Portfolio

    My favorite thing about dance is experiencing a piece for the very first time and being fully engulfed in the reality the dancers move through. The choreographer cultivates this environment after spending intimate time with the development of the art and allows the different stages of the process to be stripped away in order to provide the audience with the most potent, visceral, honest version of what the art is speaking forward. My greatest frustration about dance as a choreographer is the fact that I will never get to experience this unbiased, first impression of my own work. Yet, this allows me to be constantly curious and open to the dialogue that comes after with others. By having a deep appreciation and understanding of the importance of what the process brings, I share generously from the initial idea to the rehearsal process to the moment it is shared publicly.

     

     While I am following a long legacy of artists who have asked the big questions, broken the ground, and paved the way for me to be where I am. And yet, I am the only human who has lived my life at this time in the universe. There is something so specific to my experience that makes me worthy of exploring the body-mind connection unique to me and how to share that with empathy to others. While building off human experience may be overdone or narcissistic, it is the most honest and definite experience to draw from. So when describing my work, I would explain it as physically investigating the different versions of connection. With the use of gestural work, internal movement, as well as explosive athletic work, I construct movement to explain the endless connections with oneself, immediate others, and the Spirit. I lean heavily on the way I naturally envision many if not all details of a project at one time as if it miraculously was sent to me. Each piece that has come to fruition has been through my imagination that usually contains most of the concept, music, costume, props, lights, location (stage or site-specific), live or filmed, and movement qualities. What comes next is studio time with the movers who are encouraged to bring their own histories to build a unique version of the original inspiration. When the work speaks loud and clear I follow, when there is quiet I pursue with a methodical approach and stay open to changes in concept or quality. I often build off an initial gestural phrase that feels concentrated on what needs to be spoken. I then dilute by stretching, rearranging, and interacting with negative space.

   

    I believe I am in constant collaboration with the art and the more I lean into its lead, the more I am able to tap into the core of why I build, which is to formulate thoughts that would never be able to be expressed with words. The body speaks a language that is so honest and vulnerable. Those are the qualities I fight for within my personal life, relationships, and faith. If I allow my body to process through movement, I am able to feel more in tune with my spirit and clear the clutter in my mind. Instead of running away from my imperfect humanness, I want to consciously choose the uncomfortable and make honest work. Whether it finds worth in this world of critics or not, I simply choose to keep my work in a posture of openness.