Meet Cherylyn Lavagnino | Choreographer and Artistic Director of Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance

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

Hi Cherylyn, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I entered dance because it was a place where I found joy and peace. I found the practice very nourishing and deeply engaging and something that could be my own independent pathway. I trained seriously in ballet with many inspiring and knowledgeable mentors. With time I was privileged to have a satisfying professional career as a ballet dancer performing the Classics, the work of George Balanchine as well as many outstanding contemporary ballet choreographers.

I now teach aspiring young dancers and direct my own contemporary ballet company as a platform for my own creative work.

My career has been sustained by a passion for dance and the collaborative pleasure of working with
extraordinary, like-minded and generous dance, music, costume, and lighting artists. I thrive being part of a committed community of artists who share a similar passion for and dedication to a practice that has sustained my successful career.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance’s (CLD) mission is to create movement that engages an audience by aligning the rigor of ballet with the humanistic performance values of contemporary dance. This unconventional use of ballet distinctively conveys moods and relationships, without the decorum that is integral to classical repertory, and without subduing the individuality of each of the dancers.

The work is generated by issues of social injustice and the concern for the human condition, fueling profoundly sensitive and compassionate work with the intent to heal and call attention to the issues faced by women, people of color, and other marginalized groups.

This body of work could not be appropriately created or conveyed without a diverse group of dancers, composers, musicians, and other artistic collaborators. CLD has a long-standing commitment to educational outreach, as well as to the partnership of dance and live music.

I studied with outstanding mentors in both ballet and choreographic craft – I especially credit Stanley Holden and Lawrence Rhodes for dance technique/performance values training and Phyllis Lamhut for
choreographic craft. I was fortunate to dance with Pennsylvania Ballet when they were considered one of the top companies representing the sublime work of George Balanchine. After my career as a professional ballet dancer I returned to school to acquire my MFA and study contemporary dance technique and choreographic craft at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.

I believe what sets me apart is my humanistic approach to choreography that marries ballet technique with the performance values of contemporary dance. My work is about people and their journeys both difficult and rewarding. Just recently my audience members and critics commented on how refreshing it was to see work that evoked feelings and human issues as opposed to sustained technical feats.

No, it is not easy to make work and to afford the choreographic process, resulting in performances. Managing to get all your dancers in the same place at the same time has become near to impossible. Fortunately the fabulous CLD artists are committed as well as very talented and intelligent. We manage to somehow build a piece together with the people in the room that day! We then translate it to the missing cast members in following rehearsals.

As far as funding goes – it is very scarce. Being a white older woman is frankly not very much a part of the funding incentive. Being a female choreographer has always been challenging – we continue to be very under-represented.

I have worked for years developing my craft and voice and I feel. now it is becoming what I had hoped.
A dance experience with outstanding original music and excellent technical support, that transports people. They walk away from the evening having felt and experienced something. I feel so satisfied to have reached this point in my career and process. It is very rewarding and I thank the outstanding artists that work with me and enhance my work – first and foremost my fabulous group of dance artists, then composers, Scott Killian, Martin Bresnick, expert musicians, Lighting designer, Frank DenDanto III, costumers, Karen Boyer and Christopher Metzger, and set designer Jesse Seegers.

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.
We would eat at Pepe Giallo – a delightful Italian restaurant that is delicious, affordable, personable and a pleasure to spend time in with close friends in conversation

My other favorite is much more expensive – but provides an old school New York experience – Have a drink in the bar or surrounding bar areas in the Chelsea Hotel.

Definitely go to the Metropolitan Museum, hear a musical concert at Avery Fischer, see a film at the Angelica Film Center or the Quad Cinema, spend some time in the Chelsea galleries and the Chelsea
Market

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Phyllis Lamhut, dance artist/educator extraordinaire who has mentored my choreography and professional trajectory for over 25 years

Stanley Holden Royal Ballet Principal dancer/educator who trusted my dance talent and gently but firmly guided my return to dance.

Lawrence Rhodes, Artistic Director Les Grand Ballet Canadien, Principal dancer with Harkness, Joffrey and Pennsylvania Ballet, dance educator who profoundly shaped my dance training and aesthetic.

Website: www.cherylynlavagnino-dance.com

Instagram: @lavagninodance

Linkedin: Cherylyn Lavagnino

Twitter: @lavagninodance

Facebook: Cherylyn Lavagnino and Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance

Youtube: @CherylynLavagnino‧

Image Credits
don’t have a name for. my headshot All other photos can be credited to Photos #1-#3 Andrea Pugliese Trager Photo #4 -#10 Charles Roussel Photos #11 – #12 John Eng