Alumnae Profile

JoAnna Mendl Shaw ’69

Ahorse and rider enter a ring and run through a series of steps and maneuvers—a pretty common sight at any equestrian center. But when dancers join the horses in the ring, that’s more unusual; that’s the Equus Projects.

In 1997, when the Mount Holyoke Dance Department commissioned dancer JoAnna Mendl Shaw ’69 to choreograph a site-specific work integrating a part of the College campus, she came up with the idea she has been pursuing ever since: dancing with horses. “In the Landscape: Dancing With Horses,” premiered at the College in October 1998. In developing the piece, JoAnna saw the synchronicity of movement between dancers and horses and became fascinated that “the boundaries of what I knew [as a dancer] could be stretched.” Shaw has trained a company of dancers and equestrians. The Equus Projects/Dancing With Horses has performed in arts and equestrian venues around the country.

Horses and riders trained in dressage move with and through human dancers to create an Equus Projects piece. For the horses, dancing with a human is like moving with a member of the herd. Difficult dressage moves can become play. Human performers must remain “vigilant, making sure the horse is positively engaged in a playful way.” Equus Projects equestrians are trained in various disciplines from dressage to cutting and reining.

The choreography for Equus performance works is a blend of set “steps” and improvised interludes. For improvised sections, JoAnna establishes “markers”—music cues, points in the performance space—within each piece. As in jazz, the markers create a structure within which the performers play, allowing for spontaneous invention and taking into account the reality of working with live animals. “Our theory is that the horse is always right,” says JoAnna.

While she is not an equestrian, choreographing pieces for human and equine performers together has opened up new artistic and philosophical avenues for JoAnna to explore the nature of movement itself, and the “seamless, nonverbal communication” among the trio of horse, rider, and dancer. “It’s like jazz,” she says. JoAnna also teaches on the faculty at The Juilliard School and in the Ailey/Fordham University BFA program.

Over the next six months, JoAnna and The Equus Projects are developing a new piece integrating electronic cello music into the dance performance. This work will travel throughout the country, using local equestrians. Alumnae interested in participating can contact her at jmsnyc@aol.com or go to www.dancingwithhorses.org for more information.

—Erica Winter ’92

Thinking is one step, but it can only get you so far. Thinking is as good as your ability to translate it into action. And that action can be speech. — Anika Patterson ’01