There are many reactions to the name Cats Paying Dues – ranging from “Say that again?” to “Nice one,” accompanied by either a look of confusion or a knowing grin. Often times the hearing of the name is followed by the probing questions, “what made you choose that?” “what does it mean?” or “why did you pick that name?”
Well, this is why:
There are a number of exercises to finding names – expecting parents are well familiar with these, as are entrepreneurs – and somewhere in the stack of boxes there exists a piece of paper that was used in one such exercise. While searching for a name, the founding members of CPD knew that it had to be hip and also evoke the personal intention they shared as students of the craft. They also looked for words that included at least some of their initials (AN, NY, MD). These are the words that eventually surfaced.
Cats – To be a Cat in the jazz world is to be on the inside, to be in the know, to be hip to the happenings. Although no one really uses the complete vernacular including cats and kittens anymore, the term ‘cat’ has indeed survived in the depths of the verbal culture of jazz musicians. The founding members of CPD had an affinity for the term, having been on the scene and around many of the masters for years before getting together. Thankfully, the company itself has continued to be an entryway to the depths of the craft, creating cats through the experience.
Paying Dues – From the very beginning the old cats would say to the younger generation, “You’ve got to pay your dues.” Henry LeTang once warned Andrew about artists who had risen to notoriety without having paid such dues, and their inability to sustain their craftwork, let alone their career. The phrase was a cornerstone of many conversations: a generation of young dancers not knowing that paying dues was part of the process; the lack of venues in which dues could be paid; the lack of mentors to guide dancers through the process of paying their dues. All these frustrations centered around the theme of paying one’s dues. So it was that CPD would become a place that dancers who wanted to pay their dues would be drawn to. The rehearsal room and the stage would be literal spaces for such work, and the company family provide dancers with the guidance needed throughout the process.
And so the idea that was formed at a kitchen table in Harlem now had a name.
Leave a Reply