by Jessica Bower
Beth Ratas is a
contemporary and modern dancer, performer, choreographer and artist who lives
and works in Pittsburgh, PA. Ms. Ratas was first introduced to gymnastics as a
3 year old watching the Olympics. After seeing Mary Lou Retton perform a
cartwheel trick, Beth stood up and performed a perfect cartwheel for her
mother, who saw her potential and immediately enrolled Beth into gymnastics
lessons. Beth continued her gymnastics practice through age 18, competing in
gymnastics clubs as well as for her high school’s team. It was during this
experience as a gymnast that Beth first began to learn to trust her body in
space. During her gymnastic education, she was also taught not to hesitate, to
trust her balance and flexibility and to trust her strength. It was not until
Beth turned 11 that she became interested in performance beyond gymnastics. She
joined “Accompany of Kids,” a community performance based group for youth,
which introduced singing, acting and dancing into her life. Having gained a
formal and well structured understanding of her body’s capabilities, Beth saw
potential in the liberation and expression dance provided. Of that realization,
Beth said, “Gymnastics is more precise, structured and focused on execution. It
is very quantifiable and measurable. As I found dance, I realized the precision
could loosen.” Beth quickly understood there to be more leeway and artistic
response in dance from within her personality that could show through in ways
that gymnastics did not allow. Her pathways have led her to receive a BA in
Theatre Arts with a Minor in Dance. Beth has also spent time performing in a
circus, something that she feels may reveal itself in some of her future works,
though she is reluctant to reveal how just yet.
INFLUENCERS
Pearlann Porter of the
Pillow Project in Pittsburgh was one of Beth’s first mentors. Pearlann’s dance
theory incorporates improvisation and the thought of jazz as a verb. Beth was
affiliated with Pillow Project for 5 years, where she developed a strong sense
and understanding of how the body can be used as a musical instrument in and of
itself. Pearlann Porter taught Beth how to create the soundscape within her own
body and to listen to and make room for silence as a powerful player within
dance as a medium.
While studying under
Pearlann Porter, Beth was introduced to Gia Cacalano, a performance artist
located in Pittsburgh. Gia, having started with Martha Graham and the Kiev
Ballet’s very form based structures, moved beyond the parameters of these
movements and learned to embrace improvisation as a powerful tool within her
dance practice. Gia Cacalano’s work is also influenced also by Butoh, a Japanese
movement technique, which challenges performers to be hyper aware of the
reactions each cell in their body is having to movements and thoughts about the
performance.
Below is a video of Gia Cacalano improvising with Paul Giallorenzo and Brian Labycz.
As a result of these
two major influences, Beth has a great love for improvisation in her
choreographic works. She particularly enjoys using improvisation to help with
the development of works she is creating, though it does not play the strongest
role in final productions.
PERSONAL THEORY
Beth’s current
preferred form of dance is improv and modern dance. She feels that to do
improv, you have to understand your instincts, not question or judge them. Beth
believes that music can inform your improv. Sound is everything around you.
And, as Beth learned from Pearlann Porter, sound is also silent. Silence can
allow you to connect viscerally and gives you an out of body experience as you
create your own soundscape.
Beth agrees with John
Cage’s analysis of Grace and Clarity (See Resource 4 under Sources & Acknowledgements). There is a duality created with the
formal structures of dance structures such as ballet and, in Beth’s case, the
framework provided by her experience as a gymnast, which provide her with the
ability to use her techniques and training to then create improvised dance.
True improv is created once the formal bases have been conquered. The clarity
is achieved through the formal education and then grace is implemented in the
freedom that is provided when a human being with personal input takes these
formal structures and creatively interprets them.
In the past year, Beth
participated in a residency at PearlArts Studio where she choreographed and
performed three works: a Quartet, a Duet and a Solo, respectively. Beth feels
that her work is still very much in its infancy. She is searching for her voice
through her performances and choreography. Her influences stem from her history
as a gymnast, her BA in Musical Theatre, time spent in the circus, and her love
for modern dance and improvisation. The residency gave Beth the confidence to
keep creating and encouragement to be an artist. Beth is doing all that she can
to follow her innate instinct that there is pleasure to be found in moving and
not judging your body’s abilities. For now, the main points Beth is knows that
she enjoys about works that she sees or participates in include: Risk,
Uncertainty, Vulnerability and Being Made to Feel Uncomfortable. Her works up
until this point have not blatantly addressed the audience in these listed
ways, but Beth is considering how to incorporate this visceral exposure into
her own works. Beth stated, “ The
possibilities of the human body is so much more than we think it is. If you
listen to all the information being input and received from ever layer of your
body (your core organs, bones, blood, skin, etc), you gain a better
understanding of the potential that exist for exploring the possibilities of
the body.”
Other Dancers that Beth Loves and Considers to
Be Influential
Jaamil Kosako
BETH'S WORK
In the last two years, Beth has performed in the following:
She has Choreographed the following (also in the last two years):
BETH'S WORK
In the last two years, Beth has performed in the following:
2013:
- walk barefoot and the thorns will hurt you, by Beth Ratas, PearlArts Studio, Pittsburgh, PA
2012:
- A Pale Blue Jazz, by Pearlann Porter, The Space Upstairs, Pittsburgh, PA
- It Started with a Thought, by Riva Strauss, The Space Upstairs, Pittsburgh, PA
- if god left the lights on could we walk alone at night, by Jasmine Hearn, newMoves Dance Festival, Kelly-Strayhorn Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA
- …on being… by Staycee Pearl, newMoves Dance Festival, Kelly-Strayhorn Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA
- Ruth’s Garden, by Dahlia Nayar, Next Stage Residency, Pittsburgh, PA
2011:
- collectables, by Gia Cacalano, SPACE gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
- ‘hysterical machines’ installation improv, by Gia Cacalano, Wood Street Galleries, Pittsburgh, PA
- in between, by Jasmine Hearn, Dance Alloy Studios, Pittsburgh, PA
- Crossing the Center without My Glass Slipper, by Gia Cacalano, SPACE gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
She has Choreographed the following (also in the last two years):
2013: ‘walk
barefoot and the thorns will hurt you’ solo
Length: 30min
Music: Gordon Kirkwood, live cellist
and composer
2012: ‘embrace’
video/live duet
Length: 6omin
Music: Album Leaf, So Percussion
2012:
‘I dare you’ Quartet
Length: 10min
Music: Moby, Jon Brion, Tony Gatlif
*For the sake of brevity, I did not include the remaining details of Beth's CV, but rest assured, she is in no way limited to these performances and choreographed pieces of the last 2 years. To learn more about her, please feel free to contact me.
SOURCES & Acknowledgements
The majority of the information about the artist within the text was taken from an interview held on Monday, February 18, 2012 where Jessica Bower (author) and Beth Ratas shared almond milk lattes at Jessica's home and discussed Beth's work and the history and theories of dance. All photos were provided by the artist.
The following are links used within the text to reference connections and influences from Beth's practice.
*For the sake of brevity, I did not include the remaining details of Beth's CV, but rest assured, she is in no way limited to these performances and choreographed pieces of the last 2 years. To learn more about her, please feel free to contact me.
SOURCES & Acknowledgements
The majority of the information about the artist within the text was taken from an interview held on Monday, February 18, 2012 where Jessica Bower (author) and Beth Ratas shared almond milk lattes at Jessica's home and discussed Beth's work and the history and theories of dance. All photos were provided by the artist.
The following are links used within the text to reference connections and influences from Beth's practice.
- "Accompany of Kids." Accompany of Kids. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. http://www.aokwi.org/
- "Gia Cacalano | Facebook." Gia Cacalano | Facebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. http://www.facebook.com/gia.cacalano
- "Gia Cacalano with Paul Giallorenzo and Brian Labycz." YouTube. YouTube, 20 Nov. 2011. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Nf6d7udSkv4
- Huxley, Michael, and Noel Witts. "Four Statements on Dance by John Cage." The Twentieth-Century Performance Reader. 2nd ed. London [etc.: Routledge, 2002. 135-45. Print.
- "IdiosynCrazy Productions." IdiosynCrazy Productions. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. http://idiosyncrazy.org/
- "Kate Watson-Wallace." Kate Watson-Wallace. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. http://katewawa.com/
- "Kate Watson-Wallace" YouTube. YouTube, 23 July 2008. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ttEnPPWW3qM
- "Mary Lou Retton." Mary Lou Retton. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013. http://marylouretton.com/
- "Up Next." The Pillow Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013.http://pillowproject.org/
- "PearlArts Studios." PearlArts Studios. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2013.
- "Glia by Shannon Murphy." YouTube. YouTube, 19 June 2012. Web. 23 Feb. 2013.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SsqW_agtz88
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