Christin Hanna was raised in Lake Tahoe, California, and trained at the Nevada Festival Ballet School and Company under Margaret Banks and Cheryl Bruce. She also spent summers in New York at American Ballet Theater and The Joffrey School on scholarship. At 17, Christin studied with Lines Ballet in San Francisco before apprenticing with the Oakland Ballet. In 2002, she moved to New York to work as a freelance artist, and has worked with the Eglevsky Ballet, Connecticut Ballet, and Ballet NY. She has been a member of New Chamber Ballet since its inception in 2004, and her roles have included parts in Trio op. 6, Valses, Trio op. 12, Preludes, Dawn, Life, Song, Spring, Terzetto, Wanderlust, Three Ghost Rags, Mostly Soft, Lace, Follia, Viduity, Aeolia, Reflections II and Aria and Anvil. In the summer of 2008, she moved back to Lake Tahoe, where she is teaching dance and pursuing a college education.

Photo by: Kristin Lodoen Linder

INTERVIEW:
Christin Hanna in conversation about her four years of dancing with New Chamber Ballet.

You have been with NCB since its inception in 2004. Why have you decided to leave now?
Joining Miro Magloire and the exceptional group of dancers that eventually became NCB really shaped and matured me as a dancer and, most importantly, as a person. Feeling comfortable artistically opened new doors of possibility for me in many contexts. I've always had the idea of pursuing other avenues, and since my time here has been so fulfilling, I feel free to move on without regret. Conquering my dream of dancing here was no small feat, and I suppose I feel the rush to take on something new. Its funny, I thought that moving to New York when I was 18 with a few hundred dollars to my name was hard, but leaving has its own heartache. I will truly miss my life here, but I have a unique opportunity to make a transition at this point in my life and I'm ready for a new adventure.

What are your plans for the immediate future?
My two top priorities are starting college and teaching. I've never had the time to pursue higher education and am eager to learn. As for teaching, I have developed a close relationship with the Tahoe Dance School and will be teaching the intermediate and advanced classes there to students who are eager to learn and are inspired by someone from the same background who followed her dreams. Teaching really provides me a new outlet for the art form that I enjoy wholeheartedly. Returning to Lake Tahoe will be a good break, I feel as though I've been in overdrive the whole time in New York, for the first time in my adult life I will have time to contemplate and appreciate things like sunsets over the mountains.

What brought you to ballet? When did you first start?
I started when I was 5 after bugging my mother incessantly. I had a real crush on Fred Astaire and would get goosebumps watching Gelsey Kirkland, on TV of course.

What did you like about it then?
I guess I liked the way I felt when I was moving. I was also a ski racer when I was young, which is surprisingly similar to dance in that it uses rhythm within the movement and transfer of weight. I think dance just offered an element of escapism that I fell in love with. I also loved the concentration it required - I was thrilled to learn new steps and to work hard-something that all of my teachers have noticed.

How did you end up in NYC?
I had spent summers in the city studying at ABT and I had always dreamed of being a New Yorker. My first professional job was with Oakland Ballet and there were a lot of dancers there from New York. When my contract ended I knew I didn't want to stay in the Bay Area and was lucky enough to have a friend who had a spare bedroom in Washington Heights, and another who introduced me around the dance scene in the city once I arrived.

Which part of being a dancer do you love most, and which do you hate?
I love the work, I love the focused and intense preparation for a performance. Any time in the studio is when I feel at home. For me the hard part has always been everything else - the politics, the business, and egos of various sorts have always made me uncomfortable because in my opinion, it really should be about the quality of the work, and all that other stuff takes away from that. NCB has never been that way, and that's what made me so happy to dance here.

Who were your most inspiring teachers?
When I was growing up, Maggie Banks and Cheryl Bruce were amazing, the perfect complement to one another aesthetically. Today, I still need that balance and find it in Willy Burmann and Peff Modelski. I've found it important to really trust my teachers and have them know me for the dancer I am, strengths and weaknesses. I won't take just anyone's class. A lot of professional dancers forget how important it is to keep an eye on their technical proficiency when they are in rehearsals, but I feel a distinct connection to my movement when I have prepared properly in a good class. If anything, I get in trouble for focusing too much on technique.

What makes NCB different from other companies you know...
NCB shouldn't even be called a ballet company. I would say we are like a family, but then we'd be dysfunctional! What has been important to me about NCB - and I noticed this from the beginning - is that we dancers are valued for who we are. While we are all tall and have a similar general aesthetic of movement, each of us is just as much a different dancer as we are different people - like snowflakes! We bring that into our performances and it is this that enables us to perform in such an intimate setting. Our personalities all come through and we shine individually, and the audience reaps the benefits. Other companies just don't consider that a priority, and they have other strengths, but I think the development of artists - not only dancers but choreographers as well - should really be more of a priority, because in the end you'll get a result of true quality. In the time I've danced here, audience members who keep coming back have approached me after a performance and commented on our progress. They have watched us develop as artists and feel as though they really know us, and its truly rewarding to hear that. We always knew that by making quality work a priority, rather than selling tickets or growing the company too fast, we would be in a position artistically that we could then present ourselves to the public as a first class organization. I feel in the last four years we have really come a long way. I can't think of another ballet company that can say that. In these economic times, arts get the fuzzy end of the lollipop and companies of all sizes are holding on by a thread, yet our audiences continue to grow. I think we have our priorities in the right order, and we have Miro to thank for that insight in the development of the company.

When did you know that NCB felt like the right company and that you would stay with it?
I remember feeling at the very first rehearsal that I not only had to step up my game, but that I had found a new home where I suddenly fit in as I never had in any company before. It had the true feeling of a collaboration. Those first rehearsals amazed me, we accomplished so much because we were working so hard and I could feel the progress immediately. I felt the support of the other dancers and felt very comfortable there, so I knew this was a safe place where I could grow and not be judged while going through that process.

Who else was special in your dance life up to now?
Without my parents' sacrifice and dedication I would have never come anywhere near the success I have achieved, their support was unconditional and I am forever grateful. My grandmother is also my biggest fan, she was unable to study dance as a young woman and always greeted me after performances by saying "Whew I'm tired, I danced every step with you!" In my professional life, NCB has surrounded me with dancers, choreographers and coaches that have all brought out different shades and subtleties of my dancing. Miro has been at the helm, he has always known what I need and how long it will take me to get where I need to be, and has been so patient along the way. I have never worked with anyone else who possessed that quality so uniquely - every artistic director should take notes. I also had the fortune to work with Deborah WIngert, who has graciously coached me in many ballets. Our work together is so magical, she and I are similar in many ways and she has always gotten through to me in a way no one else could. Finally, the unique chance I had at NCB to bring in Constantine Baecher as a guest choreographer has not only changed me but has helped give the company an enhanced repertoire. Perhaps because we are such good friends, he really pressed me hard to break my boundaries, and sometimes it wasn't easy, but by the time we got to performance the work was full and rich.Because of that process, each of his ballets is like something you inhabit. I have completely lost myself in them. Being in a position to make a connection like that has truly meant the world to me - I'm a very lucky girl.

Anything else to add?
My favorite food is swiss chocolate.

(May 2008)