When they’re dressed in pedestrian clothing and standing in line to get coffee, at first glance one would hardly notice the subtle signs. But watch just a second longer, and their anatomy quietly begins to betray a profession: the curvature of a lithe arm as friends are waved over to a table, a disciplined torso pressed confidently against a rickety café chair. In Manhattan’s Upper West Side, they chatter exuberantly in clusters along the subway platforms, feet automatically embedded in third position, waiting for the downtown train. Such is the life of a dancer, incessantly poised, anticipating feats that might be required of them at any given four count. In the fall of 1971, one of those sprightly commuters was a young Juilliard student named Christopher Pilafian.
It's been 26 years since Pilafian left New York City for a commission out west. What began as a guest artist stint for the UCSB Department of Theater and Dance quickly evolved into a full-time teaching position, complete with desk and office hours. “It was a revelation for me to actually have a regular salary,” he mused, waxing nostalgic over the appeal of starting a new chapter on the left coast. “There was a kind of allure to the idea of California, the western edge of the continent, a different sensibility and the futurism that is so prevalent.” He even performed a solo to mark the occasion, a bossa nova–driven piece entitled “Smoothie,” in which he ceremoniously danced across the stage in Day-Glo wear, tossing fruit into a blender.
In 2012, Pilafian took over the reins as artistic director for Santa Barbara Dance Theater and embraced a golden opportunity to explore his passion for choreography, an inclination that came to a head during his first semester at Juilliard. “I don’t know what part of my personality had the chutzpah to think I could pull it off, but I rounded up a cast of 12 people, choreographed a piece to show to José Limón, and got his comments, which were extremely negative.” To another student, the feedback may have been enough to dissuade any future notions, but Pilafian was undeterred. “It didn’t suit his sensibility, but I was clearly on that track, soaking up my choreography classes.”