artist statement
My values as an artist cannot be separated from my values as a human being. My involvement in the realms of art, science, health, healing, and humanity, have always been influenced by my interest in how bodies exist in space. As a student, dancer, bodyworker, collaborator, researcher, and dance maker, I take on a single identity using my body to explore my work. I have consistently found my body to be my biggest resource for any answer I may have about myself. Moving my body provides me with insight into how I relate to myself and others in my ever-changing environments both physically and emotionally.
As a maker, I create on my own body first, finding ways to allow my instinctual movement patterns to live happily, as well as in a disrupted state. I look to find ways to push past limitations set on me by external expectations and internal mental limitations. Whenever I move I am conducting movement research, considering how I am feeling and what my body is doing throughout the day. I grow increasingly aware of my strengths and weaknesses with each movement experience and work within ranges that I know for myself to be safe. Not falling into hyper mobility in my body or always relaying on my strength, but at the same time pushing my own boundaries and creating shapes in the body that may seem unnatural.
My research as a mover is in creating unique movement vocabularies for individual bodies and observing how they compare to one another, without judgement. I am interested to see how a variety of movements look and feel on the creating body, as well as how these movements need to be adapted in new bodies with different ranges and restrictions. I am always looking for new ways to experience movement in my body and for new ways to integrate movement into my everyday life. The movement generated for my work is uniquely me and feels natural in my body. As a movement facilitator I invite others to follow what feels good in their bodies. Movement and expression is so liberating and I have been working to cultivate authentic movement practices in my day to day life, as well as sharing movement with others.My body is my ongoing work, and through sharing the discoveries I make about my own body I hope to influence others to push past barriers placed on themselves and experience movement in their body in a new way.