This week, I was lucky enough to sit down for a chat with Heather Gardner, who has quickly become a SLC favorite for burlesque, belly dance, and all around entertainment. With her pretty face and quiet voice, one might mistake her for being demure. I learned that this is a woman with a passion, not just for her art, but to master her own self and skills.
As one of the up-and-coming stars of Salt Lake City, Heather has found herself performing with several top notch groups in a wide variety of events. Her star shows no sign of dimming anytime soon. Often spotted at Juana Ghani events or practicing silks in the park, she has spent the last few years learning everything tossed her way. It's more than paid off.
Still, Heather is a kind soul, with a gracious and smiling demeanor. She's been not only a talented artist, but a happy addition into an arts community that has embraced her fully. Keep your eyes peeled, Utahns. She's taking over!
The Interview:
Kita: So, what kind of artist are you?
Heather: Oh, that's a hard question to answer, because I do so many things. Well, I do burlesque, of course, and belly dance. I'm learning aerial arts right now, so probably my main focus right now. I'm trying to get good at that, but it's really challenging. It takes a lot of strength. But I like that. I'm also taking modern dance, and I took ballet in college, so I'm trying to incorporate that into everything I do. I'm also a musician. My band hasn't played very much lately, but I still like to sing and play the guitar. It just has to take a backseat right now.
Kita: How did you get into dancing?
Heather: Well, I started with belly dancing. That was the first dance I ever did. I started with my mom, and it was in, I think, 2002, so I was about twenty-three. I always wanted to take it. I think I saw a belly dancing segment on some TV show once, and thought, "Oh, I want to do that!" So, I made up my mind that I wanted to try it, and I wanted someone to go with me, so my mom went with me. We danced together for about five or six years, and I took from a lot of different people. I think the first one I ever took was in a community education class in West Jordan or somewhere around there, and my teacher was Ravonda. We took lessons from her that summer, and then we started taking lessons from Thia. So I was there for quite a while, and then I stopped taking lessons from her and started learning from a girl named Melissa Walker. I took lessons from Lara Zorn, and Trisha McBride. Then I started doing my own thing.
Kita: How about music?
Heather: Well, my family is a very musical family. My brother and I learned piano when we were very little. He was always better than I was, and I kind of quit when I was eight years old. My mom wanted everyone in our family to learn an instrument, and so that's when I decided I wanted to play the flute. So that's when I really wanted to do music. I used to go to a different elementary school to take classes, and then I did it throughout middle school and a few years in high school. When I was in the ninth or tenth grade, I decided I wanted to play the guitar. So I got myself a guitar, using all the money I had from the summer job at the time. I was a custodian for a middle school. I kind of taught myself how to play, and started writing songs. It just kind of happened that way and I've been playing ever since.
Kita: Do you write a lot of your own stuff then?
Heather: I do write some music, yeah. I've been writing songs since I was about fifteen. They've changed throughout the years, and a lot of them, I don't even want to think about anymore. But I do like to write, and play other peoples music as well.
Kita: Do you find yourself using this to connect to the arts community in Salt Lake?
Heather: A little bit. I was in a Celtic band. I kind of still am. A member of our band passed away, so it would have to be a different band if we were to bring it up again, but we did perform quite a bit. It was great to connect with different bands and other artists that way. I really enjoyed that. I enjoy just meeting random people who I can play music with. I enjoy playing bluegrass music a lot, since it's a great way to play music for that. A lot of people know the same songs through it.
Kita: Would you say with your experience as a dancer and musician, are the two communities really different?
Heather: Yes. I would say they are. They are similar in some ways. But it's different just in the mediums themselves.
Kita: When you first started dancing, what were your goals?
Heather: My goals were just to be able to learn how to do it. It was new for me. I never really wanted to dance when I was younger. I mean, I did, but I was scared to. I never thought I would be able to do it. When I started belly dancing, I fell in love with it. It was amazing. I learned that my body could learn movement, I just had to try hard and keep working at it. So really, that was my main goal. I never really thought about performing, but I guess after that first year I started thinking about it. Then I had another goal of being a good performer. So those were really my two goals.
Kita: How about now?
Heather: They're pretty much the same, depending on what I'm doing. They've just deepened. I mostly just want to get better, and new things that I want to master. I think they've mostly stayed the same.
Kita: What about music? What were your goals there?
Heather: Just to be able to play. And to be in a band. I've always wanted to play guitar and sing in a band. And that happened! So that was an amazing experience for me. I wouldn't change it for anything. I would love to play in a band again, and continue playing in the band I'm in if it's possible.
Kita: How do music and dance complement each other? Has learning one helped with the other?
Heather: Oh, I think so. I think just being a musician helps you understand music, and being able to create music is really special. It connects you to music on a primal level, and that's kind of moved over into dance.
Kita: So how about your different styles of dance? Burlesque, belly dance, and aerial are all pretty different. Do you find they blend well?
Kita: How is performing? Do you get anxious?
Heather: I do! I used to be really bad with my stage fright. I still get it, but it's not nearly as bad as it used to be. It's more of an excitement or anticipation than feeling like you'd want to die. I still get a little bit excited and nervous.
Kita: What have your other struggles been?
Heather: I've had a lot of technical struggles. It seems I've had a lot of problems with music and things not playing right for me. That's a real challenge, because you don't expect it, and then you have to just wing it and do the best you can do. So that's happened. Other than that, it's been coming up with original and fun choreography that other people will find artful and enjoyable.
Kita: So you mostly do your own choreography?
Heather: Yes! I do a lot of freestyling, too. I do like to have a set based choreography, especially if I'm dancing with my students or if there's a song that I really want to get through and convey an idea about. It can be a struggle, but I enjoy letting things flow naturally, and then picking an idea and running with it.
Kita: So do you prefer working with groups or is it really mostly about your solo stuff?
Heather: I like both sides! It's hard to say. I love being a soloist, but I love performing with a group too. I really enjoy being a part of that bigger picture. I enjoy dancing, synchronized with other ladies, and the communal aspect of it. It's like a sisterhood. I love that a lot. But I really like doing solos too, because it really lets your own personality shine through. You can really say, "This is my own medium, this is what I came up with."
Kita: How about when you're doing other peoples choreography? Some dancers I've talked to say they feel almost like robots just going through the motions. How easily do you tap into other peoples viewpoints?
Heather: I love doing other peoples choreography, actually. It's something that I find a challenge sometimes, especially if it's something I'm not technically used to. But I love to master it. I really like trying to match the style they're going for, and trying to capture the mood they're trying to give.
Kita: How well does the art you do harmonize with your day to day job?
Heather: I don't think it's hard. I just barely got my job, a few weeks ago. I'm a student at the university in Ogden, so I work at the library archives, and I'm a scanner. So I get to scan in all these old pictures, and I think it's fun and enjoyable. I've always liked photography, and I get to listen to music while I do it. So even if my mind wanders, I can be thinking of choreography or how I want to play with a song. I think it's a good job for me to have right now.
Kita: What's your favorite aspect of either music or dance?
Heather: I love feeling victorious after I've mastered something. Like, when I'm doing aerial dance, there's a really hard move that took me a long time, and it was always the hardest move for me when I started learning. And then when you get that, it's such an amazing feeling, and you have such respect for yourself and admiration. You feel like, "I can do this!" And then also performing, there's something amazing about it. Being able to make people happy, and bringing a little bit of magic to their lives.
Kita: And least favorite?
Heather: Probably when I mess up. You know, when things don't go the way you want them to, that can be hard. But it's a good learning experience, so I don't feel like it doesn't have any value.
Kita: Where do you find inspiration?
Heather: I find a lot of inspiration in the lyrics of songs. Sometimes, they just speak to you, and you really connect with the message it's sending and the emotions that go along with those things. So I feed off a lot of feelings.
Kita: When you first started with this whole crazy adventure, is this where you saw yourself going?
Heather: Not at all. I don't really know what I expected to be doing, but there's so many different things I'm doing now. I think I just expected that I would be performing and liking it, but I never saw myself branching off into all these different areas. I've always had it in my head that I would be performing something, whether it's songwriting, or music, or dance.
Kita: You've kind of become a local celebrity. Do you ever have strange experiences with that?
Heather: I do! I've had people recognize me in bars, that I've never met but they're my Facebook friend or something. It's really weird when that happens, I'm never sure how to respond. Other than that, it just seems that all the circles I know are connected. I always run into somebody that I know. Everyone I know knows everyone else with all these different connections so that's kind of cool. So sometimes it's pretty cool, and sometimes it's kind of weird. You feel like you're being stalked or something! But it's cool.
Kita: How do the people in your life react to all of this?
Heather: I think they appreciate it for what it is. My family loves to come see me perform and the different styles that I do. They like to support me whenever they can, and my husband likes to come whenever he can.
Kita: Do you find that helpful, or do you really prefer to perform for strangers?
Heather: Oh so helpful! I like having people I know in the audience. It's a bit of moral support. There's also something freeing about performing for people you don't know. There's less expectations and you don't have to worry about whether they liked it or not too much.
Kita: In the belly dance world, the debate over being sexy is pretty strong, but burlesque is obviously meant to be sexy. Did your feelings on that and on what you're willing to do with that change along the way?
Heather: I think so. I think the more I experience different forms of art, I stopped confining myself. I don't like confining myself, or setting any artistic boundaries. If you have something and it's going to work, then you just go for it. And people will hate it or love it and that's going to be the case no matter what you do. So my ideas about what my performances should be and how I should convey them have changed over time and over the years. But I think that always changes.
Kita: People have a lot of different opinions on dance with body image. Some people think it helps, others think just the opposite. Where do you fall on that spectrum?
Heather: It really helped me with how I view my body and gave me such respect for it, so my opinion is that it definitely helps. It promotes healthy self image. When you can move your own body and see it moving in ways you never thought you'd be able to, I think it helps in so many ways. Just getting out there and dancing is healthy.
Have anyone you'd like us to chat with? Suggestions are taken in the comments below.
No comments:
Post a Comment