Jenna Deidel has danced with Chicago Tap Theatre (CTT) for four years, after having moved to Chicago from Boulder, Colorado, in 2003.  She came to the Windy City to earn a BA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago but also to pursue a professional career in dance. Since then, she has accomplished both her goals and now divides her time between the exciting pursuits of Chicago Tap Theatre and her work as an artist guide for the Museum of Contemporary Art, a teaching artist for Redmoon Theater's School Partnership Program and an assistant TA for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's Movement as Partnership Program.  She kindly took time out from preparations for CTT's upcoming multicultural winter show, "Tidings of Tap," to talk about some of her photography and design projects.

SS: I hear that you just put together a calendar full of tap dance photography. How did you get involved with that project?

JD: Well, the calendar is actually the second photography-based project I've done in collaboration with CTT. We created a book a couple years ago with the help of lulu.com and when we noticed their calendar projects, we jumped on that too!

SS: What are the special difficulties or issues involved with photographing tap? I know you didn't do the photography for this project, but you do have a book out full of your own tap photography, also available on lulu.com, entitled "Top Tap Tips."

JD: As with any "candid" or documentary photography, you are always looking for that one moment. In some ways, photographing CTT has been easier for me because I am so familiar with the pieces I am looking at the rhythm of them and when things happen. That said...we're fast movers and the ability to get the shutter to cooperate with that quick timing is a challenge, but one I love to explore and one the photographer for this calendar, Josh Hawkins, is really mastering. [Josh Hawkins is a Chicago photojournalist who recently won several awards at the Illinois Press Photographer Association's annual photojournalism competition.]

SS: You're obviously multi-talented and had a lot of options during your time in college. Why did you decide to major in photography rather than dance?

JD: That's a great question. I have always been a person that thrives on pursuing many things at once. I knew if I went to school for dance, I would become frustrated with only having one outlet for expression and creativity. Instead I let a more analytic art form take academic "center stage" and let dance remain just something for my heart.

SS: Has that hurt your dance career in any way? Has there ever been a time when you wished you would have majored in dance?

JD: Not at all. If anything, I am a better dancer for giving myself that challenge. The biggest thing I learned from my concentration in photography was how to really look at, talk about, and analyze artwork. It really helped me learn how to be accountable for every move I make and how it is communicating which is particularly helpful with the narrative and conceptual work CTT does. I wouldn't change a thing.

SS: What kind of opportunities has your photography degree provided you?

JD: It actually lead me down a path I was not expecting. Right after graduation, I applied to teach at Columbia College Chicago's Summer Arts Camp with a very generous recommendation from one of my Photography professors. This really opened my eyes to all the amazing arts education and integration programs in this city, and that's what I'm really spending the most time on today. Again I think my ability to be a thoughtful and insightful teacher of the arts came from all the challenging (and sometimes arduous) critiques I experienced while earning my photography degree.

SS: Is photography/design something you want to focus on after you finish dancing, or is it something you think you can do (and want to do) at the same time as your dance career?

JD: First of all, I cannot even begin to picture a time in my life where I will be "finished dancing." It's who I am and I know that while it may move from the forefront to a more backstage place in my career, it will always be there. I enjoy photographing, but I think in my life now, I enjoy it more as a past time than anything. When the time comes that dance take a bit of a backseat, I think it will be my arts education and integration career that moves to the spotlight.

SS: How does being a dancer help your photography/design aesthetic? Does it help you find potential subjects or clients?

JD: I always strive to express movement in my photography. It is probably why I always struggled with studio and product photography...the tediousness was not for me. There is one project I have always felt unfinished about that involved several of my dancing peers as subjects. I do feel that someday, when I brush the dust off that one, I will find myself using them again.

SS: Do you only do (or want to do) dance photography, or do you do other types of subject matters?

JD: I have not done really any traditional "dance photography." I'm honestly not sure why. I guess I always just found myself exploring subjects I had more questions about. The closest subject matter to dance that really enjoy exploring is the body and body language; how we present ourselves to each other and in our mind's eye. That's tied to that project that I still feel an urge to complete. Someday I will.

SS: How does being a dancer affect your photography/design process, if at all? What about the reverse - does your skill as a photographer affect how you dance?

JD: It is possible that my internal sense of timing is what most closely connects that two genres. Both dancing and photographing require very intuitive timing. Perhaps they are just two vehicles through which to express that, and exploring both equally informs that other.

SS: Though most dance (and all photography) is very visual, tap is highly auditory. Do you come to tap dance with a different approach than you do more visual dance forms, like modern or jazz?

JD: While tap is one of the few dance forms in which the audience hears the rhythm you are expressing, all dance feels somewhat internally auditory for me. There is always some rhythm you are expressing and some sound you are hearing to do that, whether you tap dancing or doing jazz, ballet, modern, whatever. I also think that CTT is one of the most visual tap companies I have ever seen or been part of. While the sound is crucial, we dance with our whole bodies and environment. It's that combination that tells the story.

SS: Did you always want to be a tap specialist, or did you initially prefer other types of dance?

JD: Hehe, I'd like to have a business card that says "tap specialist"...sounds like a job with a lab coat...which I guess sometimes it is. When I was little, I was really into ballet. As a got older, it became apparent to me that that would not be my life however and by the time I was in high school, I knew that if there was one dance form I could really excel in, it would be tap. What I didn't know at that time is that I would find a company like CTT where I could tap but also really feel like I was dancing and acting. It's kismet.

SS: Also, just a pure tap tip question while we're talking about tap as an auditory dance form. You have absolutely wonderful tone. Did that come naturally, or did you work on it? Any suggestions for our readers on how to improve or adjust their tone?

JD: Oh my gosh, I totally worked on it. I don't think I was ever a loud tap dancer, so I really connected with Mark's delicate and expressive tone. It definitely took a while to find that in myself though and I am still working on it...but thank you for the compliment! In terms of a tip, I'd say just really listen to yourself. Tap can become so fussy that it's easy to micromanage...take a moment to really hear the big picture.

SS: CTT also does a wide range of material, including both conceptual and narrative works. Do you approach the work differently depending on what kind of piece it is?

JD: In some respects, yes. I feel differently when I am learning a pieces that is really rhythm-based as opposed to a piece where I am playing a character very different from myself or expressing an overall concept. However, in general I really just try to connect the footwork to the feeling of the piece from the get-go.

SS: You're particularly adept at portraying a character when dancing. How do you go about preparing for each of those roles? Does your photography training help you in any way there?

JD: Thank you again :) This is something very new to me, portraying a very definite character while tap dancing. I think the most important thing I decided was that my body language really needed to match the intent my footwork and my character; that as a dancer, that would be my biggest asset in conveying a story. I think my work leading tours at the MCA has helped most with this, just learning how other artists communicate and when it works and when it doesn't and what people see and associate with certain colors, symbols, images. I use that a lot in the development of my characters.

SS: What does the future hold for you, both as a dancer and as a photographer/designer?

JD: I am really happy doing what I am doing right now. If I can just sort of rest in this place for a while and just develop myself as a dancer and artist and teacher, I will be happy.

SS: Any other tips for people out there who might be trying to figure out which creative direction they want to go in?

JD:  I'm not sure how helpful this is, but follow your heart. If you are being true to yourself and being open to opportunity, you may find just what you never knew you were always looking for.

And that's it!  Many thanks to Jenna for sharing about her process and giving so many helpful tips.  Look for her fantastic book, Top Tap Tips, and the CTT Top Tap Calendar 2009 on http://www.lulu.com.

Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Tap, Modern, Broadway, Ballroom, Teacher, Enthusiast, Parent, Studio, Performance (all tags)