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

Hi Samantha, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
I think about risk in my professional life in two ways. The first is that I have spent my entire career with preserving an important dance legacy. There is no museum for dance, and I have passionately devoted myself to creating what is essentially a living museum to Anna Sokolow’s body of work. So, that is an unusual choice. The second set of risks is about how as artistic director I create/curate programs that make sense to me. On one hand I am tied to the legacy and how the dances were originally presented. But I am also interested in how these works resonate with current audiences, and the ways that presenting the dances need to change to help audiences see the genius of Sokolow’s work. I don’t change the dances, but I am willing to change how we present them. Last year we made an immersive experience of Magritte Magritte! and Frida. I also put together a show at The Slipper Room, which is a burlesque club most evenings. I think the space changes how we feel and what we see within the dance. I definitely take crazy risks and my associate directors are willing to dive off of the cliff with me. I wouldn’t want to do this without them. So far I have been wildly successful with the choices- but each time I need to trust my gut, close my eyes, and open the show.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a modern dancer – I am drawn to the modernists of the 1930’s, 40’s, 50’s through the end of their choreographic careers. My expertise is Anna Sokolow, who was in the original Martha Graham Ensemble and then went on to forge her own brand of theatre dance. Her work touches on all aspects of humanity: love, grief, and the times when we are at our worst – but she has a strong faith in humanity embedded in all of her work. Sokolow is very well known for her “dark side” because she was willing to make dances about subjects that make audiences uncomfortable. But the joy of my having danced and now directed these works over a period of 35 years is that, as I change and grow, my understanding of the work changes too. So I am never bored because each time I approach one of her works it is a new beginning. I tell my dancers it is like climbing a mountain – even if you have been to the summit before, it still takes all of the work, and the journey is a new experience. I think the world needs to see these classic masterpieces because they reflect our current selves even though they were made between 1930-2002. The questions Sokolow asks are the same ones we need to be asking ourselves now. Times change, but humanity does not. Sokolow gives us important insight into ourselves.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If you are in New York City for a week and have already ticked off the biggies: The MoMA, the MET, The Museum of Natural History etc… I recommend The Morgan Library, The Frick, The Museum of Transportation in Brooklyn, and a ride on the Sea Glass carousel in Battery Park. Go see Little Island, and whatever shows are happening there. My favorite restaurant in NYC is Le Zie in Chelsea. I would see what Arts On Site is presenting in their theater, go see something at The Slipper Room because it is a fantastic NYC experience. Walk around the Lower East Side. Go to The Pickle Guys, The Pickle Bookstore and take a tour of the Tenement museum.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My mentor Jim May and my two associate artistic directors Eleanor Bunker and Lauren Naslund. I have been working with them for the last 35 years and none my Sokolow journey has been without their artistry, consistent presence, and unwavering support.

Website: https://www.sokolowtheatredance.org

Instagram: sokolowtheatredance

Facebook: Sokolow Theatre Dance Ensemble

Image Credits
Headshot: Gary Spector; Slaughter 2: Rishika Nath; Ideas of an Acrobat, Three Poems Quartet, Three Poems Duet : Steven Pisano; Ballad in a Popular Style – Lakey Evans-Pena; IMG_0025: Lauren Naslund; IMG_7375: Erin Gottwald,

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