Jenni Propst, shown Tuesday outside Carnahan-Jackson Dance Studios, is the lighting designer and stage manager for Chautauqua School of Dance.
NORA SMITH
Staff Writer
Long before audience members trickle into the Amphitheater, music commences and lights begin to glow, Jenni Propst, lighting designer and production manager for Chautauqua School of Dance, ensures the magic and story come to life beyond the dancers’ movement.
Propst not only oversees lighting, but props, costumes and anything else that can help bring a story to life.
“Even though lighting is really my strength and emphasis, here I’m usually the only one, so if somebody needs weird props, I figure out the weird props and those types of things,” Propst said. “It’s just fun to get my hands in other areas of it and to collaborate with our phenomenal people here.”
When Propst began working for Charlotte Ballet right out of college, she said she knew nothing of dance. Now, having worked in dance for more than 25 years and at Chautauqua Institution for 11 seasons, Propst admires how movement and musicality tell a story; to her, that is what makes dance so magical.
“That’s what’s so fun about lighting and about dance — you get to be part of that story, and you get to help tell that story,” Propst said. “Dance is so powerful and so emotional. I just love being a part of it, and as a technician, I love that the lighting is sometimes the most important technical element.”
As Propst begins to coordinate lighting for a performance, she speaks with choreographers to understand what story they are trying to tell so that she can help tell it.
“With dance lighting, so much of it is, ‘How much of the dancer do you want to see?’” Propst said. “Do you want to see their faces? Do you want to see the emotions on their face, or do you not want to see the emotions? Do you want to see the sculptural elements of the dancer’s bodies, the muscle tone, or the flow of the skirts, the wrinkles in the costumes?”
For “Wuthering Heights” at 8 p.m. tonight in the Amphitheater, Propst has been at work since January, as it is the first full-length performance and story ballet Chautauqua School of Dance has ever done.
Propst said usually, for full-length story ballets, companies have a full production staff with a technical director, stage manager, lighting designer, costume shop, props person and sometimes even personal directors.
“Here at Chautauqua, we have a fully staffed, amazing costume shop, and then we have me for everything else,” Propst said. “We don’t have a stage manager or a technical director; we have Jenni, who can dabble in all of these areas and make things happen.”
Because of this, Propst has learned to produce shows with limited resources compared to the Charlotte Ballet premieres she was involved with. For example, Propst hired a production assistant and a wardrobe supervisor, in addition to renting props and costumes from Charlotte Ballet and many other tasks.
“These are things that I do all of the time in my work as a lighting supervisor,” Propst said. “But I don’t usually pay as much attention to props and costumes and scenery because it’s not something I need to, but with ‘Wuthering Heights,’ I really had to know everything about everything.”
Although there have been many sleepless nights, Propst said she is excited to see the ballet come to life on the stage.
“It is one of the most stunning ballets I’ve ever seen,” Propst said. “The choreography is just gorgeous; the music is haunting and powerful and eerie and hopeful and just every emotion across the board — kind of like the actual novel.”
