Exclusive Interview with Choreographer Dreya Weber

Exclusive Interview with Choreographer Dreya Weber:

Dreya Weber is an Associate Choreographer for AntiGravity and an Original Founding Member of AntiGravity. As one of the world's top Aerial Choreographers she recently choreographed the acclaimed number for Pink for the Grammy Awards. Esteban Serrano interviewed her to find out a few of her secrets.

ES: How was working with Pink in preparation for her performance in the 2010 Grammy’s?
Dreya Weber: I’ve been working with Pink for about 7 years and we’ve really established a great bond of trust and friendship. When the Grammy’s approached Pink, she insisted that she do an act of grace and elegance, which is something we’ve been wanting to do together for a while. This show was an opportunity to present her softer, more poetic side. Pink, of course, is known as more punk, more rebellious. It was great to present something entirely new.

ES: What inspired the use of water in the performance?
DW: The way water plays with air and light fascinates me, and I really wanted to get someone wet. I played with a lot of ideas at first, like having water pour down from above the stage, a screen of water with a digital projection, but there were certain limitations. My solution was to make a satellite stage, to bring the action out among the audience, and have Pink descend and reemerge, sort of like a baptism. Because Pink is such a daring performer, she was totally willing and had a lot of fun with it.

ES: In all the excitement of an awards show, how do you stay grounded? Or do you?
DW: The set of the Grammy’s was crazy! It’s a live show and dozens of things could go wrong. I was worried that Pink wouldn’t be able to get into the hammock on cue and we’d have to stop the performance entirely. But I stayed calm. The key to keeping it together was trust and confidence. I try and take these challenges moment to moment.

ES: Which celebrity was the most interesting to work with and why? Which celebrity turned out to be different than you expected?
DW: Celebrities are so different; it’s hard to compare them. Pink is one of the most artistically satisfying performers to work with because she’s competitive and full of ideas. And Cher is always full of surprises. I worked with her on a show in Las Vegas and designed a beautiful sequence with sentinels and aerial hoops. Her handlers told me she’d never do it. I mean, people have been trying to get her in the air for years. But because I’ve been able to develop trust with Cher, she was able to have to confidence to pull off a move no one thought possible.

ES: What was one of the greatest challenges you faced in performing in “The Gymnast,” the 2006 film you produced and starred in?
DW: There was one move that I performed in “The Gymnast” that was very difficult to get on camera. I needed to climb a silk by wrapping it around my sides and holding the pike position. The physical challenges made me nervous because, since it was a film, I often had to get many takes of the same move. That particular move I had to do three times and was really exhausted after the second. It’s funny though because I think we ended up using the first take anyway. Very challenging project.

ES: What do you eat? What is your favorite restaurant in Los Angeles?
DW: I eat completely naturally, with a heavy intake of fruit and vegetables. There’s a great restaurant here in Los Angeles called Fraiche, with sort of a French spin on health food. I also stay away from eating meat.

ES: When did you first come to realize you were an aerialist?
DW: Growing up in Michigan, Indianapolis, and Mexico City, I’d trained in gymnastics for years, but had never really been introduced to aerial performance. Then one summer, after college, I joined a flying club, which a friend had set up in her backyard. There was a trapeze and a few other apparatuses. When I began to swing in the air, I felt like I’d finally discovered what I’d been looking for in movement. I was like a fish in water, learning the Spanish web and cradle moves. My brother and I then began working with IGC in Pennsylvania and by then it had already become a passion of mine. Only until the founding of AntiGravity did my mastery of aerial acrobatics really take hold, and my first experience on a hammock was with AntiGravity.

ES: How do you keep your work so soulful?
DW: I look to nature and architecture, things that are immediately present in my surrounding. Staying open to what’s around me has always been my way of staying inspired. The entire spectrum of art, all art, is something I’m watching and feeling.