Process

 

My development process is highly collaborative and prioritizes support of all artists involved in the project. Each dance is formed through collective experimentation and discovery. I carefully consider the performer experience as I tailor each process to the work at hand and the specific artists involved. I believe an accepting, appreciative atmosphere is an essential element of a space where curiosity leads, embodied awareness is amplified, physical challenge is embraced, and unfamiliar vocabularies and connections are welcomed. To make work that surprises, you must be open to being surprised.

 

I never start creating a work with its scope or trajectory already determined. I begin with words and images and questions that intrigue me and allow those elements to coalesce and explain themselves through enactment and exploration. Unexpected ideas arise from this process and illuminate new avenues of research. Sometimes those new research pathways lead to completely different terrain and the world of the dance shifts. Or I see what is ahead, intuitively know it is for a future project, and move in other directions with the intention to return later.