Gillian Rhodes
Interview by Mia Cardenas, Colloquium Manager
Interview by Mia Cardenas, Colloquium Manager
Gillian Rhodes
Gillian Rhodes is an American dancer, choreographer, model, and writer. She started classical ballet at just five years old. As a teenager, she focused more on circus, and worked as a professional aerial circus performer and coach. She refocused on dance in college at Columbia University, and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 2012. Upon graduation, Gillian traveled to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to teach a series of choreography workshops for the NGO Cambodian Living Arts. She stayed in Cambodia for three years, working primarily as a choreographer for Cambodian Television Network and as the senior management assistant at Cambodian Living Arts. Gillian left Cambodia for South Korea in June 2015. Gillian is currently based in Lahore, Pakistan.
Dancing Punjabi Bhangra in Lahore with Versatile Dance Company
Mia Cardenas: You have lived a very colourful life: travelling across the world, meeting different people, and finding yourself in incredibly unique situations. Tell us about an experience that was especially meaningful to you.
Gillian Rhodes: This is a very difficult question, because all of it has been meaningful in its own way, and has challenged me, shaped me, broken me open, and built me into the person I am today. A couple of significant moments come to mind: The day I was named a member to the company I was dancing for in South Korea was the realization of a childhood dream, and the residency I did in Burkina Faso was a huge personal achievement as well as a month packed full of learning about race, culture, choreography, dance technique, and everything in between.
Credit: Ashna Khan
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MC: You almost majored in Astrophysics during your time in University - why was this, and how has your interest in science influenced your dancing?
GR: I started reading Seymour Simon’s planet books when I was tiny, and never stopped reading and learning about astronomy since. I just always loved the ideas, though in the end I wasn’t interested in the actual mechanics and mathematics of the work. Astronomy was something totally different from my work that I just always loved to listen and learn about – recently, though, I’ve been experimenting with putting the two together in my artistic work, which has led to some interesting results!
Credit: Loy Te
MC: What is the most difficult part of your artistic process? What is the most exciting part?
GR: I would say that the most difficult part is to refine the work for the audience’s perspective, so to keep stepping out of my own bubble and looking at the whole thing from the outside to see how effectively it communicates the emotion and the ideas. As a performing artist the most exciting part is the performance! There is nothing more thrilling than being on stage.
MC: Who are the artistic figures that have influenced and inspired you the most?
GR: For choreography, Pina Bausch and Matthew Bourne; for dance, Mikhail Baryshnikov; and for general artistic admiration, the sculptures of Auguste Rodin.
MC: What else would you like to accomplish in the future? Any projects coming up that you're looking forward to?
GR: Mostly, I want to keep pushing myself on what I can create. I’d like to be the sort of artist that creates mad and unthinkable and beautiful things, that pushes boundaries and asks questions and makes significant, interesting, and poignant performances.
I would also like to keep investigating the intersection between astronomy and art too see where it leads me! Unfortunately due to COVID, I do not have any idea what the immediate future will bring, but I am personally looking forward to some upcoming collaborations and getting back onstage!!
MC: What do you think it means to live an artful life?
GR: One of my mentors told me that he sees his greatest and longest work of art as his life, and I think it’s a
beautiful expression of the idea that is seeing your whole life as a work of art. It reminds me to appreciate
the beauty of what I’ve done, while constantly looking to keep adding and deepening and widening.
GR: One of my mentors told me that he sees his greatest and longest work of art as his life, and I think it’s a
beautiful expression of the idea that is seeing your whole life as a work of art. It reminds me to appreciate
the beauty of what I’ve done, while constantly looking to keep adding and deepening and widening.
Second Nature Dance Company
To learn more about Gillian Rhodes, check out her website and follow her on Instagram! (@gilliangeorgine)
Watch Gillian's performances on her youtube channel.
