MMDG Dancer: Samuel Black
Q: What venue that you have performed in was your favorite? And why?
SB: We’ve performed in some really beautiful theaters around the world, and at some pretty unusual and funky ones in smaller towns. We’ve performed at several outdoor theaters, which always add a degree of spontaneity (sun, wind, extra noise…). I have very fond memories of performing at the New York State Theater in Manhattan, since it was the first theater that I ever performed with MMDG in.
Q: As an artist, how do you define success?
SB: I think it’s really satisfying to return to a dance that you haven’t worked on in a while. As dancers, we have very strong muscle memory, so it’s often easy to remember how it USED to feel to do a certain dance. When you have the opportunity to approach that same dance as a more proficient dancer and artist, you can really get a sense for how much you’ve grown. Since you already know the steps, you can delve deeper into the experience of performing it.
Q: If you were not a dancer today, what profession would you have chosen?
SB: I love food, so I’d consider going into something in the culinary field. Maybe not as a chef, but as a food writer or restaurant critic. What’s better than being paid to eat delicious food?
Q: All this touring….what’s your least favorite form of transportation/traveling?
SB: Until recently, reading on a bus made me carsick, so that made some of our longer bus rides pretty tedious. Since I’d guess that most people don’t LOVE taking the bus, we try to make the longer rides fun. Our best idea was the Bus-B-Q, which is a potluck on wheels.
MMDG Dancer: Aaron Loux
Q: As an artist, how do you define success?
AL: Success is enjoying what you do and committing yourself to it.
Q: Do you keep with current trending moves ie: The Bernie, The Dougie, The Spongebob etc.
AL: No. I only recognize the name Spongebob.
Q: What made your first realize you wanted to pursue a career as a dancer?
AL: I danced through the entire summer before my last year of high school. It showed me that dancing, which had previously been a hobby I loved, could be as a profession demanding, intellectually stimulating, and intensely rewarding.
Q: All this touring….what’s your least favorite form of transportation/traveling?
AL: Traveling by bus can be pretty uncomfortable. However, it’s wonderful when we’re driving though a beautiful place, like when we drove down along the California coast from Arcadia to Davis.
