Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Amanda Fair: 5 questions on PXDC




Miss Amanda Fair not only dances, she performs spoken word. To me she is the epitome of a Renaissance Woman. If she isn't lighting up a microphone at you local poetry venue, you can find her practicing with Poetic Xpressions Dance Company at the Experimental Concepts Dance Studio on Falls Road. You can find my interview with her below.

What is PXDC? When was it founded?
PXDC stands for Poetic Xpressions Dance Company. The company was founded in 2008.


What inspired you to create PXDC?
I've been dancing and writing poetry since i was seven years old and i've always had to choose between the two. Both art forms require a lot of work and attention and were always extremely hard to balance. I got tired with choosing between the two and then one day it hit me, a way that i could could combine both of them. I dance Monday though Sunday from 9am-9pm non stop. My "breaks" are spent driving from one location to another while trying to have lunch in my car. So it's easy to say that I'm hooked and I absolutely love my job.I barely make it out to perform in poetry shows or at open mics anymore lately but i am still writing. So it's still a bit of a struggle.I wanted to see both worlds combine. And that's another reason why i started the company. Very rarely do we as artists go out and really check out and get into the other art forms that exist. We usually stay in our tight little circles. You know what I mean, the dancers go to the dance shows, poets check our the poetry slams and events, actors check out the plays etc. It's just nice to see all different kinds of artists come together or come out and support.


How does poetry and dance connect in PXDC?
Basically I become interested first in a poet's work, I invite some of them to come and rehearse with the company, and the end result is pure art unfolding right before your eyes. The audience really gets to witness something special and real take place, the dancers get to work with some of Baltimore's best spoken word artists, and the poet's get to see their work take on a second life through dance. It's such an awesome feeling for the poet's to witness that
as well. As poet's we paint the pictures with our words, but to actually see the piece form physically is nice as well. Not all of our dances include poetry by the way.


What has been the best experience that you have had while working with PXDC?
Just being able to give this opportunity to artists in this area.(the dancers) I feel really good about that each day.



What type of impact do you want PXDC to have on the community?
Well I definitely want it to be there to be some sort of an Awakening. (small plug for our June shows- PXDC:The Awakening, June 27th and 28th) You learn how to just slide those shame-less plugs right on in there. But really i do want us to wake up a bit and take a look around and explore certain issues or subjects that may be a bit hard to face. We do have some very light and fun technical pieces in our rep. but i really do want to touch on the hard stuff as well. The Wakening when speaking of our June Concerts just simply means our beginning as a company for our first full length show. But that other awakening that i am speaking of can mean a lot of other things.Audience members will be able to see what I mean when they come check us out. I also want PXDC to bring out even more of an audience for dance in the state of Maryland and beyond.I want people to be both entertained and inspired as we continue to share the gift of poetry and dance. I want us to just dance for the love of dance and I also want us to touch on some very heavy and important topics that need to brought to the attention of the community in an "in your face" sort of way, so that we can at least start the necessary dicussions.


What plans do you have for the future of PXDC?
Wow, I have so many things planned for the company i couldn't even begin to know where to start. .You don't want me to get into that too much because I'm full of ideas and I'll keep going like the Energizer Bunny. I'll just say that we are going to do some amazing and exciting things, work with some great poet's, spoken word artists, and other guest choreographers and continue to create our own shows and perform at as many venues and for as many people as we can. We will have a second company in the future as well as go back to offering open community dance classes. Let's just say we have our hands full with plenty so definitely stay tuned. We won't disappoint! Thanks Janae.


To find out about PXDC's upcoming events AND to read the full length interview, please visit the website.




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