By Steve Sucato

You could say Rena Butler has reached a tipping point in her career. The former dancer with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Kyle Abraham/A.I.M, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, and most recently Gibney Dance, has reached a point in her freelance choreographic career where making dance works is now her primary focus. 

The 33-year-old Chicago-native, now based in New York City, came to dance later than many at age 14, having grown up as a swimmer, playing water polo and being a roller coaster enthusiast. Butler studied at The Chicago Academy for the Arts and overseas before earning her BFA degree from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. She has created works for BalletX, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Charlotte Ballet, Boston Dance Theater, among others. In 2019 Butler received the prestigious Princess Grace Foundation Award for Choreography and she has been spotlighted in Dance Magazine’s On The Rise feature in 2013, as well as the featured cover story in Dance Magazine’s November 2021 issue.

An in-demand choreographer, in addition to creating her new work “Sheep’s Gothic” for GroundWorks DanceTheater’s upcoming Summer Performance Series 2022, Butler will be a guest choreographer at Jacob’s Pillow this summer, Norrdans in Sweden, and the San Francisco Opera this fall, and will create her first work for The National Ballet of Canada celebrating the music of Grammy Award-winning composer John Adams for his 75th birthday that will premiere in March 2023.

I spoke recently with Butler about her career, working with GroundWorks, and “Sheep’s Gothic.”

What got you interested in dance as a career? 

I loved the duality between the grit and the glamor. I loved that I could feel beautiful and athletic, while tapping into other dimensions of creativity. I had a hyperactive imagination as a kid and still do.

You studied dance overseas at Taipei National University of the Arts, how did that come about?

I applied in my sophomore year at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance, and it was a highly selective process. It was simply just the urge to see the world, to explore dance in a different way, and to shift my perspective of how I thought I would fit into the dance industry before I became too comfortable with my own pathways of thought or of movement. 

You have been a member of several dance companies including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Kyle Abraham/A.I.M and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, why move from company to company?

I have a fear of getting too settled in, too comfortable with my own ways, or rotting in my own pattern of thought. Right before I would decide to leave…I could feel my instincts swell. With each company, I was confronted with a specific situation that led me to make the choice of departure, but the throughline was that it felt instinctual each time.

What drives you as a person and in your dance career?

Everything. I am moved by a lot; the poetry of life, the savagery, the bliss, the tragedy of it all. Art making and the participation within it, calls you to be ever-present with life, so as I find and feel that flow, I am constantly inspired to validate my experiences within it and on the other side, find connectivity within varying communities. Dancing or creating makes me feel valid in a world that is constantly finding ways to further diminish my light because of the color of my skin, my gender, my sexuality, class or what have you. The world of dance or art rather, allows me and make experiences to feel validated, visible, and accepted.

With upcoming commissions for a growing list of organizations including National Ballet of Canada, Oklahoma City Ballet, the San Francisco Opera and in Sweden, what has it been like to have your career as a choreographer blossom? Any trepidations as the commissions get bigger?

It has been swift. Lots of trepidation moving forward, as I don’t want to take any moment or opportunity for granted. I want to approach every moment with presence, clarity, creativity, and excitement.

Has your fiancé, fellow choreographer Manuel Vignoulle, given you any advice in navigating a choreographic career?  

Yes, my unicorn! He is amazing. His advice is to enjoy every creation, to tap into my inner child and play. There is so much brightness in that. It keeps everyone in the room open to possibilities and allows us to dream bigger with fewer inhibitions.

You have looked to literature in the past in finding inspiration for your dance pieces. What else do you draw from for inspiration?

I love literature, because it acts like a road map to the visual. As you read, you can meet the author halfway in coloring in the image for yourself, drawing it even. I also love indie films, classic foreign films circa anything before 1967. MUSEUMS – taking a still image and using the potential momentum of the painting or sculpture and bringing it to life…such richness in that. 

What was your motivation in creating “Sheep’s Gothic?”

I was very much interested in exploring the phrase ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’ or ‘a sheep in wolf’s clothing,’ and I think it [the work] lends itself to the latter. I am really interested in the things we use to protect ourselves to come off as tender, to come off as approachable, but really what is the beast within, where is the beast within? What are the rituals that we use to unearth what that is? What are the things that prompt us to explode or implode?

What are some of the directions you have taken in the movement creation with the dancers?

Playing with duration, playing with things that aren’t familiar to us. Things, meaning images. Playing with images that are recognizable because you have to connect with the viewer. There is a beast within all of us. What are the devices we can use both visually and physically to get to that place of recognition, ‘Oh, so that is a sheep in wolf’s clothing.’

How has it been working with GroundWorks’ dancers?

These dancers are spectacular. I feel honored to be here and to be able to work with an intimate group of artists. I am really connecting with them and vibing with them and it feels like an incredibly rich experience.  

In your dance career, who do you see as a role model?

I love Kyle Abraham. He is my dance family, my mentor. I love him because he remains down-to-earth despite the wild success he’s had in his career, and he’s able to create in varied, eclectic spaces. The range is astronomical! Also, differing communities act as a role model or as an inspiration to my work, because they are all reflected in my creations somehow. How to meet the audience and make them rise at the same time? A continuous question in my process.

What is a big picture goal of yours for your career?

I desire range – range in experiencing this life, range in opportunity, in creativity, in the people I work with, the communities I engage in, the countries I travel to, the languages I speak, the creative devices I utilize, the spaces, the truths, the possibilities, the endeavors. Range as a means of expansion, evolution, and education.  

See GroundWorks DanceTheater in “Sheep’s Gothic” as part of GroundWorks’ Summer Performance Series 2022, 8 pm, July 15 & 16 and 2 pm, July 17 at Cain Park’s Evans Amphitheater, 14591 Superior Rd, Cleveland Heights. Advance tickets are $25 and $30 the day of the show. The program will repeat at 8:45 pm on August 6 & 7 at Firestone Park, 1480 Girard St. in Akron as part of the Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival. Admission is FREE. Visit groundworksdance.org/summer2022 for more information and tickets.

Photos of Rena Butler courtesy of the artist. Video Credits: Artist Talk with Rena Butler hosted by Christy Bolingbroke, Executive/Artistic Director for The National Center for Choreography at The University of Akron (NCCAkron). In Process with Rena Butler, Shot and Edited by Brian Brennfleck.