Dec 22, 2020
This week on 5.6.7.EIGHT, Aleksandra interviews Charlotte Landreau, Lead Dancer at the Martha Graham Dance Company. Originally from France, Charlotte trained as a rhythmic gymnast for a full decade before transitioning into dance. She is a graduate of the Béjart School in Switzerland and the Martha Graham School. Charlotte is currently with the Martha Graham Dance Company in New York, where she has been dancing for seven years. Now, as dance is on hiatus due to COVID-19, Charlotte is spending her time teaching and encouraging fellow artists online.
Landreau’s pride in her dance company comes through early and often on the podcast — a dance company that is on the verge of celebrating its 95th birthday. On the podcast, Charlotte discusses the reasons why she’s glad she landed at Martha Graham and how she navigated into her current role. She also shares some practical advice for dancers around preparing for rejection, surrounding yourself with positive role models, and getting (and keeping) women in positions of leadership.
Moving Quotes:
“I’m very proud of being in [the Martha Graham Dance Company] — one that allows us to be versatile, to grow as artists, and to keep working and be challenged every day."
“I am very fortunate to work for a company where every leading position is filled by a woman."
“[At dance school,] I did not know anything. It was so scary. And yet, so healthy. I just wanted to learn so much. It was an entire new world that I wanted to discover."
“In order to promote more women in the arts, we really have to recognize the women that are already in power and are doing such an amazing job."
“It is my responsibility to choose the mentor that I need. Depending on where I am in my career, my mentor will change."
“I arrived in America without any friends or family. It was very stressful. But that was a challenge that I really wanted to take on."
Bullet Points (w/ timestamps) - Highlighting key topics discussed:
2:47: Charlotte discusses her work with the Martha Graham Dance Company and the pride she feels in dancing with the oldest dance company in America.
5:40: Charlotte retells her journey as a dance and how early work in rhythmic gymnastics taught her a lot about mental toughness, priming her for a dance career.
12:02: Landreau describes her mindset and emotions in leaving home at a young age to travel across the world with a dance company.
13:49: Charlotte shares some important advice on being mentally prepared for rejection.
17:00: Landreau explores the significance of mentors and how mentors have personally impacted her life.
19:32: Landreau, a world traveler, shares some advice for dancers on preparing for long flights, time zone changes, and other factors.
23:53: Charlotte speculates on changes to dance post-pandemic and gives her thoughts on one way that dance should change to stay relevant.
26:28: Landreau discusses the importance of women in dance and gives some ideas on how women should promote successful women leaders.
28:08: Charlotte discusses what’s next for her and explains her “go with the flow” attitude.
Bullet List of Resources –
Charlotte Landreau
The Martha Graham Dance Company