Evita Arce’s “I’ll Be Seeing You”: Creativity in Quarantine

By Sharon M. Chin

A woman with a magnetic smile in a flowy red dress is spinning. She moves against a slow melody, partner dancing with a man. The man’s hand extends upward, inviting another turn, and her dress swirls in a beatific circle, a graceful third partner to this movement. The two smile in their shared connection.

This conversation without words, once commonplace on dance floors worldwide, has been increasingly absent since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. And this moment between Evita Arce and Michael Jagger, two internationally renowned lindy hop dancers, is made even more unusual in that these two are not touching or even in the same room. Rather Evita and Michael, lindy hop dance partners for over 17 years, are dancing together across oceans, continents, and computer screens in a Guggenheim Works & Process virtual commission.

Guggenheim Works & Process Virtual Commission: Evita Arce & Michael Jagger

Evita Arce, having recently performed with Caleb Teicher & Company at the Guggenheim Museum New York and Guggenheim Bilbao, was invited by the Guggenheim to produce a new work while supporting social distancing guidelines. The Guggenheim Works & Process Virtual Commissions series was launched in April 2020 as a direct response to the pandemic’s shutdown of live performances and disruption to artist incomes. For Evita this was a “huge honor. I never dreamed that I would be associated with the Guggenheim as a commissioned artist. I’m incredibly grateful to Duke Dang and the entire Works & Process team for recognizing the need of artists, both as part of a collective and as an individual.”

Evita Arce and Nathan Bugh in Caleb Teicher & Company’s “More Forever” at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Photo by: Em Watson

Evita created her video, “I’ll Be Seeing You,” in response to this artistic call for action. While Evita espouses that all people are creators, Evita recognizes that some create because of an unquenching need whereas others require prompts. Laughing she notes, she’s often in the latter category and “grateful for this nudge to create in a time of isolation and uncertainty.” Evita, as both a dancer and a choreographer, primarily creates from her emotions. With spirited eyes, Evita notes that her works often take on a “playful quality” and “everything I create feels like it comes from a gut and heart space.” Evita uses dance to express emotions and “to reveal the most truthful and deepest parts of me.” And Evita increasingly has felt the absence of partnered lindy hop from a life in quarantine.

“I’ve been in my apartment since March 10th and, while I teach swing dancing online, everything about my identity, as a global instructor and performer paused.” Evita intensely felt this ache and recognized “the international lindy hop (swing dance) community heavily felt the pangs of separation and loneliness from social distancing too. The very art and skill developed by social dancers has been paused and forced into an empty space of isolation.” Evita contemplated her feelings and her opportunity to create, and during one of her online teaching sessions, a fortuitous moment happened. Evita describes “an accidental moment where Michael and I were co-teaching. We were both in our on-screen boxes trying to demonstrate something, a six count turn- and inadvertently we both moved in sync, as if we were touching. And it looked beautiful and poetic. And I thought maybe it would be possible for us to move together across these screens.”

This concept of swing dancing across computer screens was further cemented for Evita when good friends in Perth, Australia messaged Evita about the “Jedi connection.” The Jedi connection is a dance concept, originally taught to Evita and Michael by Jenny Thomas and Ryan Francois, in which connection occurs without touch. If jedis from Star Wars could move objects without touch, so too could dancers lead and follow without physical connection. The jedi connection is based on understanding that swing dance is rooted in individual dance and balance. Evita noted that “By applying those principles with visual observation, shadowing, and moving through space, one can truly lead and follow without touch.” Evita, with the jedi connection and the accidental synched virtual dancing seared into her mind, decided to focus her Guggenheim virtual commission on an improvised virtual lindy hop dance.

Evita simmered on the pragmatics of execution. Would any elements be choreographed? What music would make sense? Could music even be used? Evita grimaced at the “image of us attempting to dance over technology, with lagged music and lagged viewing, forever un-synced and devoid of connection.” Evita decided music wouldn’t matter but was then given a supporting music grant. Recognizing that many jazz musicians lost work with the pandemic, Evita saw an opportunity to aid another creative partner. Evita imagined the pacing of the piece and knew she could eliminate the complexity of a full band and instead focus on a “vocalist who could stretch out tempos and evoke emotion.” Evita immediately thought of Charles Turner, a jazz singer based in Harlem, NY, because “I am in love with his voice.”

Evita selected an evocative song to match her emotional state, the slow ballad “I’ll Be Seeing You,” from the musical, Swing! This song was especially meaningful, not only because it’s a “heart-wrenching, beautiful ballad,” but because it is an adagio dance suite where a military figure is deployed and parted from his sweetheart. Evita and Michael danced in this musical together many years ago and the lyrics-- “Who knows if we shall meet again?”-- felt so right for this moment.

With a song selected, Evita then discussed her idea of a virtual social dance with Michael, based in Australia at the time of the virtual commission. They discussed potential movements, how to ease into the dance, time zone logistics, and experimented with the technology to ensure understanding of mirroring. The actual dance, however, would be improvised, reflecting another pillar of lindy hop-- the art of improvisation. They listened to a recording of the song provided by Charles Turner and noticed the song was too short. “We asked Charles to hum the song before singing the lyrics to double the length and then eventually asked Charles to just hum whatever he felt like.” Charles made up his melody and his vocal styling, inspired by his own sentiment that “This period is really hard for everyone and I’ve been trying to embrace hope for tomorrow. I wanted to put that spirit into this piece and I used the calm of recording in my room, a true safe space, and having the time to really meditate on the subject of this period into my singing for the piece.”

Evita and Michael then embarked on dancing together across screens, completing their piece in one take on the first cut. Moving to Charles' velvety voice, Michael may have had to squint at the screen to see Evita, but he chose how to sway, when to lead a rock step, or an underarm turn. Evita would embellish some of her spins, delighting in the first moments of swaying and sinking into a visible connection, of being able to read a stop turn. The two dance together as their gazes connect, smiling, improvising-ultimately reflecting 17 years of friendship and training in their motions and emotions. Evita notes “I really did get emotional at the end- I really cried and felt like it was a truthful place- doing what I love, with a person that I love, and a person who is so very far away.”

Gaze is vital for the improvised lindy hop dancing of Evita Arce and Michael Jagger. The medium of dancing through the camera, however, shifts actual gaze and perceived connected gaze.

Evita Arce’s “I’ll Be Seeing You” is bittersweet. If this piece begins in a greeting and grows with connection, we realize the power of technology to help bridge distance and social isolation. The piece, however, ultimately ends with Evita in her room alone- the dance a wistful memory and a shadow substitute for physical touch. Created in quarantine, "I’ll Be Seeing You" is nostalgic and melancholy, matching the emotional state of many of us today. Evita's work mirrors not only Michael’s movement, but the ups and downs of our collective longing for a pandemic-free world and a return to real life human connection.

More from Evita Arce

Where Can We See You Next: “You can see me online for one of my weekly live sessions under SyncopatedCity.com . Hopefully my next opportunity to perform will be this Fall for a tour date of Swing 2020 but there’s a good chance that will also be pushed back.”

Who Are You Watching: “I tend to watch a lot of “Yoga with Adriene”. She’s a YouTuber who has built up an impressive library of free yoga lessons. I think she’s so sweet and a great example of online instruction. Her short videos have become my regular, quick, daily movement. I’ve also been listening to Tara Brach podcasts. Tara is a mindfulness and meditation teacher. I have been digging deeper into yoga, meditation and mindfulness right now in order to take care of my body and deal with the anxiety of our current situation.”

How Has Covid-19 Impacted You: “This quarantine has really impacted my life. All travel, teaching events, rehearsals and performances have been canceled. That is a big cut in the money I usually bring in and my whole identity. I have not left the area of my apartment since March 10th. It’s been tough, lots of ups and downs, random emotional experiences, pacing around at home and so much sitting in front of the computer screen. A big positive is that I’ve had so much time with my husband and I’ve been able to dedicate a lot more energy to my online school. This time has most significantly made me rethink my self worth and how I can provide for my community.”

What is the World of Swing Dance: “I’d recommend the documentary, Alive and Kicking, which is currently on Netflix- to understand immersion in the modern day swing dance community. It’s a passionate and incredible community of people who joyfully connect through dance.”

A Fun Fact: “I am claustrophobic. Sometimes I can’t even deal with being too tightly wrapped up in a coat.”

Cover Photo Credit: Lynn Redmile Photography. Stacked Photo Caption: Midsummer Night Swing, Lincoln Center. Evita Arce & Michael Jagger social dancing. Charles Turner & Band performing.

For more on the Guggenheim Works & Process Series, visit https://www.guggenheim.org/event/event_series/works-process