Artist Statement
Pelvis drops, foot shoots out, torso undulates, arm flicks. She shifts her weight to my back—soft bodies meet hard floor in a controlled descent. He curiously taps my shoulder, I flip my head around in question, chestnut curls slicing the air. My sister breaks the news—arms, chests, collarbones, hearts embrace in a violent hug, holding each other forever.
My work explores a myriad of relationships: the architectural relationship of bodies in space, interpersonal connections between one human and another, and the relationship between human and natural environment. I aim to draw out the individual idiosyncrasies of the dancers with whom I work and savor the unpredictability that occurs when they bring their full person—quirks, accidents, absurdities, histories, feelings—to the creative process. Treading along the boundaries of dance and “life”, I seek to bring this humanness to the fore, and watch in excitement as an emerging narrative unfolds alongside a developing physical landscape.
In my film and site-specific work, I ask: How does our surrounding landscape influence, become embedded within, and manifest itself through our bodies? What histories do our bodies carry from the places we have lived and loved, and how do these physical histories help us realize our full selves, as we simultaneously discover a connection to place?
There is an undercurrent of “play” that buzzes throughout my life: as an artist, teacher, and human. In my life, play manifests as curiosity, adventure, and risk. Sometimes this occurs in the dance studio, at other times, zooming down a rugged mountain on a bike—but either way, play is what fuels me, and in effect, my work. Play is the exploration that allows me to arrive at the idea I want to research more deeply, the piece I want to make, the relationships I hope to build with my collaborators. Play is the space that conjures ideas and gives me permission to fail.
As such, play and improvisation are key components of my work and creative process. I relish the risk-taking involved both in performing improvisation and utilizing it in the creative process; improvisation is a catalyst for deeper discovery and a pathway to greater awareness of self, others, and the present moment. I allow chance happenings to guide my choices, and seek to capture instantaneous and uncalculated decisions, both from my collaborators and myself.
I strive to invite both the inexperienced art patron and professional artist alike into my work by building access points without diluting artistry. I hope to bring joy and a sense of connection to those with whom I work, as well as to those who view my work. I hope to provide both an escape from life and a deeper dive into life through the offering of alternate perspectives and lenses. At the root, I hope to produce evocative and aesthetically stimulating work that resonates deep in the viscera, transporting both performer and viewer into distinct worlds of memory, sensation, imagination, and simultaneously, deeper into the present.
