Dancing Across Continents, Finding Your Body, and Discovering the Ilan Lev Method with Annie Rigney

Who you are as an artist is undoubtedly influenced by the teachers you encounter along the way. Similarly, being exposed to different artistic practices can have a significant impact on your development. Today’s guest, Annie Rigney, started dancing at the tender age of three and hasn’t looked back since. In our conversation, Annie recounts how she was first introduced to new techniques (like Graham and Gaga), the teachers that took the time to work with her one on one, and how these experiences gave her the tools to begin to move beyond the limitations of ballet. We hear about her time in Israel, her discovery of the Ilan Lev method, and why becoming an Ilan Lev practitioner was one of the best decisions she ever made. Annie's love for dance is evident throughout this conversation, and the knowledge she has accumulated is nuanced, profound, and thought-provoking. Be sure to tune in to hear all this along with her wonderful insights on a range of fascinating topics, from healing through dance to the art of repetition!

Key Points From This Episode:

• Get to know today’s guest, Annie Rigney, and how she first fell in love with dance.
• The rigor, discipline, pain, and emotional abuse that characterized Annie’s early dance training.
• The Gaga dance course that Annie took with Bobbi Jene Smith and how it altered her trajectory.
• Annie’s move to Israel and the time she spent training in Tel Aviv.
• An overview of the Ilan Lev method and how it transformed Annie’s mobility and movement and how Annie became an Ilan Lev practitioner.
• Annie’s experience playing Lady Macbeth for three years in Sleep No More
• How the COVID-19 pandemic gave her the freedom to experiment with choreography.

“This whole journey with my body, from very young has been one of stripping away what's not needed. So I learned so many things in that short time, which were keys for me to unlock new physical possibilities.” – Annie Rigney, MSP 147

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More info links from this episode: Annie Rigney on Movers & Shapers 

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