Staging A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a dream come true for Anne Mueller

A Q&A with Grand Rapids Ballet’s Marketing Director, Michael Erickson

Photo by Bailee Columber

A ballet company’s rehearsal schedule is complex and layered; at any given time, the dancers may be working on as many as four or five different productions. That’s why it’s not at all surprising to see Anne Mueller in Studio A staging the final production of our moving 2019-20 season, associate artistic director of  the National Ballet of Canada Christopher Stowell’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which will not open until April 24, 2020.

So, when I saw this multi-faceted and amazingly accomplished dance professional taking a rare (and short) lunch break, it seemed as good a time as any to sit down for a lightening-round Q&A to get to know her a little better.

Q: First, welcome to West Michigan. We’re so happy you’re here.

A:  Thank you. I’m loving Grand Rapids and Grand Rapids Ballet; the vibe is wonderful in both the city and the studios, which makes my job an absolute pleasure.

Anne Mueller staging Stowell;s A Midsummer Nights Dream; photo by Damion Van Slyke

Q:  Speaking of Grand Rapids Ballet, what sets a company like ours apart from others with which you’ve worked.

A:  Well, every company has a unique culture, of course, but what I’m loving here is the generosity and openness the dancers have in their work process.  They seem excited to receive and apply information, which makes the staging process fun and effective.  They are taking on their characters beautifully, which is so important in a story ballet, especially one with a fairly complex plot.

Q:  Enough about us. Tell us more about yourself.

A:  <laughs> Sure. I live in Boise, Idaho with my husband, Lars, and dog, August.  I work for Ballet Idaho as Artistic Associate, which is a fancy way of saying I spend a lot of time in the studio with the company dancers teaching class, running rehearsals, staging ballets, assisting visiting choreographers and stagers, and supporting the work of our artistic director, Garrett Anderson.  Before my current job, I was co-artistic director of The Portland Ballet, was managing director for a theatre company, and held several positions on the artistic staff of Oregon Ballet Theatre (OBT), where I also danced for 15 years.  At OBT, I worked for many years with Christopher Stowell who was artistic director there from 2003 to 2012.  Christopher brought an amazing repertoire of ballets to OBT and also choreographed a number of original works.  He and I enjoyed working together a great deal on new works, so I frequently danced in his ballets and sometimes assisted him as his choreographic assistant. I was also a co-founder of Trey McIntyre Project and danced for the company during the summers of 2005 to 2007.  I’ve staged ballets for McIntyre, Stowell, and Nicolo Fonte and have worked recently with the National Ballet of Canada as an assistant to choreographer Guillaume Côté and as a guest rehearsal assistant on The Second Detail and on Karen Kain’s Swan Lake.  

Yuka Oba-Muschiana and Steven Houser in Stowell’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; photo by Bailee Columber

Q:  You mention the term “staging” which you’re doing for our production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Can you tell our readers what that means exactly?

A:  Of course. In terms of my work here now, I’m responsible for teaching the dancers in certain roles all of the steps that they’ll do as they portray these roles; this includes musical, spacing, and qualitative information, as well as elements of storytelling and character.  I’m tasked with re-creating the choreography in a way that’s as true to the choreographer’s intent as possible.  Sometimes small adjustments can be made to make things “fit” better with the current cast of dancers, but these changes are generally small tweaks rather than major changes.

Q:  How interesting! So in addition to teaching the actual dance steps, you’re also an acting coach. Which makes me wonder: What do you enjoy most about dance personally and professionally?

A:  At this point in my career — being almost ten years past my performing career — what I love most is connecting with dancers artistically and passing on information to them that I’ve gained throughout my journeys in dance.  I love to help them find ways to do things better and to improve. I find it very satisfying.

Q:  That’s a perfect segue to my next question: What’s the best piece of dance advice you’ve received and from whom?

A:   I’ve received a ton of great advice from many brilliant teachers and coaches through the years, but one that sticks out was, coincidentally, from Christopher Stowell. Early in my time with him, he was coaching me on Balanchine’s Duo Concertant which is one of my favorite roles; he observed I really felt my dancing in my legs rather than my upper body.  When he told me this, it shifted my thinking dramatically; in the years that followed, I enjoyed a whole new and different way of exploring movement, and it helped me grow considerably as an artist.

See Anne’s efforts when A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs April 24-26 and May 1-3 at Peter Martin Wege Theatre. For tickets, call 616.454.4771 x10 or visit grballet.com today!