We had the good fortune of connecting with Alexandra Beller and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alexandra, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
Empathy, Curiosity, and humility. Although I am a teacher, I believe completely that each person is the ultimate expert on themselves. So my job becomes instantly collaborative when I release the idea that I am “teaching” them something. I may have facts to share that they don’t know, or strategies they’ve not tried, but they are teaching me about who they are, what they feel, why they move or speak, how they want to live in the world. My job is to synthesize my information with theirs and build a scaffold to deeper self knowing or self expression. That requires the first three adjectives I wrote, and that makes me endlessly satisfied and engaged.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have had an unusual journey from dance into theater. I was a professional dancer for many years (namely with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company), and then I began to create my own hybrid Dance-Theatre work. Eventually I transitioned into working in Theatre full time, and my approach feels unique. Even when I am the Director (rather than Movement Director/Choreographer), I approach the script, the action, the relationships, and text through a bodily perspective. I don’t do table work. We learn the play and work the relationships and meaning on our feet. I truly believe that everything we want to communicate begins in the body, not the brain. So, Somatic work, self-meaning, and experiential movement are key to me.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’d definitely take them through a Red Hook walk. BBQ at Hometown, sunset near the water, a dive bar for a cocktail and maybe some Key Lime pie at Steve’s, a walk through the garden nursery there. I’d take them on the Brooklyn ferry that jots up the borough to Queens and back, maybe stop somewhere in Williamsburg for a cocktail and a sunset (I guess the sunsets are already a theme). Honestly, I’m a homebody, so lots of time cooking and hanging in my backyard. I’d find a good spot in Prospect Park to hang a hammock and just people watch and chat, stop at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens or The Brooklyn Museum on the way home. And then, at some point, some great Afghani food, great Indian food, sushi. Do a bike ride around Williamsburg and stop when we see something great, especially if that place is Barcade, where you can play authentic video games from my childhood, Pac Woman in particular. Who’s in?

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Myah Shein is my shoutout! She volunteered to assistant direct and choreograph for me a number of times, which both allowed me to do more of the creative visioning and less of the organizational work. This allowed my work to flourish. Also, her foothold in theater and her simultaneous valuing of my work dissolved a lot of my impostor syndrome.

Website: https://alexandrabellerdances.org/

Instagram: alexandrabellerdances

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandra-beller-0a56a57/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexandra.beller.73

Other: Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/alexandrabeller

Image Credits
Judith Stuart Steven Schreiber Rachel Roberts

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