Lisa R. Chow of Arizona Dance Coalition: 100 Creatives

Phoenix is brimming with creativity. And every other year, we put the spotlight on 100 of the city’s creative forces. Leading up to the release of this year’s Best of Phoenix issue, we’re profiling 100 more. Welcome to the 2014 edition of 100 Creatives. Up today: 2. Lisa R. Chow.

There’s no such thing as an average day in the life of Lisa R. Chow.

The Mesa-based 54-year-old dancer and choreographer is always juggling a few projects for contemporary company Desert Dance Theatre, where she’s artistic director and choreographer, Crossroads Performance Group, which she co-founded with her husband, and the Arizona Dance Coalition, which she serves as the president of and founded.

See also: Plastic Monsters of Phoenix: 100 Creatives

Needless to say, Chow’s to-do list is a little daunting.

“Three days a week, I teach company class and rehearse approximately 10 to 15 hours each week,” she says. “I assist teaching creative ballet classes with Frances Cohen at Dance Theater West. And on occasion, I am teaching master classes or performing at various venues with my husband, Step Raptis, and members of my dance company.”

Chow has worked with Arizona Commission on the Arts, Phoenix Arts Commission, Nevada Arts Council, Kentucky Arts Council, National Society for Arts and Letters, Maricopa Community Colleges Dance Competitions, and Arizona High School Dance Festivals.

One of the biggest projects she’s currently working on is the coordination of this year’s Arizona Dance Festival, which will take place on October 10 and 11 at Tempe Center for the Arts. “The showcase will feature 24 pre-professional, emerging and professional dance artists and groups of diverse genre and styles,” Chow says of the event, which she’s coordinated for the past 14 years. “Each night will be a different line-up. I am currently creating a new dance piece which will premiere at the Arizona Dance Festival, inspired by past life events and my ongoing journey or discovery of new encounters.”

And that’s not all she has on the schedule. Chow has been invited to perform with the cast of South of Gold Mountain, choreographed by H.T. Chen, in New York. “The theme of the production is about the Chinese who immigrated to the southern states at the turn of the century in the region around Mississippi where I was born and raised,” Chow says. “After the première/preview in New York, we will also perform in Mississippi in February 2015 for the Chinese Lunar New Year, and here in Arizona at the Tempe Center for the Arts in March 2015, then in Alabama in April 2015.”

I am originally from Greenville, Mississippi, where I was born and raised for the first 18 years of my life. I came to Phoenix right out of high school in 1978, on a cross-country drive without a clue what I was going to do. I thought was on my way to California to possibly live. But I chose to live in Tempe because my cousin lived there and I had decided to take some classes at Arizona State University. I immediately fell in love with the Phoenix area with all of its beautiful landscapes and colorful skies. And, of course, there were lots of colorful people. I came to Phoenix with youthful raw talent and a great passion to dance. I was a late starter in the field of dance so I had a lot of catching up to do. I never knew that I would end up staying here in Arizona for 30-plus years and creating a life for myself as an artistic director, creator, performer, administrator for so many of my artistic endeavors. Your life and career are only as good as you make it.

I have always loved art in its many forms as a child and all through my life. It was so much a part of my being to draw, paint, dance, sing, write, play music, to create, etc. I don’t know if I could ever live without any of these without sacrificing my sanity or well being. Art is my life. It is my church. It’s where I live, eat, sleep, and drink. I make art because that’s what I do. And I will continue to make art in as many forms as possible for the rest of my life.

I am most productive when I’m under a lot of pressure. Although, I seem to be a very quiet and calm person on the outside, I function on a very high level of stress. I am productive when I work with other creative people on projects. I am productive when I have dancers to work with who inspire me to create new works. I create projects and opportunities to be creative as an incentive to be productive. I am productive when I am inspired by other artists and can collaborate with them. I enjoy collaborating with other artists of different art forms, whether it’s visual arts, music, etc. I have collaborated the most with my husband, Step Raptis who is a very talented and creative musician, dancer, and educator. He inspires me everyday. I have also collaborated with Arizona legend and bronze sculptor, John Henry Waddell, whose sculptures of dancers reside at the Herberger Theater Center. Another one of my favorite collaborators is long-time friend, Chieli Minucci, who is an amazing virtuoso guitarist and has an extensive list of credits in the contemporary jazz music world as a solo artist and with his music group, Special EFX. One of my favorite collaborations was a dance called “Fall to the Sky” inspired by John Waddell’s sculptures called “Rising” with music by Chieli Minucci called “Jewel in the Desert Sky.” The dance was a secret dedication to my Dad who had passed away, but overall the piece was dedicated to the victims of 9/11. Another favorite collaboration was with Step Raptis and Chieli Minucci in a piece called “Shadow.“

My inspiration wall is full of all my mentors throughout my life, including teachers, family and friends. My biggest inspiration comes from my mother and father who were hard working Chinese immigrants with old world traditional views and strict work ethics. I was raised as an American but was influenced by the Chinese and Southern culture. I especially admire generously compassionate people who are not afraid to be themselves to show their spirituality, humanism and humility. My husband is one of those people that I admire on my inspiration wall. My inspiration wall has a large place for my long time mentor and friend, Marion Kirk Jones, who passed away this past April, almost one month shy of her 93rd birthday. She has probably had the biggest influence on my artistic and choreographic careerl. Other inspirations are the great pioneers of modern dance such as Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, Jose Limon, Alwin Nikolais, Louis Horton, Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Daniel Nagrin, and so many more. The list is endless. I am also inspired by the up and coming emerging dancers who test the limits of what the human body is capable of doing. My father-in-law would say, “Show them greatness!”

I have learned the most of what I know from my mentors and the many experiences that I have encountered all throughout my life. I learn the most through observation and instigation. I have learned most of what I do by just doing what I do. I try to learn from my mistakes by not repeating them. I learn things from my dancers and people that I work with and from people that I meet. I learn from children that I teach and see how they respond to what I have to offer. I learn an awful lot from television, radio, news articles, and social media. I am learning something everyday.

Good work should always stand on its own. Good work should always be remembered. Good work comes from hard work. Good work should always have an impact on the audiences that it serves. Good work should always be created from the heart and soul of its creator. Good work should always inspire you and others to continue to do good work.

The Phoenix creative scene is a wonderful mix of so many different artists with creative and innovative ideas and philosophies. I wish there could be more free time for artists to gather socially to share their art outside of shows and exhibitions. I am a founding member and president of the Arizona Dance Coalition, and one of our goals was to create connection amongst our dance community statewide. We still function on a grassroots level, but we have slowly grown our membership, and hope to continue to reach more dancers, companies, studios, venues, presenters, dance enthusiasts, etc. Our website calendar, monthly e-newsletter and social media postings help to promote awareness about what is happening with the dance scene in Arizona. Sometimes I feel like the Phoenix creative scene could use more exposure through news media and support from the general public. There are a ton of wonderful artists in our Phoenix community, I wish more people would get out to see them and support them, and support each other.

See the 2014 edition of 100 Creatives:

100. Bill Dambrova
99. Niki Blaker
98. Jeff Slim
97. Beth May
96. Doug Bell
95. Daniel Langhans
94. Nanibaa Beck
93. Nicole Royse
92. Ib Andersen
91. Casandra Hernandez
90. Chris Reed
89. Shelby Maticic
88. Olivia Timmons
87. Courtney Price
86. Travis Mills
85. Catrina Kahler
84. Angel Castro
83. Cole Reed
82. Lisa Albinger
81. Larry Madrigal
80. Julieta Felix
79. Lauren Strohacker
78. Levi Christiansen
77. Thomas Porter
76. Carrie Leigh Hobson
75. Cody Carpenter
74. Jon Jenkins
73. Aurelie Flores
72. Michelle Ponce
71. Devin Fleenor
70. Noelle Martinez
69. Bucky Miller
68. Liliana Gomez
67. Jake Friedman
66. Clarita Lulić
65. Randy Murray
64. Mo Neuharth
63. Jeremy Hamman
62. La Muñeca
61. Kevin Goldman
60. Emily Costello
59. Kerstin Dale
58. Vara Ayanna
57. Nathaniel Lewis
56. Ruben Gonzales
55. Lisa Poje
54. Bobby Zokaites
53. Frances Smith Cohen
52. Julie Rada
51. David Miller
50. Xanthia Walker
49. Kyllan Maney
48. Cary Truelick
47. Constance McBride
46. James D. Porter
45. Allyson Boggess
44. Abigail Lynch
43. Ashley Cooper
42. Jaclyn Roessel
41. Brandon Boetto
40. Melissa Dunmore
39. Gavin Sisson
38. Rossitza Todorova
37. Monica Robles
36. Josh Kirby
35. Jesse Perry
34. Yai Cecream
33. Nathan Blackwell
32. Carley Conder
31. Ben Willis
30. Nicole Michieli
29. Brian Cresson
28. Tyson Krank
27. Mikey Estes
26. Anwar Newton
25. Sarah “Saza” Dimmick
24. Tato Caraveo
23. Jorge Torres
22. Laura Spalding Best
21. Shawnte Orion
20. Mike Olbinski
19. Christina You-Sun Park
18. Jon Arvizu
17. Anya Melkozernova
16. J.B. Snyder
15. Damon Dering
14. Rebekah Cancino
13. Liz Warren
12. Timothy Brennan
11. Mimi Jardine
10. Rosalind Shipley
9. Nic Wiesinger
8. Kendra Sollars
7. Dan Hull
6. Elizabeth Maria Naranjo
5. Cody Nathaniel Johnson
4. Amy Radcliffe
3. Plastic Monsters

Follow Jackalope Ranch on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.