For this article, we interviewed Danielle Georgiou, the Founder and Artistic Director of DGDG: the Danielle Georgiou Dance Group in Dallas, Texas. The Danielle Georgiou Dance Group was founded by Danielle Georgiou in 2011. Danielle was named outstanding female director of 2012 by Critical Rant, and DGDG’s 2012/2013 season was included in the Dallas Morning News’ list of best dance performances of 2013. In 2014, DGDG was nominated as Best Dance Company in Dallas by D Magazine.
DGDG is a dance theatre performance art group that is based on the ideas of German Expressionism and devised theatre. They work collaboratively with local artists, musicians, and dancers to create immersive and interactive dance works. The productions work toward creating compelling images of a “new female.” Whether collaborating or defining her own work, Georgiou looks for dancers that are constantly striving to transform themselves, either in image or skill. “Technique is your foundation—not your identity.”
Danielle thinks that what separates DGDG from other companies is their desire to take dance out of the traditional theatre setting, and their work with traditional and experimental theatre techniques. She says that DGDG could be identified in a group by its aggressive take on modern feminine dance, and aconstant evolution of meta-traditional choreography.
She finds it hard to identify one “proudest moment in her career” because there have been so many. But if she has to choose, she would say her proudest moment came, and continues to come, every time she sees her dancers and her students (she is the Program Coordinator for Dance at Eastfield College and the Director of the University of Texas at Arlington’s Dance Ensemble) performing on stage. To see the dancers fulfilling the work that they have been rehearsing and practicing for months, sometimes a year, and finally putting it in front of an audience, is when I find myself the most proud. Just watching them doing what they love, following their passions, and entertaining people, is part of the reason why she became a teacher. It is so rewarding to see her dancers and students living in the moment and transforming into these characters they have been working to bring into reality for so long.
Danielle thinks the biggest mistake she sees dancers make most often is not paying attention to their bodies. She believes your body is constantly speaking to you: it’s trying to tell you, “I need more of a stretch,” “I need water,” “I need to rest,” “Something hurts,” “It’s time for a break.” And you need to listen. Even if you think, I can go for 30 more minutes, or one more hour, if your body is saying stop, then stop. Breath. Sit down. Rest. And then come back to the work after you feel calmer. You will be more productive that way.
This really gets down to the idea of body awareness, and all levels of dancers—from beginner to intermediate to advanced—have to continually practice this. Learn to watch and analyze your movements, directions in space, levels of tension, posture, alignment, phrasing, and connection with your fellow dancers, the floor, and the space around you. Building up body awareness takes time, and it can always be improved – as can focus. Dance takes time, and you should take the time to make sure you are really understanding the movement you are doing and what your body is doing; otherwise, you are bound to miss things and mistakes, and injuries, can occur.
What Danielle tells her dancers and her students is to tune in and be sensitive to their bodies. From here you’ll be able to really understand what’s going on in the studio and on the stage, and have the ability to make major changes in the way you dance.
Danielle’s goals for the year are to keep on doing what they are doing! For DGDG, she hopes that they can continue to grow the company and their audience base, and of course, raise money. Productions cost money, and it is their mission to pay fair wages to all dancers and designers on their projects. For herself as a teacher, it is her hope that she can continue to grow as an educator and student of dance, and to go out and continue training. She set a goal for herself a couple of months ago to take at least one or two weekends out of every month this year to go and try a new dance class, a new dance technique, or a new fitness trend, so that she can continue learning and training her body. And then taking what she is learning and bringing it back into the studio and classroom.
She started dancing when she was very young and her parents put her in creative movement classes at two years old. When she was about seven, she remembers watching Pacific Northwest Ballet’s The Nutcracker and fell in love with dance. A part of her always knew that dance was going to be her career, but it took her some time to find herself really in it. While she danced in college, she also studied business and political science, which she thinks really influenced her decision to start a company. She was studying arts education and researching companies and began to notice that there was a space for her ideas and beliefs in Dallas. After she received her first commissioning at Teatro Dallas for an evening of her original choreography, DGDG was born. It started off small, with six dancers, six of her friends who were interested in pursuing a mixture of dance and theatre, and she began to find their way into the dance theatre realm. The company is a “pick up” based company, meaning she hires dancers when she gets commissions or specific projects, but they do have a base of about 10 dancers who are used on a regular basis. They are currently in their fourth season, and couldn’t be happier!
While they were formed because of a commission, they stay strong because dancers keep discovering them and want to explore and work on the strange, beautiful, challenging, and collaborative projects that they create. They spend a lot of time laughing and playing, and spending time together. They are a family. The people are Danielle’s heart and soul and she couldn’t imagine being on this journey without them.
DGDG: the Danielle Georgiou Dance Group will be premiering a new dance theatre work, NICE, at the Dee & Charles Wyly Theatre, 6th Floor Studio Theatre, as part of the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Elevator Project. They are so excited for this opportunity and honored to be the only dance company presenting work at this new initiative project. Building on a body of meta-theatrical work dealing with femininity and pop-culture, DGDG launches into this new production that experiments with the social expectation of being “nice.”
They have until November 6 to reach their goal. You can help them achieve their dance theatre dreams by contributing to this fundraising campaign! Every bit counts. Will you help them?
Please post a comment if you have had any experience with The Danielle Georgiou Dance Group or Danielle Georgiou.
If you would like to know more about The Danielle Georgiou Dance Group, check them out on their website at http://www.dgdgdancegroup.com or email Danielle Georgiou, at dgdgdancegroup@gmail.com. They are also on Facebook and Twitter.
