Dancer Shura Baryshnikov still dancing to her own beat

She is the daughter of one of world’s most famous dancers and an Oscar/ Emmy/Golden Globe/Tony winning actress.

So naturally, as a teen, Shura Baryshnikov didn’t want to be either a dancer or an actor.

And, perhaps naturally, she grew to become both.

Today, the daughter of legendary ballet dancer and Kennedy Center Honoree Mikhail Baryshnikov and actress Jessica Lange (whom I loved in FX’s “Feud,” by the way) is a freelance dancer, choreographer and associate professor at Brown University, among other distinctions.

“My parents took a hands-off approach; there was no pressure to follow in their footsteps,” Baryshnikov told me.

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“I spent a lot of time trying to avoid [a career in the arts] and then ended up getting pulled back into performing arts,” she said with a chuckle.

Let me give you fair warning: dancers and/or dance fans, you might want to call the Z very soon.

Baryshnikov is giving a free talk — yup, $0 — at New Bedford’s Zeiterion Theatre Oct. 17.

Cafe tables will be set up on the Z stage for an intimate setting, and your first glass of wine is on the house.

Share the stage with Baryshnikov as she discusses dance, movement, and her creative process. The audience will be capped at 125 people; call ahead or register online.

This is beyond cool. It’s like taking a free Brown class. With wine!

Baryshnikov is the head of physical theatre for the Brown/Trinity Rep MFA programs in the department of theatre arts and performance studies at Brown University, and associate professor of the practice, theatre arts and performance studies, Brown University.

Aside from teaching, the interdisciplinary movement artist works broadly as a dancer, actor, improviser, movement designer, and somatic movement educator. As a freelance dancer, she has performed with many groups, and other projects have shown nationally and internationally. She’s worked in everything from contact improv to Shakespeare to Oscar Wilde’s “Salome.”

She’s also worked as a choreographer and movement consultant Trinity Repertory Company, The Wilbury Theatre Group, Bridge Repertory Theater, and others, and taught movement at MIT among other colleges.

She is a co-founding artistic director of Providence-based Doppelgänger Dance Collective, and a founding member of the Contact Improvisation performance ensemble setGo.

Fittingly, for someone who wears so many hats, the name of her Z talk is “Jack of All Trades, Master of None.”

And her talk, I can say from our interview, looks to be wildly thought-provoking, especially for dance fans.

“I’m interested in talking about a range of things,” Baryshnikov said. “Artists might think of specialization as an ultimate goal or objective — that we need to get good at one thing. I push back against that, as someone in the performance arts who hasn’t necessarily specialized.”

She later said: “I have a position at Brown that allows me to interact with artists across disciplines, and I get an opportunity to think about how we’re approaching our performance through awareness of our bodies,” she said. “We’re doing the same thing as painters: we’re organizing space.”

Love that.

The talk is part of the Zeiterion’s Dance Barre series, created to inspire dance fans, dancers, choreographers, and those curious about the creative process. It’s part of the Z’s larger Dance Discovery Series, which includes cultural road trips and performances.

Born in 1981, Aleksandra Lange "Shura" Baryshnikov “grew up all over,” she told me, including Minnesota.

Her father, 70, whose name is synonymous with ballet, also earned a 1977 Golden Globe nod for acting in “The Turning Point” among dozens of honors.

Her mother, 69, has a resume a mile long — including iconic movies “King Kong,” “Tootsie,” “Cape Fear.” She was in Bob Dylan’s 2003 film “Masked and Anonymous,” and appears on this coming season of FX’s “American Horror Story.”

Shura has five half-siblings, including actress Anna Baryshnikov, (“Manchester by the Sea.”)

As a little girl, Shura took dance lessons, but gave them up at age 13 for other sports, including track and field hockey.

“I trained classically before 13, then took steps away from it, played sports, pursued other interests, and came back around as a young adult and danced through college, though not with the intention” of becoming a professional, she said.

What was it like having famous parents?

“I didn’t really think about it” growing up, she said.

Now, “I respect them deeply as artists; I’ll call on them for advice. I value their feedback, they’re an extraordinary resource for me, but I don’t necessarily study their work in-depth.”

While she didn’t feel any pressure to dance or act, her parents were sources of inspiration.

“My parents are hugely inspiring individuals. It’s harder for children to see their parents from a distance. They’re just my parents. I recognize the talented people they are — more and more so. The way we lived was inspiring; we were always surrounded by creative people. It’s part of the fabric of who I am whether conscious of it or not,” she said.

But while “I’m definitely shaped by being in a creative family, I’ve taken my own path — no two artists’ paths are same. The kind of work I do is very different than what they do.”

Beautifully said.

Baryshnikov attended Marlboro College in Vermont, where she studied American studies and women’s studies.

Although she originally “went thinking I’d study photography and international relations. I originally wanted to be a street photographer. But I ended up studying the history of the American family and social messages about motherhood and mothering. My life situation took me on a different path.”

She moved to Rhode Island “because my then-husband came to go to Brown. My daughter was 7 months old. I’ve never left,” said Baryshnikov, who now has two daughters.

“Rhode Island happened to me; I didn’t choose it. My parenting situation necessitated that I stay. And Rhode Island has become an incubator for my projects — Brown and Trinity have become my creative home.”

It was in Providence, in her late 20s, that she realized “I wanted to share my love of movement with other people.”

She sees a clear connection between her passion for photography and choreography.

“I was always interested in visual arts — photography, painting, drawing and design,” she said.

Growing up, "I imagined myself more as a maker of images, which still informs everything I do. The way the photographer frames an images is the way I am an improviser in space.”

Like I said, this looks to be fascinating.

Hear more from Baryshnikov Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. Advance registration strongly suggested. Reserve here: https://zeiterion.org/dance-barre-shura-baryshnikov/

Lauren Daley is a freelance writer and Spotlight music columnist. Contact her at ldaley33@gmail.com. Follow her at https://www.facebook.com/daley.writer She tweets @laurendaley1.