now, looking back, I can see that they were uptight for a reason!"

In his off hours away from New York City Ballet, Anderson created Ballet Inc., a well-received troupe with members from all over New York's dance map.

"I wanted to do something very eclectic, " Anderson says, "so I got together with a friend from ABT, John Selya, and Patrick Corbin from Paul Taylor's company. So we had some classical people, some neoclassical, some modern."

Ballet Inc. became known for its diverse repertoire, but Anderson says it was always thought of more as a showcase rather than a cohesive company. "It was hard," he says. "There was no executive director, and I was still dancing at New York City Ballet at the time. I made lots of mistakes, but I learned a lot from the process."'

It's all part of the experience he brings now to Moving Arts Dance.

Anderson takes over from the company's founder, Anandha Ray, who remains the executive director. After a stint as their resident choreographer, Anderson became the natural choice to lead the 10-year-old troupe, which he is quick to describe as a "contemporary" dance company. "Look, there are a lot of companies out there. There are ballet companies that sometimes hire modern choreographers, then there are modern companies that usually only do pieces by one person. I just want to bring works that are great: ballet, modern, everything."

So is this a shift from Ray's modern focus? "When I came on, they did all one kind of thing," he says, " but I like all sorts of weird little things, from classical ballet to street performers. But, for most people, 'modern dance' has a very different intonation from 'ballet.' Contemporary dance is a fusion of the two. We're blazing a different trail here."

He recounts how Twyla Tharp, when asked whether she liked modern or ballet dancers replied, "There aren't modern dancers and ballet dancers. There are just good dancers and bad dancers." Anderson says, "I'm trying to balance our programs and 'house' the works properly, to present them so that the program is balanced as well as accessible. When people think of Moving Arts I want them to think, 'Oh yeah, they always do good works by interesting people.'"

For Friday's performance, Moving Arts Dance premieres Patrick Corbin's "Psychedelic Six-Pack," a piece from the Ballet Inc. days, as well as "SAPP," a new work from Michael Lowe, formerly of Oakland Ballet and now director of education for its extensive community outreach program. Anderson has also revived "To Vernon," a highly charged work by his father, created after the suicide of a friend.

"It used to make me cry, and I would be embarrassed," he says, "but I knew even back then that I wanted to perform it." Anderson's own popular "Aposiopesis" will also be on the program with new material added to it.

PROFILE
• WHO: Charlie Anderson
• WHAT: Artistic director of Moving Arts Dance
• WHEN AND WHERE: 8 p.m. Friday at the Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts, Civic Drive at Locust Street, Walnut Creek
• HOW MUCH: $15, $20
• CONTACT: 925-943-SHOW, 925-938-3300 for info, www.dlrca.org, www.movingartsdance.org

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This review initially appeared on April 26, 2002 in the Contra Costa Times.

For questions or comments, please contact maryellenhunt@yahoo.com.