This month felt big in terms of re-centering. I decided to go to graduate school next year. I decided to transition out of a position I’ve been in for almost a decade. I decided to move. I helped a young choreographer film her first dance work. I executed a large scale live event (something I used to do in a past life, and still love!). I started a new collaboration with four other artists. It’s like I took time this month to say “what are the things that need to be part of my world, and what are the things that don’t”? Interestingly enough, I was reminded by a former student of something I once wrote in their sketchbook: “Respect yourself enough to leave behind anything that no longer grows you, serves you, or makes you happy”. This month - that’s what it’s all about.
January 2021 Update
January came and went so quickly I hardly noticed it. Still, somehow it felt like a yawn - like a rest - it was the longest period of time I’ve spent “not working” in years. The work I was doing felt differently motivated. I reset an old piece of choreography, I did an impromptu shoot with a new collaborative group - nothing that felt like someone was weighing on me. The new year also brought with it a renewed commitment to daily improvisation, and a vaccination! As a teacher in New York State, I was lucky enough to become fully vaccinated early on, which will make way for some travel work in the near future.
December 2020 Update
While hunkered down in my little campus pod, I welcomed BalletCollective to the studio, this time for something quite different than their typical residency period. Troy Schumacher was creating an immersive Nutcracker nearby at the Wethersfield estate. Our collaboration extended itself to, you guessed it, a film project. The initial plan was to create a single take, audience point of view film, but that quickly developed into a full blown Twitch stream, and then days later a film grossing 17k+ views.
November 2020 Update
Under a blue moon, at the very start of the month, I gathered again with Erick Hawkins Dance Company as part of their fall residency to film their progress on re-creating Stephen Acrobat. I’ve worked with these artists in so many dimensions before, but I’m enjoying my time settling into this role as film director more and more often.
The culmination of three months of work, I also choreographed, staged and filmed 10 dance and aerial silks pieces for the Millbrook School Fall Dance & Circus Arts Concert. This project was an attempt to gift the students a sense of performance after their months of training. It was a big haul for me to play teacher, choreographer, director, rehearsal director, costumer, cheerleader, and film-director, but we got through - and so worth it.
October 2020 Update
Hem Borromeo is a photographer I’ve worked with probably dozens of times at this point. It’s a unique collaboration, one where I get to move and play and have some say as the subject. When Hem reached out to me about a shoot, though, it had been months and months since I’d been the subject of the camera, and of course I’m still feeling like I can’t move freely, with any authenticity, or improvise at all. The shoot didn’t feel great, if I’m honest. My body felt ache-y and rusty and my mind felt like these ideas were foreign. However, it felt like a good step in the right direction, and I was happy to make that step with another artist whom I trust.
September 2020 Update
It’s a common theme that this particular month should signify fresh starts. Change of the seasons, transitions back to school, you name it. And we did, we did that. We did all of that.
With quite strict protocols surrounding Covid-19, the school I’m affiliated with re-opened. It was a unique experience from a mental health and anxiety perspective. I also tried to start improvising more regularly again, but that’s still not coming easily. I suspect, due to the intense mental health affiliations to Covid-19. I will say that being back in a classroom (as unique an experience as that is right now) with students feels so refreshing.
I also managed to sneak away from campus. The stars aligned for a film shoot with a dancer friend of mine set in the frame of a brand new dream home on a flower farm nestled in between two mountains. Outdoor, socially distant and in masks, he moved and moved and I filmed and filmed and simultaneously we healed a little by making some art.
August 2020 Update
This month’s film set took me to a lighthouse in the middle of the Hudson River, off the coast of bustling Hudson, NY. Opera felt foreign, but capturing movement did not. Working with a former student as the choreographer brought so many feelings of validation. What a gift.
I also participated as film director in bringing a 31 year old Choreographer’s Showcase to life in a new way. That project was energetically draining for so many reasons, which have taken significant time in unravelling - time I’m privileged to have.
This is also the season for back-to-school, which doesn’t quite feel the same with COVID-19. I’m re-working the studio spaces, I’m redesigning curriculum, and I’m having to rethink what and why I teach what and how I do. What a beautiful opportunity to uplift and upgrade.
July 2020 Update
It felt good to soak up the sun this month. I spent alot of time indoors in post production for recent video work, and alot of time outdoors just trying to breathe in deeply.
I’m loving the transition into more and more film work. It feels natural, and like a new form of expression. I’m grateful for that channel given my primary form of expression - movement - has felt hard to access recently.
In July I concluded 1 year of reading/learning predominantly from BIPOC. I felt armed for conversations surrounding police brutality, and dug in deep for more learning, unlearning, and direct action.
June 2020 Update
Being home in New York has reminded me of the many MANY blessings, privileges and luxuries I enjoy here. Having space to move freely, to train and to be truly alone is such a stark difference from the last three months, and I’m savoring these opportunities a little more. I’m very aware of the privilege it is to live alone and maintain health, particularly during this pandemic.
At the end of the month I made the complicated decision to carefully travel into New Orleans to film dance pieces for a virtual concert for The Studio NOLA. It rained alot, which made a few pieces a little extra exciting - like - filming knee deep in a swamp exciting. I’ll be in post-production for that project for a while, but I can’t wait to share some of the finished product with you.
June always feels a little special given it is my birth month. This year was a big one! Celebrating didn’t exactly feel appropriate, so I did so while protesting with 2000 other citizens in Kingston. We have alot of work to do!
Source: https://vimeo.com/443519072
May 2020 Update
The California sun feels as though it’s beating down just a little stronger as May has unfolded. I have the privilege to still be working (and almost more than usual) in this particularly digital time. Working with students in online choreography classes I curated for studios across the country has been a weird but welcome breath. They are feeling as awkward as I am behind this screen, but neither of us can hide the warmth of seeing a familiar face on the other side.
I’ve been struggling to find space & time to move during my time in my California home. It’s a challenge, and it’s hard to tell whether that’s a somatic effect of the global pandemic, or a result of lacking solitude. In the moments I do find myself improvising, there’s a distinctive aesthetic of pawing after something...
I’m flying back to New York at the end of this month. In addition to the draw for quiet solitude, I’m eager to work in collaboration with a few of my graduating seniors. I’ll (socially distant) capture film footage and craft “senior films” in place of what would have been their senior solos - a humble gift in attempt towards closure for these hard-working, brilliantly eager young humans. I can’t wait to show you what we come up with!
Systole
In collaboration with Katherine Duke, Shay Ishii Dance Company & Texas State University
February, 2020
I traveled to Austin, TX for a dual-purpose trip. The main goal was to be the original cast member of a resetting of Alluvial Bed, a work by Katherine Duke on Texas State University dance faculty. There’s a moment on stage in this piece when I feel more myself than ever before.
The second goal of the trip was to act as videographer for the production. What a joy to be recognized, amidst all my toil & play in video, as someone who could accurately capture a production.
Please click here for a sample of a little something I put together. You should note, the dancers weren’t in costume and several cast members are missing.
Jane & Grace
Red Hook, NY - August, 2019
Jane & Grace have a unique bond. There’s alot of history there. There’s a lot of water under their bridge. It’s a sturdy bridge.
Jane is a budding choreographer, and both humans move magically together. When they asked if I’d film a new duet for them, it was a pleasure to oblige. They have both been students of mine before Grace went off to study dance at Marymount Manhattan. Jane will follow and start her collegiate dance studies next year.
Sharing space with them, even if behind the camera, makes me feel a little more full than I was before. If you’d like to see the full video, you can click here.
Pulse
Housatonic, MA - July-August 2019
Every summer I have the distinct opportunity of working with any number of dance studios on their summer intensives and summer dance camps! Sometimes, I even help studios design their programming, putting them in touch with the right artists and curating the themes, key take-aways, and final products.
Last summer I worked with Berkshire Pulse students for 2 weeks, and taught contemporary technique. We culminated the intensive with a film shoot after building a piece based on sensation.
I love teaching students how to feel things while they’re moving. It’s important to me as a performer and choreographer that the audience have a memorable experience, and that starts with the mover. If you don’t feel something - neither will they!