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Beckah Voigt, an associate professor of the theater and dance department at Webster University, is the artistic director of ANNONYArts, an organization to create new work from and for performing artists. She is also a dancer and a mom.

Beckah Voigt: teacher, dancer, mom

By: Vincenza Previte

Posted: 2/25/10

Beckah Voigt, associate professor of dance at Webster University and the artistic director of ANNONYArts, an organization whose mission is to create new work from performing artists and to provide educational programming, is a dancer, a mother of two and a feminist.

Voigt, whose career has been in modern dance, said although many ballet dancers and musical theater dancers use music as an inspiration in musicality and in rhythm, she doesn't need music as an inspiration to dance.

"As I learned modern dance, I learned to dance to my own inner rhythm; not from an outside sound," Voigt said. "I've learned to choreograph from internal rhythms."

For Voigt, the simplest internal feeling can be used as an inspiration to create dance movements.

"Silence is a key factor toward finding those inner emotions and listening to how your body wants to move at a specific moment," Voigt said.

Emily Thompson, professor of French, met Voigt on the Women's Studies Committee, and it was through their work together that she started to appreciate what a wonderful person she considers Voigt to be. Although they haven't had a conversation directly about music, Thompson said she learned about dance as an art form.

"I have found it incredibly moving to watch Beckah perform, whether as Josephine de Beauharnais or in Kiener Plaza as part of Dine on Dance," Thompson said.

As a child, Voigt was exposed to plenty of music. Her main inspiration was her mother, a visual artist and a modern dance teacher who loved listening to folk music and Gregorian chants.

Voigt was born in Denver, Colo. but spent her childhood in Glenwood, Colo. with her older brother and sister. One of her best childhood memories was playing with her sister in the mountainside with lizards, dogs and chipmunks.

Voigt received her B.A. in Theater at Colorado Women's College in 1975 and received her Masters degree in dance, with emphasis in performance and choreography of dance theater at the University of Colorado.

Before she started her master's at age 23, Voigt was injured in a motorcycle accident. Her sciatic nerve was damaged and it required a few months for her to recover. After the accident, there were certain dance movements she couldn't do for some time.

In 1995, Voigt performed a piece that represented women's issues called "Witches" at the United Nations conference in Beijing, China, in front of 40,000 women. Voigt and her dance group from the GASH/VOIGT organization, now known as ANNONYArts, were the only ones representing American women at the conference.

"During our performance, dancers and I had fabric covering our faces as well as elastic around our bodies, which we eventually took off," Voigt said. "It was a very metaphorical piece."

Mary Ann Rund, professor of dance and theater, said both herself and Voigt both believe in the power of dance theater to convey important ideas, prompt fresh perspectives and challenge viewers.

"Beckah is one of the most engaging movement artists I have witnessed," Rund said. "She is a consummate performer."

Besides her work as an artist and dance professor, another important aspect in Voigt's life is her work as a reiki practitioner.

"When doing hands-on energy healing work, I find that I'm also able to dance in connection with someone else that is laying on the table," Voigt said. "Currently, I am not able to perform so much on a physical level, yet I do perform on a more energetic level."

Currently, Voigt is on sabbatical and is doing research on the mind-body connection and Tai chi. She is also directing her organization, ANNONYArts.

Voigt said the name ANNONYArts came to her through meditation.

Voigt created the organization because she wanted a place where friends and artists could have an outlet for their art projects.

"It was a response from my subconscious," Voigt said.