MOVING PEOPLE: Chelsea Ainsworth on Producing Shows During a Pandemic, Finding Connection, and How "Singin' in the Rain" Always Puts a Smile on Her Face

I always had to be moving as a kid—soccer, swimming, music lessons and dance. When I was 12 years old, I got into North Carolina School of the Arts. At such a young age ,I had to make the difficult decision of leaving home, my dance studio, and all of my friends to go to a boarding school for dance. At that moment, I chose dance, forever. Judy Garland was one of my first inspirations; I used her music for my first competition solo. 

I am fascinated by complex, contemporary partnering. I love figuring out new pathways and patterns to use while partnering. 

normally, I would say your face. I can always tell when someone is holding tension or feeling something in their body through the way they are holding their face. Lately with COVID and dancing with facemasks, I’ve come to realize that hands are extremely expressive as well and can communicate just as much. 

I’ve always been surrounded by artists (musicians/dancers/actors), and I’ve always admired the artists around me. I curate to showcase artists I admire, so that everyone can experience how phenomenal my friends and fellow artists are! 

I was 16 when I curated my first concert to raise awareness and money for HIV/AIDS in North Carolina. This was the first version of what Arts On Site now calls the “Performance Party,” using our art for a cause while showcasing different artforms together for all to enjoy. 

Building a residency center in upstate NY while simultaneously operating a performing arts studio in NYC for the past four years. 

There is always a creative solution.

my family, Crystal Pite, Christy Curtis, David Parker, Zvi Gotheiner, and all of the artists friends I have that are pushing themselves constantly 

I think live shows and in-person rehearsals will take more organizing and way more attention to details. Ticket sales in advance, liability waivers, temperature checks, distanced seating and less capacity . . . but they are coming back in a safe way. We have to understand that live shows may never feel like they did before, and that's okay. There are new ideas as well as new technology (such as live streaming) that can enhance what we were doing before and even share with a broader audience. Moving forward will be a hybrid of both in-person and virtual. 

I spent a lot of the pandemic going through a mental and physical battle with my artform. There were a lot of questions that came up as to why dance, what jobs was I saying yes to just to dance, and does dance serve me in the way I need right now?

Artists are taught to connect to audiences, yet for the past 6 months, our work has been cut off. We’ve had to alter our way of being, and we still aren’t being considered “essential.” Luckily dance is what pulled me through — the constant practice, creating a film with my dance partner, and realizing that if I want dance to come back, I need to bring it back! 

Finally, being back with artists in real time, watching them perform, and sharing their beating hearts with us all to hear has been such a breath of fresh air after these six virtual months.

We’ve done a lot of pivoting at Arts On Site. Considering how can we keep our audiences as safe as possible? Arts On Site provides a COVID Questionnaire, temperature checks at the front door, sanitizing stations, sanitizing seats and high touch areas between shows, masks at all times, and distanced seating to create a “low risk” performance. Secondly, who is willing to perform after a pandemic emotionally, physically and mentally? A lot of artists have moved out of NYC, considered new career paths, or are terrified (rightly so) to rehearse with other people in person. We have had to find new ways to offer rehearsal space in 1-week residencies, ask artists to get COVID tests, as well as create new policies around people entering our Arts On Site bubble. All in all we are fighting because the performing arts are what will pull us all mentally, physically and emotionally through this pandemic.