Island dancer finds her rhythm in modern genre
By Carol Egan
Special to The Advertiser
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| Former Hawai'i dancer Lisa Viola — leaping over fellow Paul Taylor Dance Company members — has been a full-fledged member of the prestigious modern-dance group since 1992.
Lois Greenfield Paul Taylor Dance Company 7:30 p.m. Wednesday Hawai'i Theatre $25-$45 528-0506 Also: 7 p.m. Tuesday at Kahilu Theatre, Big Island; $40, $35, $30. (808) 885-6868. 7:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center's Castle Theatre; $30 general, $18, $10; half price for kids 12 and younger. (808) 242-7469. |
Born in San Francisco, Viola moved to Hawai'i with her family at the age of 4. For her mother, born and raised on Kaua'i, that meant returning home. Viola's mother, brother and her mother's extended family still live here, now settled on various parts of O'ahu.
Speaking with The Advertiser by telephone from New York, Viola said her passion for dance began at an early age. According to her mother's recollections, when Viola was only 2 she accompanied a playmate to a ballet class. "Apparently I got up and wanted to join it," she says. She began studying dance at age 3.
She continued taking ballet classes when the family moved to Hawai'i. She attended classes by Jo Flanders from the Punahou School dance department, and studied and danced with Barbara Thuesen's Music and Motion Company and the Honolulu City Ballet.
By the time Viola was 15, she knew she wanted to pursue dance as a career. Dropping out of Roosevelt High School, she headed for New York, where she was accepted into the prestigious American School of Ballet, the school of The New York City Ballet.
"Even though I was accepted into the school, reality soon hit me," she said. "It was obvious that my body type wasn't right for ballet. I didn't have the requisite long legs, high arches or short torso a ballerina needs."
Viola didn't give up on dance, however; she continued studying ballet and jazz dance, and kept her dream of pursuing professional work.
After six years hopping back and forth from New York to Hawai'i (where she completed her high school graduation requirements), the 21-year-old Viola landed her first professional dance job, through an audition.
"In 1985, I was accepted into a Boston company, Dance Express, which moved to New York the following year," she said. Viola has been living and dancing in New York ever since.
During all those years of ballet training, Viola never considered turning her talents to modern dance. That changed in 1986.
"A friend recommended I go see the Paul Taylor Dance Company. She said it was great, so I went to see it. It was a perfect program and made me consider modern dance as a possibility," she said.
Three years later, she began studying at the Taylor dance studio. "Unfortunately, he had just hired seven new dancers," she recalls. But she continued studying at the school until her big break finally came. "In 1992, Paul hired me as an understudy. Two weeks later, he asked me to dance with the company."
By November 1992, she was a full-fledged member of the group and has been with it ever since.
Viola said she can't wait to get back to Hawai'i, and she plans to spend time with her family while here in the Islands.
What to watch for in her performances here? "I guess I could note that my strength is my adaptability," the dancer said. She explained that Paul Taylor's dancers all have to be able to perform across a wide range of expression, from the lyrical to dramatic.
Audiences in Honolulu will have ample opportunity to see Viola perform in all three Taylor pieces on the program: "Cloven Kingdom" (1976), a satirical look at contemporary society; "Eventide" (1997), a lyrical work to music of Ralph Vaughan Williams; and the breathtaking "Promethean Fire" (2002), danced to Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Prelude in E-Flat minor and Chorale Prelude.
