Mentor Of The Month

Q & A WITH BRIAN WEBB

LISTEN TO PODCAST TO HEAR ENTIRE INTERVIEW

What inspired you to pursue a career in the arts and dance?

I had been involved in studying the arts throughout my youth, in that I played piano. You have to understand that I was growing up in the late 1950 and 60’s. In those days, on the prairies, guys did not dance.

In high school, I got involved in theatre, which lead me to audition for the National Theatre School and the Bachelor of Fine Arts Drama at the University of Alberta , both of which I got into. I was very young, so I went to the University of Alberta. In the first movement class, it hit me like a thunder bolt, I knew this was how I had to express myself. This is what I had to do.

You’ve spent quite a bit of your life in Edmonton, though you’ve gone back and forth to Ottawa and have spent sometime in California. What would you say is unique about Edmonton’s arts community?

There are numerous things that are unique about any arts community. In Edmonton there is a big arts community particularly in theatre. In general you would describe it as a good size arts community for the size of the city. It’s also very isolated. In my personal feeling, I feel that much of the art is a bit too self referential there.

So in my career it’s been very important for me to leave and come back at various times. For instance, I spent most of the 1970s dancing in New York, which of course was an incredible time to be there. Then I came back to Edmonton and started teaching in a dance program at Grant McEwan College though I realized quite quickly that I was in over my head. So I took off to California and did a Masters Degree in Choreography and Interdisciplinary arts.

I have to say that the time in California was super important for me. By doing a Masters Degree at the age I was, which was in my early 30s, I really was there to learn. I believe intensely in education. I believe that the arts define life long learning. For me it worked through education. I was introduced to a whole new way of working and it was actually at Cal Arts that I was introduced to feminist art theory in creating art that had huge influence on my work and does to this day. It’s really where I was able to define myself as an independent dance artist.

Can you tell us the story behind the Canada Dance Festival and how you came to be the Artistic Director of this Festival?

In 2001, Cathy Levy, who had been with the Dance Festival from the very beginning in various capacities asked me to consider applying for the job of Artistic Producer which became Artistic Director since she was leaving the position. It was at a time that I had then been the chair of dance program at a college for 12 years, I was ready to move on I needed something new in my life. So I did apply for the job and I happily got it. The job of Artistic Director of a National Dance Fstival, which is actually one of the few festivals in the whole world that is dedicated 100% to a National Expression.

It’s full of challenges, some of which are extremely creative challenges, some of which are very prosaic that involve ‘money.’ It’s a big job. I’m part of small team because we can’t ever do anything alone, you are always part of a community. I am part of small team that produces this very significant contemporary dance festival.

For this month one of our focuses is on Leadership.

When you mention leadership. At the CDF this past week, we had our first national gathering of the best Bboys in the country. (Hip Hop 360) As well as having performances, there were many workshops and panels. One of the most significant ones was the one on community leadership. I realized very quickly, that first of all what defines community leadership is a true honest passion for what you’re doing. To experience the passion for which these bboys pursue their art is amazing. It was inspiring for an old guy like me.

How they are involved in community activities whether it’s urban or on an aboriginal reservation or part of activities in the far north or every city in Canada, what is important I think is to realize here that the arts can not be isolated from the community. I truly believe that art is created from a community for a community. As an artist you are by the very nature of what you’re doing, involved in your community. There are also those people who take an extra step and make their presence felt as real community players.

So we can look at something like hip hop and we can see that outreach or community leadership are not ancillary activities they are the art. That’s what it’s about. I find that so inspiring. I find that a big idea. If a subculture in our arts community can play in such a vital role it shows me that we all have the potential to do that.

What qualities do you feel are necessary for to be an effective arts leader, for those individuals who are interested in making a difference or taking that step forward?

Perseverance, dedication, a hardworking positive nature but more than anything else it’s the passion for what you’re doing.

I believe that any employment in the arts can be very fulfilling, it can be so fulfilling for you as a human being interacting with the world. It can also be quite inspiring in a professional way. To get there it’s absolutely crucial that we all be so passionate about what we are doing. The rewards may be slow in coming. They may come in spurts. One has to be extremely self motivated and be willing to take the small steps to reach goals step by step to eventually achieve the bigger picture.

From your experience at CDF and leading your own company, what would say has been some of the major challenges that you’ve had to take on in a leadership role?

At the festival the major challenges I am constantly facing are two fold. One is that right now Canadian society is incredibly fluid. How we are seeing art is really. Some of which may be influenced by cultural diversity others maybe stylistic diversity. I see the arts as being in a huge state of flux right now, which is a major challenge. Of course for young people entering the field, this can also be a very exciting time because in a sense the door is wide open and people can define what they want to do on their own terms. So this rapidly changing, fluid nature that’s a big challenge for me as the director of a festival

Another one of course is money. In Canada we are very democratic. So we tend to spread our arts dollars far and wide. Which on the one hand is very good, because I think that it is important for all Canadians to experience art. On the other hand, it means that we are funding a huge number of artists at a very low level of funding. We have some amazing artists in this country that have careers that are stellar on a national and world stage. Those artists tend to be drastically under funded. So they are not able to reach their full vision. I think that’s also a huge challenge in the arts in Canada right now.

Will all these changes plus the ups and downs that you’ve inevitable faced within your career, and that we all face, what drives you to continue working in the arts? What keeps you coming back to this everyday?

It is through dance, which is what I do. It’s through dance that I relate to myself and by relating to myself, I am able to relate to rest of the world. I believe in dance so strongly so that at the age of 56 my love of dance is as big as it was when I was 21, it may be even bigger. I see myself dancing until the day I drop dead.

That’s the type of passion I have for it. I consider it an absolute privilege to be able to have a career that’s based on being a dance artist. I always say that I am first of all a dancer and by a dancer that means I’m dancing. I am a dancer who teaches. I am a dancer who creates. I am a dancer who works in the artistic direction of the Canada Dance Festival but at the heart of everything I do is dancing.

I think that people may articulate it differently, but it’s always the action of creating of being involved in creation, if you’re an administrator. This is at the heart of what we are doing.

How do you think we can really nurture the next generation of arts leaders to ensure a positive and healthy future for the arts?

To begin with we have to be open to new and emerging artists and art forms. I believe that young professionals and even pre professionals must be a given a voice. For instance, At CDF we have had a philosophy of really supporting dance for, with and by youth. We are in a process of changing how we look at that to foster a notion of dance by youth. Who cares who it’s for, it’s for whoever will appreciate it and take the time to experience it! We have to really respect and support creation that is made by young people. We can’t give it lip service, it has to be on the table.