Tellxdance

Introduction: Artist Statement I choreograph dances because this is how I speak most vividly. I experience my authenticity as a human being when I move. My dancing body and choreographic mind and soaring spirit has and will continue to motivate my artistic journey, as I negotiate my existence in two conflicting worlds. One world exists on the stage—a place of grace, finesse, restraint and subtlety, the other is the bold reality of being a product of this world where factors such as ego, race, ethnicity, gender, age and sexuality makes one a target of persecution. In my dances I bring a sense of aggression in my attempts to address these issues that threaten individuals such as myself, while resisting categorization and asserting my voices as a part of a loud minority of young artists. My work is concerned with athleticism and the potential of the human body—exploring human form and capacity for deep physicality that conveys emotion, extremeness of bodyline articulation and groundedness. I endeavor to comment on Eurocentric conceptions of beauty by placing Africanist movement values on the classical and traditional modern dance forms of which I have been groomed in. Though my work is often formal in its investigation of pure movement and use of bodies in space, I hope to create work that is accessible to my audiences, both in vocabulary and subject matter. That accessibility must nonetheless be thought provoking—creating spaces for alternative ideas that challenge the conventions presented on traditional concert stage. Most recently, I have begun exploring the ability to affect the world in a greater way through dance—one that goes beyond simply providing and escape from life. My curiosity has been awakened to common injustices which, as a society, we have come to accept as a normal or a rites of passage. I feel compelled to attempt challenge these and other issues such as how people are denied certain privileges and information and are victimized because of their disposition despite extenuating circumstances. I am not sure if I can provide answers to these questions; however, I hope that in the process of questioning the dance, its purpose, achievements, short comings and contributions to society in which we present our art that I may arrive at deeper meaning in my work and inspire change or difference. Paying it forward