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Gabriel Gaffney Smith, choreographer, composer and dancer for Pittsburgh's own Texture Contemporary Ballet, quite literally does it all.
His dance resume is extensive. After studying at the Miami City Ballet summer intensive and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School (where he also joined the corps de ballet in 2005), Smith took his talents to BalletMet in Columbus, where he still currently lives and dances. In 2012, he was awarded the Columbus Choreographic Fellowship.
On the other end of the spectrum, Smith is a multi-talented musician. His second album, Wonder Full, is a brilliant collection of instrumentals that will have you tapping your foot, fighting back tears, and pondering life.
You can purchase Wonder Full on ITunes and Amazon, like Texture Contemporary Ballet on Facebook, and follow the troupe on Twitter.
Gabriel, the stage is yours.
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Julian Routh: Gabriel, thanks for taking the time to talk with me. I'll start off by saying I absolutely loved "Perpetual Motion." Such an outstanding show. How long did it take for the project to come together? Is this the Texture Contemporary Ballet's most impressive collection of choreography yet?
Gabriel Gaffney Smith: The whole process took about seven weeks, and we worked roughly from 9-6 everyday, plus a couple days off in between for rest of the body and mind. Judging from the audiences' reaction to the show, I would say it was very well received and the collaboration was a success.
JR: Correct me if I'm wrong, but there haven't been many collaborations between ballet and rock-and-roll in, well, the history of the world. How did Texture Ballet and Meeting of Important People come together, and do you think the collaboration worked successfully?
GGS: The drummer of Meeting of Important People, Matt, is married to a former dancer of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Megan, who knew and danced with Alan and Kelsey. So ballet was on their radar. Matt and Megan came to some previous Texture shows. The band was having a CD release party, and threw out the idea of Texture opening the evening. It went well, everyone enjoyed each other's company, and the rest is history.
I think the collaboration worked very successfully, and it is not that uncommon to see rock-and-roll bands working with ballet companies, especially when everyone is looking to push the envelope these days. For example, "Radio&Juliet" was a ballet done to all Radiohead music. It was not played live, but the collaboration was there.
JR: Now, you're from New York. You live in Columbus. How did you get involved with Texture Ballet? Is there a renowned dance culture in Pittsburgh that drew you here?
GGS: I met Alan and Kelsey while I was training at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and got to know them better when I joined the company there. I moved out to Columbus to dance with BalletMet, but always kept in touch with them. When I lived in Pittsburgh, we always talked about starting our own company, and when Alan took the reins and said "Let's make this happen," I was on board fully.
JR: There's an aspect of dance, and particularly ballet, that fascinates me. I would imagine it is extraordinarily difficult to get everyone on the same page- each dancer knowing how and when to move. Is it really as simple as 'practice a lot,' or are there other things that come into play in order to successfully choreograph a routine?
GGS: Most dancers at this level have been dancing pretty much their whole lives. Picking up, remembering, and executing choreography is a skill they have been working on for years and years. As much as what you see onstage is a group effort, it really comes down to everyone being responsible and focused on their individual part, which pieces the puzzle together. It is definitely a lot of hard work in the studio to make a great performance.
JR: Texture Ballet has danced to all kinds of music; from "Pursuit of Happiness" and Elbow to Bon Iver and live garage rock. How do you and the troupe go about choosing songs to prepare routines for?
GGS: With the easy accessibility of different artists online, you can slowly start to stockpile songs that you like, that inspire you to dance. In the end, it's just picking which ones you want to become a reality.
JR: How did "Wonder Full" come about? The tracks are very complex, with a lot of impressive instrumentation. Did you write the album specifically for choreography, or did you imagine putting lyrics to the music?
GGS: I never imagined lyrics to any of the songs. I use my voice as a instrument, but not necessarily to make a dialogue. I like when people can have their own stories/ movie inside their head when listening to my music. Some songs on the album were written specifically for projects I was doing for other choreographers. But most of the songs were just created from the movement in my head. It's kind of a yes and no answer, because I see movement and sometimes choreography, but usually not specific. It's more just the movement and the emotion that goes into the music that I create.
JR: What do you hope the album accomplishes? Do you plan on touring with the music? What's next?
GGS: The biggest accomplishment was to get the album out so that people could listen to it. I am very proud of this album. I have been working on it for a long time, and I put a lot of work, and a lot of myself into it. I'm glad I can finally share it with friends, and I'm excited when people listen to it, because everyone has a different response to it...that's the greatest. It's kind of crazy that this is my second album, music was always something I just did for myself and the natural process of sharing my music has been really fun. I have started to play some songs live and I would like to keep exploring that.
____________________________________________________________________
Gabriel Gaffney Smith, choreographer, composer and dancer for Pittsburgh's own Texture Contemporary Ballet, quite literally does it all.His dance resume is extensive. After studying at the Miami City Ballet summer intensive and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School (where he also joined the corps de ballet in 2005), Smith took his talents to BalletMet in Columbus, where he still currently lives and dances. In 2012, he was awarded the Columbus Choreographic Fellowship.
On the other end of the spectrum, Smith is a multi-talented musician. His second album, Wonder Full, is a brilliant collection of instrumentals that will have you tapping your foot, fighting back tears, and pondering life.
You can purchase Wonder Full on ITunes and Amazon, like Texture Contemporary Ballet on Facebook, and follow the troupe on Twitter.
Gabriel, the stage is yours.
____________________________________________________________________
Julian Routh: Gabriel, thanks for taking the time to talk with me. I'll start off by saying I absolutely loved "Perpetual Motion." Such an outstanding show. How long did it take for the project to come together? Is this the Texture Contemporary Ballet's most impressive collection of choreography yet?
Gabriel Gaffney Smith: The whole process took about seven weeks, and we worked roughly from 9-6 everyday, plus a couple days off in between for rest of the body and mind. Judging from the audiences' reaction to the show, I would say it was very well received and the collaboration was a success.
GGS: The drummer of Meeting of Important People, Matt, is married to a former dancer of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Megan, who knew and danced with Alan and Kelsey. So ballet was on their radar. Matt and Megan came to some previous Texture shows. The band was having a CD release party, and threw out the idea of Texture opening the evening. It went well, everyone enjoyed each other's company, and the rest is history.
I think the collaboration worked very successfully, and it is not that uncommon to see rock-and-roll bands working with ballet companies, especially when everyone is looking to push the envelope these days. For example, "Radio&Juliet" was a ballet done to all Radiohead music. It was not played live, but the collaboration was there.
JR: Now, you're from New York. You live in Columbus. How did you get involved with Texture Ballet? Is there a renowned dance culture in Pittsburgh that drew you here?
GGS: I met Alan and Kelsey while I was training at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, and got to know them better when I joined the company there. I moved out to Columbus to dance with BalletMet, but always kept in touch with them. When I lived in Pittsburgh, we always talked about starting our own company, and when Alan took the reins and said "Let's make this happen," I was on board fully.
JR: There's an aspect of dance, and particularly ballet, that fascinates me. I would imagine it is extraordinarily difficult to get everyone on the same page- each dancer knowing how and when to move. Is it really as simple as 'practice a lot,' or are there other things that come into play in order to successfully choreograph a routine?
GGS: Most dancers at this level have been dancing pretty much their whole lives. Picking up, remembering, and executing choreography is a skill they have been working on for years and years. As much as what you see onstage is a group effort, it really comes down to everyone being responsible and focused on their individual part, which pieces the puzzle together. It is definitely a lot of hard work in the studio to make a great performance.
JR: Texture Ballet has danced to all kinds of music; from "Pursuit of Happiness" and Elbow to Bon Iver and live garage rock. How do you and the troupe go about choosing songs to prepare routines for? GGS: With the easy accessibility of different artists online, you can slowly start to stockpile songs that you like, that inspire you to dance. In the end, it's just picking which ones you want to become a reality.
JR: How did "Wonder Full" come about? The tracks are very complex, with a lot of impressive instrumentation. Did you write the album specifically for choreography, or did you imagine putting lyrics to the music?
GGS: I never imagined lyrics to any of the songs. I use my voice as a instrument, but not necessarily to make a dialogue. I like when people can have their own stories/ movie inside their head when listening to my music. Some songs on the album were written specifically for projects I was doing for other choreographers. But most of the songs were just created from the movement in my head. It's kind of a yes and no answer, because I see movement and sometimes choreography, but usually not specific. It's more just the movement and the emotion that goes into the music that I create.
JR: What do you hope the album accomplishes? Do you plan on touring with the music? What's next?
GGS: The biggest accomplishment was to get the album out so that people could listen to it. I am very proud of this album. I have been working on it for a long time, and I put a lot of work, and a lot of myself into it. I'm glad I can finally share it with friends, and I'm excited when people listen to it, because everyone has a different response to it...that's the greatest. It's kind of crazy that this is my second album, music was always something I just did for myself and the natural process of sharing my music has been really fun. I have started to play some songs live and I would like to keep exploring that.
