Diversity Rules Magazine

4 Diversity Rules Magazine May 2018 Jamie Benson, pro- claimed "one of the strongest, hottest con- temporary dancers of his generation" by critic Lewis Segal, and "crazy" by e Dance Enthusiast's Christine Jowers, is a choreogra- pher and Cornish Col- lege of the Arts drop out. Called "Chaplin-like" by Backstage West, Benson danced in LATC's Shag with a Twist, the film Rent, McDonald's Mario Art commercial, TV show Dance360 and Rudy Perez Ensemble. Described as "insightful and irreverent" by LA Weekly's Ann Haskins, Benson's lowbrow meets highbrow choreographic work has been presented at the Luckman Complex, Highways Performance Space, Bootleg eater, NY Transit Museum, Triskelion Arts and Proctor's eater. Jamie Benson has been featured in the New York and LA Times, Dance Magazine, Good Maga- zine, Phaidon Press' Wild Art, and awarded funding from the Brooklyn Arts Council. His films are official selections of the Cine- dans Film Festival, 2015 Athens Video Dance Project, Video Danza Havana, and Bucharest In- ternational Dance Film Festival. Learn more at ja- miebenson.com. Comically inclined choreographer Jamie Benson joins forces with Peoples Improv eater (PIT) topresent Gay Stuff on May 15, 2018, from 10-11pm ($8 tickets). Benson, and his outsider comedic team, that includes Christine Driscoll and Hannah Goldman, are debuting 3 sketches, 2 stand- up sets, and some sassy/stupid walks for the PIT's Striker main stage. Gay Stuff will dissect internalized homophobia, oppressive bro prerogative, and margin- alizing gay cliches, but like, with dick jokes. JRK: Just to kick things off, can you tell readers a bit about yourself – where you are from, your back- ground, and all that good stuff? JB: I'm a contrarian and communication whore with too many interests, who hails from a pissant Oregon town called Albany (typed with affection). I fell head- long into dance during middle school social gatherings, which evolved into a strange pseudo-celebrity experi- ence as a high school dance and drill team performer (complete with signing autographs and negotiating screaming girls at regional competi- tions). Identity is a sticky thing, and the title "dancer" was glued to my forehead. I went to the closest school for dance I knew of, Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. e (self-proclaimed) "Juilliard of the West", Cor- nish is a heavily modern dance based school that prided itself on teaching everything one needs to be an independent modern choreographer. Sadly, they also mentioned nothing about the impossible entrepre- neurial reality of things. It wasn't a great fit, so I dropped out after 2 years and floated in several seedy ways for the handful of years thereafter. JRK: You have quite a unique creative style that has resulted in what you call "a bastardized Broadway experi- ence." Can you tell us a bit about that and how it all evolved to where you are today? JB: After tripping into some semi-legitimate dancing opportunities in LA, I got really bored with the pre- tense of both fine art and commercial dance forms, and decided to burn it all to the ground with a per- formance series I produced called Bathroom Follies. e show presented traditional techniques (i.e. ballet, modern, jazz, contemporary dance styles) with stories that revolved around the public restroom experience. is is where I discovered a possible blending of my passions for sketch comedy and modern art. Yes there was a comedic dance between a ballerina and her un- flushed turd, as well as a drunk vomiting in a bathroom attendant's tip jar, but there were also pieces exhibit- ing anxiety about urine test results and depicting the bathroom as a good place to cry. My work became the abandoned love child of modern dance choreographer Rebel Clown An Interview With Jamie Benson By Jim Koury, Editor/Publisher Photo Credit: Meghann Street

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