Bebe & Cynthia Oliver Interviewed by Gagosian Quarterly
Bebe Miller and Cynthia Oliver in Necessary Beauty, 2008. Photo: © Julieta Cervantes
Gillian Jakab spoke with Bebe and Cynthia about their history together, the evolution of Cynthia’s boom!, imposed boundaries on “Black dance,” and the choreographies of the pandemic.
GILLIAN JAKAB It’s so wonderful to have the two of you in conversation. What has kept you busy during the pandemic?
CYNTHIA OLIVER I’m sitting in the midst of all of my videotapes and books. I’m using this moment to get all of the tapes digitized.
BEBE MILLER Wow.
GJ That’s important for dance-history preservation!
CO It’s been a long time, I’ve wanted to do it for years. Recently I came across a dvd of Bebe’s piece Necessary Beauty that I’d forgotten I had, and I reached out to Bebe. I watched it and I was brought to tears because it was so beautiful. My body felt like I could do it again. We were working on that over a great distance and over a considerable amount of time. Bebe would record our rehearsals and then send me the recordings.
GJ When was that?
CO We premiered in 2008, so we were working on it in 2007. I’m in this beautiful barn at [the Massachusetts dance center] Jacob’s Pillow. I’m dancing by myself so the pressure is on. Bebe is directing me—I’m improvising and she’s talking as I’m moving. Even now, while watching, my stomach is up in my throat from the nerves of having Bebe Miller watch me and make comments while I dance.
BM All choreographers start with ideas about time, space, and energy. I’m looking at those elements in a certain way, but I’m also looking at what it is that you are doing, and what you’re aiming for, and then trying to imagine that intersection where we both have access to shared questions. It’s not, “Do it this way,” it’s, “What if…?” or, “Consider this…”
