The day after Robert Rubama graduated from George Mason University, he bussed 375 miles from Fairfax, Virginia to Cleveland to join GroundWorks DanceTheater. The 21-year-old Virginia Beach, Virginia-native is diving right in to his new role as company artist and looks forward to making his debut during our Summer Series.
Before joining GroundWorks, Robert had the opportunity to perform works by Andrea Miller, Donald Byrd, Mark Morris, Soon Ho Park, Nick Pupillo, Ivan Perez and Yin Yue. He has also performed with Agora Dance and RawArts Dance at various venues in the Washington DC area. He is the founder of Terre Dance Collective which has enabled him to present work both in New York City and Washington DC.
You are making your GroundWorks debut during the company’s Summer Series. What are you most looking forward to this season?
I’m super excited about becoming better friends with the people in the company.
What led you to audition for GroundWorks?
Being a senior in college, I was looking for possible job opportunities after graduation. I was searching on a website that posted upcoming auditions and I came across the opening at GroundWorks. I read the description. I watched the performance videos and I liked what I saw. I could see myself doing the work.
Also, this region is an unsaturated market in terms of dance. Many dancers looking for work tend to flock to larger cities like New York and Los Angeles. I think coming to this city gave me more of an opportunity to dance because the population of dancers looking for a job is smaller than that of a larger city. It’s also very exciting to be here. There’s a lot of untapped artistic potential in an area like this. You can get the ball rolling and start new projects. You can be a part of something new to keep the community growing.
What makes you unique as an artist? What do you want to contribute to the company?
I want to contribute my sense of exploration. I’m always trying to explore how our bodies can move in new and exciting ways.
Tell us about Terre Dance Collective.
I formed Terre in July of 2017. When I was in school, I felt disconnected to the larger dance community so in an effort to make more connections and engage with other movers I created the group. I love making new work and choreography is important to me so having this creative outlet is very beneficial. Terre has been able to show work at various locations in the Washington D.C metro area. Some of those locations include Dance Place, Dance Exchange, Dance Loft on 14th, The Shed Gallery, The Atlas Performing Arts Center in the 2018 Atlas Intersections Arts Festival, and the Washington National Cathedral in the 1 Journey Festival. Terre has also been able to showcase work at Three’s Brewing Company in Brooklyn, New York in an intimate curated performance series called The Craft. The group works collaboratively to create contemporary dance pieces and some set improvisational works.
So far, how has your GroundWorks experience been different from other artistic experiences?
There’s a lot of collaboration that happens in the creative process. It’s super cool because it gives the dancer a lot of creative freedom. You don’t have to fit into a mold of what the movement should be, but you get to create what you think the movement should be.
Tell us about your dance background. How did you find dance?
When I was 7 or 8 years old, I started dancing in church. A teacher at my elementary school found out I danced and told my parents I should apply for a dance program that was offered in the city. So, once a week all throughout middle school I attended that program. I studied ballet, modern dance, jazz dance, composition, and dance history. I fell in love with dance. After this program I attended a performing arts high school and then studied dance at George Mason University. And now here I am with GroundWorks.
This is your first job out of school. What kind of career are you hoping to carve out for yourself in dance?
Choreography is something I’m really interested in and I want to continue exploring that realm of the dance world. In the future I would love to have my own dance company that operates on a regular schedule and not on a project to project basis.
Why do you love to dance? How does it make you feel?
I’m really bad at expressing myself with words. So, dance is an easy way to show how I am feeling without using words. It’s also a way of connecting with others. I went to a summer intensive with Sidra Bell Dance New York and I literally talked to no one until the last two days. But I still felt like I got to know the other people attending because I was constantly dancing with them. Dance is a great way to communicate non-verbally. You can learn a lot about a person by the way they move their body. It’s a great way to see how others view the world.
When I’m performing, I get a rush. I kind of forget about everything else except for the moments I’m on stage. I’m in a trance while I’m performing.
You’re new to Cleveland. What are your impressions of the city?
I’m really into food. David and the other company members have taken me to try some cool restaurants, like The Flying Fig, Gigi’s on Fairmount, Townhall, Nano Brew and Bakersfield CLE. I live near the downtown area and I like walking around the city and exploring the architecture. It’s nice to find neat things about the different buildings you come across when you’re walking.