Adrian de Leeuw

Training Program Alumni

Adrian shares how his experience in the LINES Ballet I Training Program has shaped him as an artist, thinker and mover.

The Training Program was very formative for me, in regards to the way I view myself as an artist and presence in the room. Far from being fully-formed as either of those, I feel that I am more in touch with my current situation and more capable of taking control of my situation.

I can’t say that I was expecting any of the events in this program and I certainly wasn’t expecting them to change me in the way that they did. What left the deepest impression on me was the constant attention to the individual, even in something as codified as ballet. Maurya Kerr will always guide me through ballet class wherever I go and whoever I take class with, the rigorous attention to detail was always complemented and put in contrast with the push to test yourself and challenge your abilities.

There are a few memorable sentences that continue to guide me in my work. ‘Don’t just do something, stand there.’ A reminder that filling time and space with movement isn’t always the best choice. Sometimes observing the room and allowing yourself to become attuned to what your peers and the space needs, then following your instincts and beginning to add yourself to the space. ‘Just show up and do the work.’ One of the classic LINES Training Program sayings, it’s a good one and that’s why it has stuck. There’s nothing to do but show up, leave your other thoughts and worries at the door and do what is asked of you. That is how you participate in a working room and choreographic process.

San Francisco is a much larger city than Victoria, so much hustle and bustle. So many people going about their days working on making their lives better, whatever class they belong to, rich or poor. Despite people pursuing their own lives I’ve never felt threatened or treated poorly in SF. My favourite part about the city is the width of the streets, it sounds odd but it really helps this big city feel less oppressive or closed in. It makes being in the city less stressful and makes the general experience more enjoyable.

Creating a work alongside David Harvey changed the way that I viewed choreography and movement. It added another tool to my belt in both movement and choreography. Learning how to operate in another modality, speed, texture and energy was valuable. To sit in it for a few months allowed it to be firmly added to my tool belt.

Don’t be afraid of something that sits outside of your knowledge. Even if you look at this new information and believe that you don’t like it or won’t like it, give it a chance. Allow yourself to hold it and look at it, then decide if you want it. Decide to keep it or throw it away but there is a small chance that a part of it is worth keeping and using. Taking that chance and finding something new could be invaluable.

I am interested in photography, dance-for-film and choreography. Choreography informs the way that I dance. Photography and dance-for-film have informed the way that I see ‘frame’, whether it is in a proscenium, site-specific or in the studio. Photography has also changed the way that I view myself as an artist because my photography study consists of self-portaits and it has helped me situate myself as someone who will be viewed.

Since completing the training program I have attended the Springboard Summer Intensive, performing a piece choreographed by Marco Goeke.

Photography: Training Program I Choreographer Gioconda Barbuto & Dancer Adrian de Leeuw I © Michael Slobodian