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 Pattie Obey: Leading Lady
of Jazz Dance
By Nancy
Wozny
How one
teacher/choreographer made her mark in the
male-dominated jazz-dance world.
Dancers
fly in and out of the wings with such force it looks
like they are being blown in by a strong wind—a jazzy
wind, that is. With enticing smiles they take turns
showing off whip-fast turns and eye-popping leaps.
Watching the sassy moves of Pattie Obey’s dance Zoom,
performed by The Houston Metropolitan Dance
Company,
one grasps what this artist is all about—energy,
pizzazz, and style.
Obey
summarizes that style as “dynamic, passionate, elegant,
and honest. I teach ‘Pattie O,’ which includes
influences by my mentor, Gus Giordano, and teachers Lou
Conte and Matt Mattox, and my own powerful femininity.”
Listening to her teach or talk, you also discover that
she combines dedication with a snappy wit. A dancing
force to be reckoned with, she has carved her own path
in the field. Her impressive lineage, combined with her
drive, makes her a key person in the preservation of
jazz dance.
It’s
not easy being one of the few female jazz-dance legends.
Obey stands out in the male-dominated jazz-dance world,
making her own mark with her teaching, choreography, and
charismatic personality. One thing shows through in
everything she does—the woman loves dance.
Obey
holds the position of the first woman to teach at the
Jazz Dance World Congress. In 2000 she won the Congress’
award for her contribution to jazz dance, an honor she
shares with some of the field’s greatest names, such as
Peter Gennaro, Frank Hatchett, and Joe Tremaine. Still
sleek with a dancer’s body at 50, Obey’s work schedule
is jammed far in advance. She has taught in 35 states
and 17 countries—and co unting. She divides her
time between the U.S. and Europe and says the hectic
pace agrees with her.
Obey
teaches a ballet-based jazz technique and subscribes to
the motto “No ballet, no dance base.” She finds that
young students who study jazz dance are reluctant to put
the time into maintaining ballet training. “Young kids
don’t like to go to ballet class, but I have learned how
to incorporate it within my warm-up.” Obey likes
training ballet dancers because of their high technical
level. “Once they let go of their resistance they really
start having fun,” she says. “I help them discover their
rib cages.”
She
says that tap is essential to develop rhythm, and pointe
work is great for developing strength in the legs.
“Below age 10 I can motivate them,” she says. “With
teens and older, I can begin to pull the artistry out of
them; whether it’s natural or can be taught is still a
big question for me.” Obey has a talent for working with
students who have gaps in their training, particularly
those in musical theater. “When the training has been
insufficient I say to myself, ‘How can I get the student
or performer to excel and shine?’ My secret is to
energize and ignite the passion and to think,
‘Simplicity of movement.’ It always works.”
This
dynamic woman may be an important person in the jazz
dance scene, but you won’t find her name on any dance
company, studio, or competition company roster. Obey
didn’t follow anyone else’s route, preferring to make a
way for herself in the activities she found meaningful.
Over the years she has created lasting relationships
with teachers, studios, small dance companies, colleges,
and conservatories that keep her time in the U.S.
booked.
Obey
has performing and choreographic credits all over the
dance map, including Broadway musicals, films,
television, summer stock, and industrial shows. She has
taught at dance festivals throughout Europe and for both
Dance Educators of America and Dance Masters of America.
Her choreography is in the repertory of several
companies, including La JazDanz; Ormao Dance Company;
Spectrum Dance Theater; Dublin City Ballet; Houston
Metropolitan Dance Company; Jazz Dance Theatre in
Saline, MI; Playhouse Dance Company  at Point Park University;
and Pori Dance Company in Pori, Finland.
Born
into a performing-arts family in Chicago, Obey was
around dance and theater for most of her early life. Her
father was a musician in the Chicago Lyric Opera and her
mother and aunts performed musical theater. Obey started
her dance training at age 3 (with her mother) and loved
it from the start. At 9, her plan was set: she wanted to
be a dancer. She remembers being an angel and a
snowflake in The Nutcracker and how she loved
dancing in the party scene. But when Obey was 14, a
teacher told her she was never going to be a ballerina.
It’s pretty hard to rain on Obey’s parade, though.
“Dancing was my life; nobody was going to stop my
dream,” she says. She took the advice to heart,
continued dancing, and holds a lifelong appreciation for
ballet training. Obey claims her port de bras comes from
Richard Ellis and Christine DuBoulay, former soloists
with The Royal Ballet. “They put me together
classically,” she says. “They were the most brilliant
ballet teachers.”
Ballet
may have been Obey’s beginning, but it was jazz that lit
her dance fire. At 14 she got her first taste of it at
her sister’s urging, who was also a dancer at the time.
She went to the Gus Giordano Dance Center to study with
Giordano, Debbie Hallak (also known as Casey Cole), and
Jim Kolb. “They were so dynamic and dedicated,” says
Obey. “I was way too balletic at first. I had to work my
butt off.”
In
1970 Obey landed a scholarship at Giordano’s school and
took every class she could fit in after school and on
weekends. Hooked on jazz, she set her sights on a
professional career. “My parents were both in the
business and gave up their performing careers w hen my sister was born,”
she says. “They knew the hardships and made me aware of
them. They didn’t stop me; they knew my drive.” In
typical high-gear fashion, Obey graduated from high
school at 16 and joined Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago,
traveling to the former Soviet Union on the troupe’s
groundbreaking jazz tour.
Obey
started teaching as soon as she got in the company. “I
got paid $8 and all my friends came. I liked teaching
right away. Perhaps my desire to teach came from my
mother,” she says. She finds a synergy between dancing
and teaching. “I became a much better dancer because of
my teaching,” she says. “Movement becomes clearer to you
when you have to explain [it] to someone else. Teaching
is a shared responsibility, and to ignite the passion in
dancers is a beautiful thing.”
She
danced with Giordano until the fall of 1976. Then she
was off to New York City to dance in Hellzapoppin’
with Jerry Lewis. She danced in industrial shows,
dinner theater, and even nightclubs. “I wanted to
experience everything in dance,” she says, “so I could
pass this knowledge on to my students.” In 1978 her
mother became ill, so Obey returned to Chicago to be
near her and taught for Lou Conte.
While
teaching a summer session at the Giordano Dance Center
Obey met Benjamin Feliksdal, formerly of the Dutch
National Ballet. Feliksdal’s invitation to go to
Amsterdam marked the beginning of Obey’s bicontinental
life. “I had to discover that world and go see what was
happening in the jazz world,” says Obey. “It was the
begi nning of the American
invasion of the ’80s, and I guess I wanted to be the
female Gus Giordano—and still do.” She speaks Dutch,
some German and Spanish, and enough French to get by.
She keeps a condo in Del Ray, FL, but spends half the
year in Amsterdam with her husband, Ted Willemsen, a
physical therapist for Nederlands Dans Theater and the
Dutch National Ballet. Currently she’s a guest artist at
the University of Performing Arts in Tilburg, The
Netherlands.
Obey’s
teaching has touched dancers all over the United States.
Houston is one of the many places she has made a name
for herself. Delia Stewart, a former Broadway dancer,
first brought her to Houston in 1984. After Stewart
retired, Obey continued to work with the company that
took over Stewart’s studio, The Houston Metropolitan
Dance Company (aka The Met). She maintains a close
relationship with The Met, the city’s only contemporary
jazz dance company. “My heart is close to Houston,” she
says. “People there have supported my work since 1984.”
Obey has set several works on the company— most recently
Zoom—and teaches master classes there. Offers to
choreograph keep coming her way, but she considers
making dances only one of the many things she does. She
averages about two pieces per year. “For me it’s got to
be good and it’s got to be right,” she says. “I’m a bit
obsessive.”
Obey’s
high-octane style is a perfect match for the upand-
coming young Met. Artistic director Michelle Smith says
that her company is enriched by the
teacher/choreographer’s frequent visits. “Her classes
are tough but full of energy; she makes you want to work
for her and achieve her style to perfection,” she says.
“She is one of the few who have held onto true jazz
technique.”
Obey
expresses concern about the overly competitive climate
of today’s dance world. “It is good for young dancers to
compete so that they can challenge themselves, but it
has all gone to such an extreme,” she says. She prefers
competitions that are linked to conventions, where a
learning experience is possible. “There’s a place for
healthy competition in the classroom—[it] builds better
dancers and kicks in more drive.”
Judging
by the uniformity of style seen at competitions, Obey
feels that jazz technique has eroded. “The dances looked
clo ned, as if there are
prerequisite movements,” she says. “Where is the
creativity?” She’s also alarmed at the diminishing
presence of jazz dance on the concert stage. It’s alive
and well at the Jazz Dance World Congress competitive
event, though, and Obey currently serves on the jury.
Despite
her accomplishments, the teacher/choreographer dreams of
doing more. “I’ve never directed a dance company,” she
says. “That is something I would like to try, right here
on the east coast of Florida.” She imagines a company
along the lines of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago or
Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago.
In
the meantime, Obey’s restless nature keeps her on the
road. “My life is expressed in my movement. I’m a born
mover—that’s why I travel.” But regardless of which
continent she’s on, she’s never far from home. “The home
that is
closest to my heart,” the jazz dancer says, “is the one
I have in the dance studio.”
Photo
captions (from top to bottom):
Pattie Obey.
Photo by Deen van Meer.
The Houston
Metropolitan Dance Company performs Pattie Obey’s Zoom
at their 2006 Spring Concert at the Wortham Center in
downtown Houston, TX. Photo by Dgarson.com.
Pattie Obey
with Joe Tremaine at the Jazz Dance World Congress 2004
in Costa Rica. Photo by Alejandra Barzuna.
Pattie Obey
and Gus Giordano at the Jazz Dance World Congress 2004
in Costa Rica. Photo by Alejandra Barzuna.
Pattie Obey
at the Jazz Jamm at the Jazz Dance World Congress 2004
in Costa Rica. Photo by Alejandra Barzuna.
The Houston
Metropolitan Dance Company performs Pattie Obey’s Zoom
at their 2006 Spring Concert at the Wortham Center in
downtown Houston, TX. Photo by Dgarson.com.
Contact: Goldrush, P.O. Box 2150,
Norton, MA 02766,
Phone: 888-i-dance-9, 508-285-6650, Fax:
508-285-3179,
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Copyright 2006
Goldrush Magazine, a division of the Rhee Gold
Company and Gold Standard Press, LLC. Goldrush
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