Sara Porter
As we approach the 20th anniversary of Older & Reckless, we shine a light on the senior artists who we are honoured to feature in our celebrations, including the “outrageously funny” SARA PORTER
Sara Porter, photo by Jay Tse
Q&A with SARA PORTER
Please tell us about a highlight or pivotal moment from your dancing past.
"The first time I performed in New York City, I traveled alone. I’d been working with a team up until then, but for this event, I was on my own. I was nervous and the performance loomed large in my mind. The piece – Sara does a Solo – opens with me walking on stage and addressing the audience directly with “Hi, my name is Sara Porter.” It is an easy line to say – being simple and straightforward – but I practiced and rehearsed to get the nuance right. Not too formal, not too casual. So many possibilities. I felt that – as long as I got the first line right – the show would go well. On the night, I stood offstage, waiting in the deep blackness of the wings, hearing a full house of New Yorkers, chattering, lively. In my mind: “Just say the line, Sara, just say the line.” The stage lights went down.
I make my feet walk out, across the black floor. Lights go up. I lift my face. “Hi,” I say, looking out to the full house. “My name is Sara Porter.” Half of the audience shouts back, “Hi, Sara Porter!”
And off we went. I laughed. They laughed. Again, I learn the same thing: How much work – and how easy it is – to be yourself.” – Sara Porter
Here is the CBC THE MOVE feature on Sara Porter – Improvisation: Is there an expiration date for dance? Through dance improvisation, Sara has found a way to move that may have her dancing into her 80s.
Sara Porter is an innovative contemporary creator and performer. Her feminist and queer-rooted pieces integrate dance with real life situations, humour, poetry, clown, costume and video. Her signature work – Sara does a Solo – about returning to dancing after raising kids – has toured Canada and US since 2016. Her current solo - Getting to know your fruit – investigates her queerness, and the nature of identity and memoir. Sara’s dance writing can be found in books, magazines, and online. She is biographer of Peter Boneham, published in 2010. She has devised and taught courses in dance and cultural theory for universities in Canada and Scotland. She was featured on CBC’s award-winning dance documentary series The Move.
More info www.saraporter.ca
