After working with Parsons Dance Foundation for several months one of the things I came to love most was the energy of its dancers (more on that later). There is an effervescence that seems lacking in most modern dance companies–at a time when everyone is somber, Parsons dancers bring life and excitement back into dance. Dancer Zac Hammer could quite possibly be the most radiant of the ensemble. If you were able to catch any bit of Parsons three week season at the Joyce Theater you may have seen him dynamically dance one of the leads in “Remember Me” or show off his athletic buoyancy in “Caught,” which testifies to his talent, but what I’ve come to love Zac most for is his practicality, honesty and  joi de vivre. It’s unmatched and truly uplifting.

Below are a stream of clips, originally edited by Zac, from a Parsons Dance Improv Party hosted at Howell Binkley’s brownstone. An ode to the good ole’ days of salon-style events, dancers moved about the rooms to changing tunes on the radio in front of art patrons and friends– it was one of greatest dance moments of my life thus far…

1. What was the first creative moment you remember?

I remember putting on skits with my sister at a very young age, like 6 or 7 years old.  We had a very large room upstairs and would build sets out of the Fisher Price toys our parents bought us.  We would alternate between mini plays or dances, usually with a neighbor becoming reluctantly involved!  I remember getting so into them.  The setup was the fun part, it was how we played.

2. Where did you grow up and how did you wind up where you are now?

I grew up all over the midwest.  I was born in Hays, KS and a few months later my family moved to Oklahoma.  My dad worked/works for a petroleum company and so we were constanly moving- a new town about every two years.  It was very mind-opening to be thrown into new situations every few years.  Even though we didn’t leave the midwest, the people of Minnesota and Oklahoma are VERY different.  I wound up in New York because I wanted to dance and knew that it was one of a few places in the country where i could actually make a career out of it.

3. What performance, song, play, movie or other work of art had the biggest influence on you and why?

As strange as it sounds, the Nutcracker holds a special place in my heart.  When I was ten my grandma sent the NYCB version of the Nutcracker (starring McCauley Culken) to my sister and me as a present.  That same year my sister’s dance studio was staging their very first version of the Nutcracker.  I remember she would come home and show me the stuff she had learned in rehearsals.  I loved it and asked my parents if I could join her dance class so I could be in the Nutcracker.  She quit dancing two years later and I’m still dancing today.  I’ve had many favorite songs/ plays/ performances in my life but as far as influence, the Nutcracker takes the cake!

4. What is your ideal creative activity?

Using art as an educational tool.  Art nudges (or sometimes forces) us to step outside of our comfort zones and see the world on a different plane.  I think it’s important for children (and adults) to experience this discomfort every once in awhile.  It’s how we grow and it’s how we begin to understand eachother.

5. How do you begin your day?

With a huge cup of coffee and the Today show.

6. Have you ever had to make a choice between work and art? What did you choose, why, and what was the outcome?

Yes.  Many times.  Sometimes I chose art but most of the time, work.  I chose it because at the time it was either work or move back home.  I think the idea of the starving artist is incredibly romanticized and relevant to another era. In the 60′s and 70′s it worked.  Cost of living was lower, New York was a different place.  Maybe it works today, I’m just not cut out for it.  Took me a second to realize that about myself.

7. When you work do you prefer the process or the result?

Depends on the work.  Usually it’s the result.  I love to know that that I’ve worked hard on something and seen it through to the end.  Choreography is different for me.  It’s always changing in my head and I LOVE continuously playing around with it.  There, the process is the fun part and the result is usually something unexpected!