Artist Statement

I create dances and films.

My raw materials are human beings,

a fact I don’t hide in my work.

We are complex beings that bring with us emotion, experience, and judgment.

The dancer, as medium, fluctuates moment to moment.

A new work unfolds for me out of my observations of the quotidian;

from the measured weaving of a busy cross-walk

to a toddler’s first fierce attempt to stand.

The mundane to the extraordinary,

layers of abstraction and metaphor develop

and choreographic ideas for the stage and screen emerge.

In the rehearsal process the dancers share in the creation of dance

by doing, thinking, and feeling largely on a democratic level with me.

Kinetic relationships are explored through the synthesis of

everyday pedestrian movement,

gesture, and contemporary dance technique;

yielding movement vocabularies that are at once personal and universal.

I create to evolve.

Investigating the complex interconnectedness of human relations

necessitates a collaborative work ethic.

I tread this landscape mindfully and respectfully,

trusting that one’s movement will illuminate

the thoughts/emotions/ideas which words so often allude.

Having come to the Arts as a dancer first,

it’s natural for me to honor and give voice to a dancer’s idiosyncrasies.

Together we ask questions, share our stories, research, work and rework,

until a cohesive whole emerges.

As a contemporary dance choreographer,

being communicative and engaging to audiences can be a challenge.

The art of abstraction is a fluid yet slippery endeavor.

The principle of cause and effect, essentially relationships,

is a guiding force in navigating this.

Identifying what happens and why it happened;

that cause is action

that makes something else happen.

The fake nudge or pretend fall is evidence of the idea of movement, not its actuality.

Actuality takes trust. Actuality takes time and presence to instill.

Falling together:
Stand facing your partner,

find a point of contact and pour your weight into each other

combining your center of balance.

Feel your tissue release and descend.

The amount of control and release we apply to the ongoing fall

is up to each individual. Every time.

The amount of control and release we apply

This is where my work lies, in empathy.

Responding by listening rather than by asserting.

The physical hand in hand with the intellectual,

collaboration helps harness a collective path forward.

A space for the individual to listen and respond,

a place where everyone is taken into consideration.