Ariel (left), with Ioana Alfonso, members of Reality at Work.

Meet Ariel Osterweis currently dancing with MIA MICHAELS R.A.W. (Reality At Work). MMRAW performed in Amsterdam in June, 1998, and the Jazz World Congress in Phoenix, Arizona, in August. Mia Michaels is the cover story for Dance Magazine, August 1998.

Finis: Ariel, you are a lucky member of Mia Michaels R.A.W. How did you get into the company?

Ariel: I had just gotten back from London, where I did a solo with B.A.B.E. (Bad-Ass Ballerina Ensemble) a contemporary female group based there.

Finis: You’re a New Yorker, how did you get that job?

Ariel: The choreographer was in New York and saw me in a COMPLEXIONS workshop.

Finis: COMPLEXIONS (directed by Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson) is also a contemporary dance company very much in the news. And how much have you worked with COMPLEXIONS?

Ariel: I worked about a year.

Finis: What was that like?

Ariel: It was amazing, I think it was the most concentrated growth period for me. First of all, the dancers the director, Dwight Rhoden, uses are so strong. His style is very physical, and technically demanding but it’s also quirky and individualistic. He makes you feel what Mia does -- that what you're doing with your body is what you’ve been trying to say all along.

Finis: I know what you mean, because when we saw COMPLEXIONS we were also dazzled by the virtuosity and speed of the dancing.

Ariel: COMPLEXIONS is very much on the edge, about taking risks physically and mentally.

Finis: So how did you meet Mia Michaels?

Ariel: After I returned from London, I was in class at Peridance in NYC, and a friend of mine at the barre told me about an audition in the studio next door. So I said why not, and there I was in Mia’s audition, and I got a call back for the next day.

Finis: What was the audition like?

Ariel: First of all, there were hundreds of people there, and I definitely felt like the odd-ball. Everyone else there seemed to be more jazz-oriented, (Mia Michaels is known in New York City for her packed jazz classes at The Broadway Dance Center) and I always considered myself to be more concert-modern.

Finis: That’s right, because you studied at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center.

Ariel: I was on scholarship at Ailey for two years, and studied at the Graham School for two summers.

Finis: And did you study ballet?

Ariel: My training began when I was 9, at The San Francisco Ballet School.

Finis: What importance do you attach to that?

Ariel: I did Clara in The Nutcracker for 2 years, on the big stage of the War Memorial Opera House, and even during that time I loved performing. I found complete exhilaration being on stage, but I always wanted to be a surgeon.

Finis: You’re kidding! So how come you ended up dancing?

Ariel: When I was 16, I spent a summer in NYC and studied dance at The Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, and that was the turning point, where I realized I would be a dancer, not a surgeon. A year later, I went to New York University for academics, and at the same time, studied at The Graham School, which then led to my studying on scholarship at The Ailey School. After I left The Ailey, I danced with PhilaDanco, and subsequently did free-lance dance work, took some college courses, and studied acting.

Finis: How important do you consider your ballet training, even though you have worked mostly with modern and contemporary choreographers?

Ariel: It gave me my base and shaped my sense of discipline and technique, and the choreographers that I enjoy working with most all demand a ballet technique but take it beyond the confines of classical ballet. When I was at Ailey, I realized you can balance ballet and modern training, and these days, most choreographers want you to have well-rounded dance training.

Finis: Getting back to Mia, she has had ballet training and done work for The Joffrey and other ballet companies, and, from the look of her dancers today, she wants very strongly trained dancers. How does she go about creating her work?

Ariel: I feel she is initially motivated by music and a feeling, or an expression. She also utilizes our individuality.

Finis: What do you mean by that? Do you improvise?

Ariel: At the audition, we were asked to improvise, and she liked what I did.

Finis: When Mia creates a new piece, do you have a chance to improvise?

Ariel: We were working on a piece for the women, and she would show us her movement, and through trial and error, we all worked together to develop the piece. She always comes in with definite ideas, but in certain sections, she will give us 8 counts or so to try our own movements, and then she’ll edit until we are both happy with it.

Finis: What other comments can you make about working with Mia, who obviously is a major talent and someone who is going to shape future dance.

Ariel: What I love about her choreography is that it is very lush and expressive, but at the same time, quirky and odd. Mia demands the same kind of movement from both her men and women.

Finis: You all are like Olympic athletes, aren’t you? It’s all so fast and your cover space, and fly through the air, and turn, and balance. You do everything! You are like artistic athletes; you thrill by your movement. No words are necessary.

Ariel: Yes, one of the things I like about Mia’s work is that it is so direct, and that she uses all kinds of music. All her pieces are different from each other.

Finis: You also have a range of emotional moods, even though there are no 'stories' involved?

Ariel: Definitely.

Finis: Are you making a living working with Mia?

Ariel: We’re getting there, but we still need to supplement.

Finis: As we know, making a good living in the dance world is a challenge!

Ariel: But I would say that Mia meets those challenges, because she’s so versatile, she can choreograph not only concert work but also commercially. For instance, she’s going to do an Aveda Show at Radio City Music Hall. She’s also done pop group tour choreography.

Finis: So you feel that Mia is committed to this and she’s going to make this work?

Ariel: Absolutely. I think that ultimately the dancing of MIA MICHAELS R.A.W. will speak for itself.

Finis: Well said, and I think you’re right, and I think you’re extremely fortunate to be working with someone as superbly talented as Mia Michaels.

Ariel: Yes, I feel very blessed.