A New Artist-In-Residence Program Fosters Collaborative Creativity

On a quiet winter’s day in late January, Jose Sebastian, founder and artistic director of Hamptons Dance Project (HDP), was working with fellow ballet dancers Lauren Bonfiglio and Tyler Maloney in a bright, light-filled studio in East Hampton Village. All three are members of American Ballet Theater’s (ABT) corps de ballet in New York City, but Maloney and Bonfiglio are also dancers with HDP, which Sebastian established in 2019 in order to bring contemporary dance to the East End.

That’s what brought them to East Hampton in the middle of winter.

With ABT on hiatus for a couple weeks, the dancers took advantage of the time off to leave the city and come to the East End to get a literal and figurative jump on “Chutes and Ladders,” a new dance piece by choreographer Justin Peck that Bonfiglio and Maloney will perform when HDP returns to the local stage in August.

“Last year, Justin Peck had given me this collection of ballets, one pas de deux was ‘Chutes and Ladders,’ something he’s created,” Sebastian explained. “Watching it, I immediately thought of these two. It’s a nine minute pas des deux, it’s long and they had to stop in the middle because it’s really hard.”

“Jose’s curating the program and he’s pushing us past our boundaries,” Maloney said.

“We ran it and it was so good, it gave me chills,” Sebastian noted.

“We’re getting it into our bodies,” added Maloney. “And today, we both felt pretty in sync.”

Taking time out from their normally hectic schedules in the city in order to dedicate the time and attention needed for such a demanding piece has been a luxury for both Sebastian and the dancers. Doing so in East Hampton makes it even better.

“Finding a good studio in the city is difficult with them being booked by ballet schools or incredibly expensive,” explained Maloney, adding that it is the responsibility of the dancers themselves to pay for classes or rent studio space in order to stay in shape when they’re not rehearsing at ABT.

“In the beginning of omicron, they closed all the studios in New York City. So this worked out just perfectly,” Sebastian said. “It’s really nice having this jump start. Usually, we’re working on pieces two to three weeks before our summer show, and it’s stressful. We’re jam packed with fundraisers and organizing things, too. We took advantage of this time. I wasn’t working on anything specifically, so having the time is really nice.”

Also nice is the availability of the space itself on Georgica Road, now home to the newly created Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artist-in-Residence program. Following rehearsals, Maloney, Bonfiglio and Sebastian moved into the adjacent common room to relax and talk about the process and the work HDP is doing while in residence. It’s an eclectic and large room filled with comfortably rustic furniture, massive paintings on the walls and a vaulted wooden cathedral ceiling adorned in a style evoking a Tuscan villa.

“With Jose, this is a safe space. We’re all friends,” Maloney explained. “ABT is a safe space, too, but it’s a job. There’s more pressure, more levels, different people rehearsing you. In one way, you can be more vulnerable in a situation like this, but when you go back to the institution you’re able to be more confident, stronger and more aware of what you can do and can push yourself. Each experience outside ABT adds something, like building character.”

“It’s working on our career,” Bonfiglio added. “I just feel like it’s a nice opportunity.”

That’s exactly the point of this new residency program and HDP is the first arts group to set up shop in the Georgica Road home, which was purchased by Katharine Rayner specifically for the creation of an artist residency in memory of her late husband William P. Rayner, who died in January 2018.

A painter and travel writer, William Rayner, or Billy as he was known, frequently invited other artists into his own East Hampton studio for classes and support. Similarly, this is a home that will carry on that tradition, and it is well-suited for the type of collaborative projects that will be the focus of residencies.

“The idea of a residency for collectives happened through a conversation with Mrs. Rayner,” explained Anthony Madonna, the Patti Kenner Senior Associate for Learning and Public Engagement at Guild Hall. “Her late husband supported artists of different mediums and she wanted to create a nurturing space for artists.

“We were brainstorming how we could see it working. With the studio adjacent to the living space, it is perfect for a collective,” he continued. “They can workshop, incubate, allow conversations to continue while they’re having coffee sitting on the couch. This week, I think I’ve seen it materialize.”

Built in 2006, on a site that was once home to actress and singer Phyllis Newman and her husband, lyricist and playwright Adolph Green, the three-story Italian-inspired 4,200-square-foot residence sits atop a large hill and offers space for sleeping, cooking, working and relaxing — including an outdoor courtyard ideal for socializing in warm months.

Madonna notes that Sebastian and his dancers were a logical group to inaugurate the residency, given that HDP and Guild Hall have worked together each summer since 2019 to present HDP’s summer dance performances. For two weeks, the dancers worked, ate and socialized in the new creative space as they worked on not only “Chutes and Ladders,” but also the classic “Don Quixote.” Other HDP dancers taking part in the residency were Craig Salstein, Catherine Hurlin and Michael de la Nuez.

“I give them notes and I coach a little bit, but there’s not as much to get distracted by out here,” Sebastian said of the residency process. “In the city, you’re always running out of time in a rented studio, or catching a train — doing our normal things. Here, we can work at our own pace. We have the time.”

Given the difficulties artists in all disciplines have experienced since the start of the pandemic, Madonna is hopeful that residencies like this represent something of a bright spot for creative souls trying to navigate their working lives.

“Guild Hall’s focus and my personal mission through the pandemic has been how can we really support artists during this time?” asked Madonna. “During the past two years, we created the Community Artist-in-Residence program, and this residency as well, to give resources to artists to continue their work and receive stipends.”

On the final Saturday of the residency, January 22, the HDP dancers presented an intimate workshop performance of their pieces to a small audience. Madonna notes that the public presentation is more about reflecting the work that has been done in the space during the residency, rather than focusing on the finished product.

“It’s process over progress, a showcase to show what they’re thinking and where it’s going,” said Madonna. “I want to see the moment that happened in the studio that I missed.”

In addition, on January 21, five-time Tony Award winning director and choreographer (and Guild Hall Academy of the Arts member) Susan Stroman came to the studio to provide Sebastian and the dancers with feedback and input on the process. During the residency, Sebastian also took his skills out into the community by teaching a class to the students of the Hampton Ballet Theatre School in Bridgehampton.

It’s this kind of community give and take that Madonna sees the residency fostering. The plan is to have four art collectives in residence in 2022, spaced throughout the year with the next collective schedule to begin residency at the end of March. The groups chosen represent a range of artistic interests, with work that, in addition to dance, encompasses movement, poetry, sound and visual arts.

“What we aim for is programming that is interdisciplinary,” Madonna said. “We are a museum, a theater and a gathering space. As we announce the rest of residents, they all have a connection to Guild Hall. We are offering it to artists experimenting in different mediums, but also artists who we know.”

And with HDP’s first residency now completed and in the books, Madonna thinks they may just be onto something.

“When we walked through the house with Mrs. Rayner, and took a walk around the property back to the studio, I could sense this creative impulse on site,” Madonna said. “It’s like being transported almost to a Tuscan villa — and what a time and space it can be.

“I feel transported when I’m here.”

To learn more about the Guild Hall William P. Rayner Artist-In-Residence program, visit guildhall.org.