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My creative research focuses on gender as a performance model, the way gender is constructed and ways in which we perform our identity every day. I investigate how dancers reveal their gender identity onstage and how dance can be a tool to shift the social paradigm. I build on Goffman’s premise, which defines performance as a multilayered process beginning with our unique expression of identity in everyday life. When we perform on stage can we striping away layers to reveal ourselves or when do we strategically add layers as a protective mask?

 

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Dancers with whom I collaborate are asked to explore their physical range and embody movement with a sense of authenticity. I am most eager to work with those who explore the subtleties of intention and detailed movement while committing to full-bodied, high-energy work. I also seek out performers who can embody movement with a sense of verisimilitude. I ask dancers to maximize their use of breath in an effort to ground their movement and maintain musicality. Efficient movement that originates in the core is fundamental to my movement vocabulary. In my choreographic process, I develop a dance language through improvisational movement research and often invite my dancers to participate in guided improvisation. By inviting performers to collaborate in devising material and provide feedback, I am able to examine my choreographic idea from multiple perspectives, which simultaneously clarifies and complicates my process.

 

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I seek out opportunities to collaborate with non-dance artists and experts from non-arts fields. Through multidisciplinary collaboration with other creative individuals, I bring together a unique combination of talented individuals who increase the artistry of the whole through their collective contributions. In the past I have collaborated with fellow artists - musicians, poets, visual artists, and actors - as well as a geneticist, sociologists, a book binder, and museum curators to integrate our fields of study.

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I believe dance is an experiential art form most fully realized through an integration of theory and practice. When viewing, performing, creating, or teaching dance I encourage open-minded engagement and critical thinking. I take a multivalent approach to dance education in which diverse of view are explored and expanded upon in a contemporary context. I have developed my teaching and creative research philosophies based on my experience working for over a decade as a performer, choreographer and teacher.