Staff Profile: Accompanying with David Decaminada

By Raven Crosby, Emory Dance Program Office Assistant

Since the age of four, David Decaminada has been passionate about music and the piano. By listening to the radio, records, and tapes, David developed the ability to play music by ear. This talent led him to his first professional accompanist position at Ohio State University at the age of 17, where he accompanied many ballet courses and a few modern courses. He was the very first accompanist for the Emory Dance Program; he was hired in 1987, the year the program began, and is now one of three accompanists playing for Emory dance classes.  

Decaminada has a repertoire of songs that he draws from to play during class. He matches the melodic properties of the song to the tempo of each exercise. He enjoys playing music for waltz, solo stretch, and any portion of the class where he does not have to pause as much in his playing. Decaminada also incorporates musical pieces from the radio and records into the class. He also improvises, adds his own flair, and creates the music as he plays during class. Since ballet is a classical art form, Decaminada plays many classical pieces for those classes. However, he also plays classical jazz pieces inspired by ragtime to keep the class engaged musically. When a dance instructor or student tells Decaminada that they enjoyed a song that he played, he will add it to his repertoire and play it throughout the course meetings. These are just a few of the ways that Decaminada connects with a class through his accompaniment. He says, “a good accompanist isn’t heard but you notice when they aren’t there.”

In high school, David’s aunt encouraged him to listen to more Jazz LPs by musicians such as Duke Ellington, Joseph Lamb, and Scott Joplin; all have had a great impact on David’s accompaniment. Throughout his career, he has taught himself how to play ragtime pieces because his music teachers at the time did not focus on this genre. When David began accompanying dance classes, he played for a few modern courses. This experience provided him with many applicable skills that he transferred to his ballet accompaniments. A modern teacher, Carl Ratcliff, challenged David to play more waltz and ragtime music. Music theory and training were also two important tools for David as he progressed through his early career. From practicing, hearing many records, and reading sheet music, he can create music as he accompanies on the spot. If he slips up, David begins to “…try to edit, or fake it...I have become rather good at that. When in doubt, make something up. Don’t even think about it, just make it up.”

Decaminada offered three pieces of advice that, while directed at people who are interested in accompanying, can also be applied to any field. Regarding music, “Even if you don’t like something, listen to it anyway. Figure out what you like or don’t like about it. Give a critique and see how it affects you.” He then offered advice for performances. “You should never perform like you are apologizing. That’s your love. That’s your craft. That’s you. So, I play like I’m never apologizing. If you don’t like it, you can never expect that others will like it.” When it comes to making mistakes, he says “There are 500 people out there; they can’t stop you. If you make a mistake just fudge it.”

Behind the Scenes of "perejil": Cast Perspective with Bibby Agbabiaka

By Raven Crosby, Emory Dance Program Office Assistant

Bibby Agbabiaka is a passionate first-year student who is actively involved with the Emory Dance Program. This fall, Agbabiaka was a cast member in Julio Medina’s dance film perejil (parsley), which was set on the Emory Dance Company and was a response to this past summer’s civil unrest against racial inequality. The name references the racially motivated 1937 Parsley Massacre of Haitians in the Dominican Republic orchestrated by the Dominican dictator, and is also the title of a poem about the massacre by Rita Dove.

The creation, rehearsal process, and performance of this piece was different than a dance set for a stage. The rehearsal process began with dancers bringing in poems that mirrored the topic of the piece and were used as a starting point to jointly create bits of choreography that would come together as the dance film. Agbabiaka says “It was different from practicing for the stage because we didn’t always have to focus on facing a certain direction, as there was no live audience. As a result, our formations and positions were also a lot more flexible.” He also learned more about the importance of working with others and having synergy as a team. “It was especially important for us during the recording of the dance film because we were often dancing without any music, so we had to be in tune with each other’s rhythm so that we could still be majorly in sync.”

 

The filming occurred over multiple days to cover different locations. At each location, there were multiple takes. “[The filming process] was quite long, but of course still fun because we were all (us dancers and Julio) in each other’s presence, cheering each other on and laughing whenever we made a mistake” said Agbabiaka. One challenge Agbabiaka mentioned that the dancers had to overcome “was having to do floor work (modern dance) on a hard, concrete floor outdoors, as opposed to doing so indoors on the softer, smoother dance studio floor.”

Agbabiaka also mentioned how the knowledge of the subject matter in perejil was important in portraying emotion in the piece. “Though I can’t speak for anyone else, I kept in mind the actual horror of the Parsley Massacre so that my dancing could emerge as a more genuine response to these things that happened in history.” He feels that with this context, the message of the film comes across quite well through the movement and music. The message is presented through dance movements “that represented resistance and fighting back against something.” Music, composed by Xay Zoleil created a “… solemn, defiant and slightly mysterious atmosphere,” which “brought all elements of perejil together.”

 

The filming process encouraged Agbabiaka to think about what other subjects can be molded into dance pieces or films whether they are “…topics that are widely talked about or things that are more peculiar and need more attention.” He also grew to appreciate all the work that goes into creating a dance film: “the choreography, the practice, the filming, the editing, the costuming, composition of music, and other elements. Seeing how we all managed to bring it to life makes me interested in one day creating something similar myself.”

Watch perejil here: https://vimeo.com/478659125

Before watching, we recommend viewing the introduction by choreographer Julio Medina: https://vimeo.com/478970692 

 

Photos by Lori Teague 

Staff Profile: Composing with Kendall Simpson

 

By Raven Crosby, Emory Dance Program Office Assistant

 

Kendall Simpson has always loved music, but didn't begin his musical journey until eleventh grade, having pursued his interest in sports earlier on. He began by taking piano lessons and his teacher encouraged him to continue developing his talents in college. Simpson is currently a musician and composer for the Emory Dance Program, while also pursuing composing opportunities outside of this Emory job.

 

When composing music for dance, Simpson first asks the choreographer for adjectives to “... describe the intention of a dancer, [and] how an audience member might think of the beginning and end of a piece, etc.” He improvises on the piano and uses his computer to “...generate textures and patterns, hoping to find something fresh and inspiring.” This creative exploration culminates in several musical ideas that are presented to the choreographer as a starting point. From there, the collaboration continues with additions and revisions until the piece is finished.

 

In addition to composing music for dance, Simpson also composes for theater, and describes the differences between the two art forms: in general, dance music is often lengthy while theater music is usually short interludes and transitions. Of the two, he feels that dance is more challenging to compose for because “...it requires that you develop ideas and not just state them in short spurts.”

 

Recently, Simpson composed the music for George Staib’s piece a persistence of rapture, set on the Emory Dance Company this past fall. For Simpson and Staib, who have collaborated many times, this process has become second nature: “We now have a shorthand at getting our thoughts and ideas across.” The music for a persistence of rapture was performed live, which Simpson feels brings a new energy for both dancers and musicians.

 

Simpson, who has been performing for many years, has had his share of mistakes. When asked how to overcome these mishaps, he states “All you can do is literally keep going. Keeping the piece going is the only plan you should have for mistakes. It takes some experience to learn this approach.” His advice for students who are considering music as a career is to “...learn everything you can about creating music: learn to read and write music, learn several instruments, learn music software, learn to conduct, learn to improvise, practice every day.” The second piece of advice that Simpson offers is “Know that failure is just as important as success in helping you grow as an artist.”