PHOTOS BY SCOTT SHAW
I want to take spaces and gestures we often look past and turn them into tiny spectacles, rife with possibilities and questions. In my work quotidian movement imbued with theatrical presence results in worlds tethered to our own, yet populated by mysterious actions and unexpected splendor.
As an artist who works across and in-between the disciplines of theater, dance and somatic practices I carry with me a lifelong training in watching widely. Over time I have developed an innate understanding of how the minute gestural details of movements can shift the entire affect of an action. As someone who works with diverse casts of women that are often interracial, international and intergenerational; my work not only reveals the surprising magic of the mundane but also a diverse array of bodies, histories and experiences all able to evidence a startling magnificence.
My process involves highly improvisational research that is eventually channeled into a hyper-specific directorial process. My research includes medical textbooks, burlesque performances, “B” movies, Werner Herzog documentaries, and a consistent improvisation practice in which my body enters a dialogue with these gathered images and ideas. As I sort through this source material “quoted” gestures become displaced, unfamiliar and commanding. My direction is specific and attuned to the slight variables in action that shift meaning. Small feats like moving a chair or sliding down a wall are performed with a degree of detail and attention which make the actions larger through space and time. These task based movements form chains of action that convey an urgency and tension which often erupt into unexpected visual punchlines or dissipate into surreal meditations.
The above photos are from:
piece.piece
performed at the Gibney Dance Center
9/9-12, 2015
Choreographer: Johanna S Meyer
Assistants: Angelica Angulo Soledad, Adi Eytan
Sound designer: Jeff Zahos
Lighting Designer: Scott Bowman
Dramaturgy: Andi Stover
Performers:
Jennifer Allen
Angelica Angulo Soledad
Emily Bock
Angie Pittman
Hadley Smith
Lailye Weidma
To view a video of piece.piece, click here.