Artist Statement

Collaboration

 The creative process is complex and, at times, quite mysterious. However, within the mystery, a unique type of logic emerges. This logic shifts as different projects arise, bodies inhabit the space, and varying realities seep in. As a dance artist, I am fascinated by the ways that multiple layers are peeled away, ultimately revealing the true destination…or at least a path towards a destination. The choreographic process is an individualized, yet highly collaborative journey. I am interested in examining how the creative process connects to the development of self/bodily voice and how the experience of collaborating reveals and reflects the relationship to self, other, and community. Shifting between educator, choreographer, and performer involves a practice of empathy and self-evaluation coupled with the realization that learning and growth are deeply connected to a willingness to courageously step into the unknown. 

Curiosity/Lived Experience 

There is a continuous loop that exists between my creative scholarship and pedagogy as one area influences and spirals around the other. The strategies I employ to create a learning environment of possibility and curiosity in movement practice informs my choreographic process. As the dancers realize that reflection, dialogue, movement preferences and sharing are encouraged, they recognize that their personal uniqueness is celebrated. I believe that as dancers perceive their voices as integral to the process, they begin to take more ownership of the work. This ownership is a crucial step to understanding the power that resides in risk-taking and vulnerability, two key factors in developing artistry and an awareness of the possibilities of the functional and expressive spectrum of movement. This spectrum offers many questions to consider and at this point in my artistic journey, I am examining questions pertaining to the lived experience of the dancer. What does it mean to be honest as a performer? How does one invite others into an internal kinesthetic experience and what does that invitation feel like? Do the answers reside in the body? Do the answers reside in perception and kinesthetic empathy? How do we discover connection and empathy in abstraction? What draws people to watch dance and make meaning out of what they witness? How do we make meaning out of improvisational experiences? What do we derive from improvisation and how do we make sense of it? Ultimately, these questions speak to the transformational capacities of movement arts and education. 

Voice 

While my self/bodily voice continues to evolve, I cherish the limitless landscape of movement and the rush of kinesthetic pleasure. I embrace the virtuosity of subtlety, the nuances of dynamic shifts, and the endless possibilities of gesture. My work continues to reveal an eclectic blend of stylistic ideas as I juxtapose athleticism with sensuality, examine questions about pedestrian movement and minimalism, and intertwine fluidity with linear clarity. The resulting aesthetic is reflective of a foundation in classicism intersecting with my ever-evolving interests in post(post)-modernism and somatic practices. 

"You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." Maya Angelou