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Artist Statement

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   My artistic work explores contemporary dance, improvisation, the body’s anatomical systems, and the earth’s nature as source material for creating choreography and filmmaking. Devoid of a narrative, a flashy spectacle, glitz, or glamor, the shape and form of the body, its energy, weight, and momentum, and the unseen forces of space: gravity, its distal and proximal points, and its three-dimensional extent shapes solos, duets, trios, and large group dances. From large energetic movements that carve through space to gestural actions so intimate and small, I love revealing the dynamic range of motion and emotion the body possesses. The genesis of my work, whether it is choreography for the stage or a dance film for the screen, begins with an idea, a concept, an image, or a feeling. Whatever the seed of creativity is, it will flourish into a work led by my playful imagination, creativity, and intuition.

   

   Collaboration builds a sense of camaraderie and community and moves toward a common goal. It inspires me to create work alongside fellow artists. I invite dancers to generate movement material in my work frequently. I have collaborated with musicians who have enhanced and supported my choreography by composing original scores for my dances. I value these partnerships as creatively enriching and will continue to seek them out. 

 

   At the onset of every new work, I experience an intimate moment between my identity, the world around me, and the body I live in, where I have come from, where I have been, and who I am at that very moment. The connections inspire my creativity and weave into my artistic work. Whenever I am at a crossroads in the creative process, I pull my gaze inward and outward, sense and respond to the inner landscape of my body and the environment around me. The only way this continues to be a relevant medium for me is if I stay fluid in listening, sensing, and perceiving my body and the world around me as the root of knowledge and creativity. 

 

    I have an inner calling to move, dance, and be creative. The work I create, through choreography and film, nourishes my soul and, in exchange, offers audiences a renewed sense of the world and the body they live in. At its core, my endless desire to create art is summed up best in a quote by Maxine Greene: "Art offers life; it offers hope; it offers the prospect of discovery; it offers light."

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