Artist's Statement
My main goal as a choreographer is to make dance that is both art and entertainment. I aim to expand the dance audience by producing work that is short and attention grabbing, while challenging the viewer to shift his/her perspective. I often use pop culture and referential music as tools to deconstruct social issues through the use of irony, or to represent the causes and effects of human relationships.
My movement vocabulary is fully physical, and often lives in the world of contrast: subtle/over-the-top, flowing/sharp, delicate/forceful, released/bound. This creates a sense of urgency that is emotionally sourced and felt, having the characteristic of anxious rebound. My movement has an impulsive quality that is always rebelling against itself, like something that coils too much one way only to explode in the opposite direction. The breath initiates extreme twisting, reaching, falling, dropping, bouncing, swinging, and flying amidst a subtle array of stillness and gesture.
I often use the medium of video to communicate the language of contemporary dance. I am fascinated with the idea of music videos as well as commercials due to their ability to be short and to sell a product. I believe that contemporary dance can be "sold" without "selling out" by luring the audience in with a visceral sense of time and space while keeping the integrity of the art form.
I have an interest in exploring various types of music in my dances. Music is what inspires me to dance, and often I will begin with music as stimulation for movement. In my thesis project titled Fun House, I began with the music of Liz Phair to create seed material. Later, I changed the music entirely, using Peggy Lee and Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, to create an ironic tone. Music is the basis for my work. It is what propels me through space.
My choreography is a first-half-closer kind of work. I strive to create a bang with a heavy twist.
