Eisenberg’s ‘Shale’

“Shale is layered rock. It has gifts of fossils, energy and oil. Transformation is for me what life is all about,” says Los Angeles-based choreographer-dancer Mary Jane Eisenberg of her newest, first theater-in-the-round piece, “Shale and Other Transformations.” A work for Eisenberg and four other dancers, it plays at Highways in Santa Monica, Wednesday through Saturday.

“If you knew that my old company was called Shale , you could say it’s about the old company and about change,” she says.

The metamorphosis seen in “Shale” is more than a shift in name. The independent, 38-year-old Eisenberg has revolutionized her attitude. “I had this vision of my life being, not intentionally, disconnected further and further from everybody.”

Noted for her angular, aggressive dance style, Eisenberg--one of 12 women who will receive the Vesta awards from the Women’s Building for work in her field on Oct. 22--now approaches dance with more fluidity, “more connectedness to my life, surroundings and to other people,” she says.

Part of that connection for Eisenberg is her recent admission into the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women. “It’s a huge challenge. We’re working in video and, although it’s your idea and you have the final say, it’s more of a collaborative effort than I’m used to,” says Eisenberg, “but a logical, learning progression for me.”

Although her untitled video project is in the conceptual stage, she admits her method of creating dance since joining the AFI project has acquired a camera-like quality.

“Although I don’t think it’s a direct influence, this is the first time I’ve ever choreographed a dance out of sequence, and I tend to want to work on a project-by-project basis rather than in the confines of a company,” she concedes. “The other day I was mulling over the jumble of ‘Shale’ sections in my mind. I was thinking, ‘What am I going to CUT TO after the circle section?’ ” she laughs. “I stopped myself and realized that my mind has started to shift.”