‘My body is my studio,' says choreographer Ilya Vidrin

Boston Globe

24-02-2025

'For 'Proxies,' I was thinking about the way in which data can be extracted from humans that makes people into numbers. We lose the humanity,' he said.
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He'll be staging an
Where to find him
:
Age
: 36
Artistic director and choreographer Ilya Vidrin, right, rehearses "Proxies" with dancers in Harvard University's ArtLab in Allston. From left, the dancers are Hannah Franz, Raxel Kempenaar, Elizabeth Epsen, and Dara Capley.
Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff
Originally from
: Boston
Lives in
: Brookline
Studio
: 'My body is my studio,' Vidrin said — and he has access to rehearsal spaces at Northeastern and Harvard.
How he started
: His father made frequent use of the family's Museum of Fine Arts membership. 'He would bring us to a painting, and he would say, 'What do you see?'' Vidrin said. 'Then he would bring us back the following week and he would say, 'What do you see now?''
The experience made him an artist. 'That act of inviting a second look, a third look, a fourth look. I think that's really what opened my eyes to paying attention,' he said.
Dancers, from left, Raxel Kempenaar, Dara Capley, Elizabeth Epsen, and Hannah Franz rehearse "Proxies" in Harvard University's ArtLab in Allston.
Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff
What he makes
: 'Proxies' opens with a continuous loop of responsiveness. Data from the wearable technology transmits a visual score. Musicians react in mood and tone, using motifs from Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony as a base for interpretation. The dancers, in turn, respond to the musical shifts and each other, and the data changes.
Vidrin aims for 'sanctioned intimacy,' he said. 'Those moments you experience on a subway or in a restaurant where you see two people from across the room and you're like, 'Oh, I can almost feel your connection.''
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Artistic director and choreographer Ilya Vidrin rehearses "Proxies" with dancers in Harvard University's ArtLab in Allston.
Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff
How he works
: Dance injuries happen when 'either you're doing the move wrong or you're not relating to your partner in the right way,' he said. 'Either you made a mistake on a physics/biomechanics level, or you made a mistake on an ethics level — you put too much care in your partner, so you lost your own base.'
When choreographing, 'I say, 'How can you develop care and trust between each other?'' he said. 'We're going to practice this relationship so the audience can experience it as something real, as opposed to, 'OK, now pretend like you trust each other.''
Advice for artists
: Don't filter yourself, 'especially at the beginning of a process,' Vidrin said. You're 'going to make mistakes either way. The more mistakes you can make, the more you can learn.'
Artistic director and choreographer Ilya Vidrin poses, after rehearsing "Proxies" with dancers in Harvard University's ArtLab in Allston.
Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff
PROXIES: OPEN REHEARSAL
At ArtLab, Harvard University, 140 N. Harvard St., Allston. Thursday, March 6, 2pm. RSVP requested.
Cate McQuaid can be reached at