New definition of ‘woman’ created by MFA candidate
Concert presents works on roles of women in society
By Lisa Marie Weyh
"It’s pronounced ‘Lee-la’," says the 28-year-old choreographer
when her name’s pronounced "Lay-la" as it is in the famous Eric
Clapton lyric. Apparently, she’s on her knees for one reason: she’s
celebrating the completion of her final project.
This weekend, MFA dance/choreography candidate Lela Higginson
will present an evening of evocative dance entitled, "How Many Ways
Can You Spell Woman?" The concert is part of the UCLA Upstarts
Dance Series, where Higginson will present her choreographic works
focusing on the roles of women in society.
"My concert is all about women," says Higginson, "It deals in
all ways with women issues from sarcastic to serious, it will
really be an enjoyable evening, the concert offers a variety of
moods  there’s something for everyone."
At the early age of 6 years, the soft-featured redhead became
involved with gymnastics. After eight years of dancing on the
balance beam, Higginson decided it was time to point her toes
toward new ground.
"I really found the floor exercises more interesting and I
wanted to explore that," says the choreographer, "I wanted more
freedom to do different kinds of movement."
Higginson, the eldest of three, grew up in Albuquerque, NM, and
then moved to El Paso where she experienced modern dance for the
very first time in high school. The inspired dancer went on to
pursue her studies at Brigham Young University where she received a
bachelor’s in modern dance.
Success for Higginson seemed to fall in her lap over a span of
13 years. She speaks with great passion about the many experiences
she’s had on stage while performing domestically and abroad.
"When I was in Turkey dancing with the BYU Dance Company, we
were all treated like superstars … the audience mobbed the stage.
It was so cool," she says.
Hopefully, a scene half as exciting will happen for dancer
Michelle Boehle. She is one of the many dancers who will be
performing choreography by Higginson.
"This is truly going to be a great concert," says Boehle, "We’ve
been working very hard for a long time … Lela has been wonderful,
she is a super person to dance for … she has the ability to
direct us in a clear fashion which we all appreciate."
However, the road to the long-awaited weekend performance has
not been so smooth for Higginson.
"Sometimes you hit the creative wall and you never know if you
will get past it," she says, "It can be very scary … you just
have to pull out and relax  I learned that this year."
The dance studio is not the only place where the choreographer
has hit the creative wall. For two years, Higginson worked for the
airlines where she did everything from collecting tickets to
loading baggage.
"There’s not a lot of room for creativity doing that kind of
work," she explained point blank.
These experiences led to the creation of a dance piece entitled,
"Ramp Models." With much humor, dancers Wendy Cornelius, Miriam
Kramer and Valeria Livolsi demonstrate the many trials of a woman
working in a man’s world.
"When you work a man’s job, people treat you funny," says
Higginson, "I had to constantly work twice as hard to gain respect
from men."
With the sound of confusion in her voice, she says, "No matter
how hard you work, they still treat you like a girl."
"Ramp Models" is only one of the five pieces that will be
featured in the dance concert. A work entitled, "Tom and Geri" will
present the audience with a light hearted mockery of the game
playing that goes on in dating relationships. Dancers Vernon
Gallegos and Shelley Wilcox will lure all viewers into a world of
fun and games.
DANCE: "How Many Ways Can You Spell Woman?" A UCLA Upstarts
Dance Series presented by MFA dance/choreography candidate Lela
Higginson. Performances are on Friday and Saturday, April 21-22, at
8 p.m. in Stage 200 in the Dance Building. TIX: $8 for general
admission and $5 for students. For advance ticket sales call CTO at
(310) 825-2101.