Research Roundup: Tanya Evidente
Since joining the faculty of The Creative School, Performance Dance, Associate Professor Tanya Evidente centered her focus of research on the choreographic documentation, archival recordings and preservation of memoirs of Canadian leading ballet and modern choreographer, James Kudelka.
During her years as a professional dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, she had the privilege to have worked and performed for Kudelka for more than a decade during his tenure as Artistic Director. After years of working closely with him in the studio and on stage, their artistic relationship directed her scholarly research towards the discussion around how we talk about contemporary ballet in Canada.
Known for his genius of “marrying contemporary ballet and classical works,” Tanya, completed the digital transfer of Kudelka’s entire library of 162 choreographic works dating back from the early 70’s to the present day where it is currently archived and catalogued in the database of Dance Collection Danse.
In 2017, Tanya and colleague Amy Bowring, faculty lecturer and Executive and Curatorial Director of Dance Collection Danse were invited to write a chapter for the Oxford University Handbook of Contemporary Ballet featuring James Kudelka’s legacy to dance in Canada. Contributing authors also include Chair and Associate Professor of the Creative School Caroline O'Brien. The completion of the chapter took several years even throughout the pandemic. In April of 2021, the book was published and is currently available for purchase (external link) .
Although the pandemic delayed some collaborations with Kudelka, they continue to work together exploring his most recent projects as a choreographer and faculty instructor with Canada’s National Ballet School. There may also be a possibility of a memoire in the works but that has yet to be confirmed.
This project has personal siginifance for Tanya. After years of dancing with professional ballet companies in Havana, Cuba, Barcelona, Spain and Toronto with The National Ballet of Canada, Tanya described the significant impact Kudelka had made on the company during his tenure as Artistic Director and throughout her journey as an artist, which became the foundation for her scholarly work with Kudelka.
Tanya emphasized the impact James Kudelka had on her life; he gave her the opportunity to find her voice in taking risks and to not be afraid of the unknown. He was passionate and committed to the dancers, providing opportunities to collaborate and find their own voice and form of artistic expression. He never made them fit into boxes, he challenged them artistically and pushed them to test their physical boundaries as professional athletes. Tanya expressed that her journey with Kudelka for over two decades not only gave her the professional opportunity to dance with Canada’s leading ballet company, but he also inspired her passion for teaching young emerging artists.
If you’re interested and passionate about what you’re researching, even if no one else is interested, it will be your own accomplishment and perhaps may be one of the best things you could work from and use as a stepping stone for something greater.
Tanya passes on some parting advice for any students working on their own research. She emphasized the importance of working towards something you are passionate about that may or may not lead to something new and unexpected. In her own words, “If you’re interested and passionate about what you’re researching, even if no one else is interested, it will be your own accomplishment and perhaps may be one of the best things you could work from and use as a stepping stone for something greater”. In that same vein, Tanya added how it is important to be open to constructive criticism and there is no shame in asking for help. As she said, “you will fall and make mistakes, it’s an opportunity and /or a stepping stone to something bigger that is waiting for you to discover”.