Today we’d like to introduce you to Pia Vinson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Pia. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started dancing when I was four years old, in Albi, a small town in Southern France. My teacher at the time, Régine Bonnet Pallotelli, introduced me to Tap first, then Ballet & Jazz. At age 13, I begged my parents to go to boarding school to study with a specific Ballet teacher, Dominique Thouroude. I was taking private lessons with her everyday. But it is around that time that I was first introduced and fell in love with choreography.
Fast forward to 2011, age 19, I saw on Facebook that an audition for the Martha Graham School was being held in Paris. I went and was selected, so I left my country and moved to New York City a few months later.
I studied Graham for three years. Then, I became an intern with the Dance for Parkinson’s Disease Program in Brooklyn. My main focus was choreography, and both opportunities helped me expand my movement language. I have had the chance to showcase my work in several venues in NYC, France, and California since I moved here in 2016.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I don’t think anyone has a smooth road but I have reasons to think that struggles can work in our favor. At age 16, during a ballet class, I felt an unbearable pain in my lower back and left leg. After five months of doctor’s appointments and tests, I finally got diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis, a form of arthritis causing joint inflammation. I had to stop dancing for a few years. It was the hardest thing I had ever gone through. But I didn’t want this diagnosis to be the end of it. I loved choreographing & believed I could find my own way to create movement with dancers, even if I am in pain. It isn’t the usual route for a choreographer, chronic pain always takes you by surprise. But to be honest, it now feels like a blessing in disguise. I know how to manage my pain and move around it. It thought me to listen to the performers I work with and pay better attention to the way their bodies move.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Being freelance, I am lucky to be working on so many different projects with all generations & artists of all mediums. It goes from helping singers with their video or live performances to choreographing musicals for middle schools to working with filmmakers on the best angles or dynamics for movements on camera.
When I get a break from commissions, I take the time to work on my own concepts. I write a lot, then get in the studio. But whenever I start working with dancers, I allow some extra time to talk about the concept, hear how everyone in the room relates to it. But because of chronic pain, I have had to learn to create movement without demonstrating it. So I draw inspiration from these conversations. Then once I describe moves to the dancers, they have the freedom to execute it in their own ways. Therefore the process is very collaborative, and everyone brings their experience and personalities to the concept & movements. The dancers aren’t just bodies.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Patience and appreciation for flaws and failures. Swim against the tide; If things don’t go the usual way, it doesn’t mean the goal is unachievable.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.piavinsondance.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/piavinson/
Image Credit:
Principal photo: Marissa Mooney; Blue Leap photo by Kelli Radwanski; BW photo by Paul Gilmore; Rehearsal shot by Sabrina Bot; Performance shot by Peter Yesley; Trio photo shot by Kelli Radwansko; Marissa Mooney
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
