How I came to know dance?
As a child I loved the feeling of moving. I danced before I understood dance. I had my first introduction in elementary school when the Louisville Ballet Company performed in my school. I was mesmerized. I had never seen anything like it. I was moved. In the meanwhile, I watched and danced along with the dancers of Lawrence Welk, American Bandstand, Soul Train, and Dance Fever. My activities were always movement-based cheerleading and gymnastics. I sang in the choir during middle school and was suppose to audition for voice at the Youth Performing Arts School (YPAS). However, there was a delay with opening the school for a year due to funding. A year later, my brother and I auditioned for YPAS. I was fifteen years old and a sophomore. I auditioned for dance and drama, even though I had no formal dance training. I was accepted and thus my dance journey began. Dance was the one area of my life that I felt confidant and at home. I experimented with choreography and self-expression immediately even though I was a novice. I would find an empty studio, turn the lights down low, producing ambiance, as I began to explore movement, combinations and create mini-dances with my limited dance vocabulary.
Tell us your dance background and the teachers you worked with.
Originally from Louisville, Kentucky, I began my dance training at the Youth Performing Arts High School under the direction of David X. Thurmond, as well as at the University of Louisville Dance Academy and the Louisville Ballet. I furthered my dance studies at Point Park College and University of Louisville, performing with the dance ensemble Sphere I, and summer programs at Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, Katherine Dunham Dance Company, and Marygrove College. I had the opportunity to train under notable teachers such as Jeraldyne Blunden, Kevin Ward, Jon Rodriguez, James Truitte, Igal Perry, Bess Saylor Imber, Bessie Schonberg, members of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Daniel Nagrin, Alvin McDuffie, Ellen Kogan, Katherine Dunham Dance Company, and many more.
My roots was firmly planted in Dayton, when I became a principal dancer with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company in 1983 – 1996, appearing in most of DCDC’s repertory including feature roles in Ulysses Dove’s Vespers and Urban Folkdance, Eleo Pomare’s Las Desenamoradas, Doug Varone’s Home, Alvin Ailey’s Streams, and Donald Byrd’s Dark Joy and Bamm. During my tenure Founder Jeraldyne Blunden, encouraged, supported, and nurtured my desire and progression as a choreographer. I became resident choreographer for the company’s training ensemble, DCDC2.
Upon retiring from the stage, I accepted the position of Director DCDC2 in 2000 – 2014, which provided me the opportunity to use the knowledge, training, and artistic success I received from Jerladyne Blunden’s mentorship.
I created original works for the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and DCDC2, Arts from Every Angle, University of Dayton Dance Ensemble, Quagmire Dance Company, SMAG Dance Collective, Stivers School for the Arts, Muse Machine’s production of Only Heaven, the Dayton Opera’s production of Aida, Sante Fe College, and Denison University.
It has never been about becoming famous for me. Performing and choreographing was about speaking loudly, yet not out loud. Through movement I can confess my secrets, my state of mind, state my opinions, and have a conversation with others without uttering a single word. I’m not seeking to impress. I just want to express.
Where does my inspiration come from?
My process is like journaling. You open the book, place the pen onto the blank page and begin to write. You simply begin; step aside and let it speak. Then it comes from a place of truth. As I begin to dialogue to the dance artists about the movement or imagery the meaning of the work begins to unfold and define itself. Then it reveals itself in its purest, uncluttered, and non-judgmental form. Choreographer Ohad Nahrin said it best, “Choreographing is having the privilege to be clear and articulate without the need to explain.”
What dancers inspire you the most?
Dance artists first are people. People communicate and express themselves on a daily basis. Therefore, I am inspired by those artists that communicate with honesty and humanness. It is not a dancer I am seeking, rather a person that dialogues with their body as their voice. They allow you to see their vulnerabilities, their individuality, and themselves. Additionally, they are not afraid of improvisation, interpretation, exploration, and open to my choreographic process. Even though technique is important, it is equally important the dancer is not solely dependent upon it impeding their ability to contort (twist, alter or warp) a movement. I enjoy fearless dancers who are not afraid to fail or make a mistake, because out the flaws, beauty can happen. When I no longer see the body moving, but the soul speaking I am inspired and completely engaged.
How do you get started and what motivates you to go in your dance direction?
The motivation varies. Sometimes it is a piece of music that awakens an emotion in me typically centered on fulfilled or unrequited love, pain or worship. Other times it is an image I’ve seen; my phrase or a dancer’s phrase triggers the process to begin. I seek to ignite the audience’s senses, arouse their emotions, and hopefully connect on some level.
What other art forms do you incorporate into your work?
I have used technology and spoken word a few times, not much. I am more about the physical simplicity of the movement as the channel of communication.
Tell us about your dance style and classes you teach?
I have never felt compelled to teach technique classes. My choreographic movement vocabulary is a potpourri of dance genres ranging from classical to modern dance elements coupled with a mix of pedestrian like movement and gestures. In addition, a dose of lyrical, yet with a weighted quality, organic and heavy laden with arch release, as well as all parts of the body from the finger tips to the toes are engaged.
Why did you want to work with Women and Dance in Dayton, Ohio?
It is an honor to be asked to participate in Women in Dance providing me a platform in which to share my experience and journey with other artists or spectators. Art is about dialoguing, sharing, and reciprocating; also, to inspire other dancers seeking to express themselves beyond the means of being the instrument for choreographers, to becoming the choreographer themselves.
Could you tell us what dance means to you as a woman and as a part of the Dayton Dance Community?
First of all, I don’t label, define or restrict myself by saying I am a female choreographer. I am a choreographer that speaks from my experience and point of view. I am not on the level of Bebe Miller; Jawole Willa Jo Zollar or Pina Bausch, whom I admire. However, my creative voice and any creative voices are valid. You never know who may connect to your work or be affected by it; whether it has a message, a viewpoint, or is simply moving by the beauty of the dancer or the movement itself, its structure, its musicality or craftsmanship. Sometimes it just makes sense to move for no reason at all, allow the choreography to take on a life of its own. For me it’s not about making complicated, sophisticated, cerebral, political and social commentaries technical compositions or masterpieces. I just want people to feel.
The themes that most fascinate me are L-O-V-E and worship. I know it is such a cliché, but I find the imagery of love, the emotion to be addictive. I’m fascinated by its imagery, beauty, simplicity and complexity. Worshiping and praising the Lord through dance is uplifting and deepens my spirituality and I want to share that with others.
We, as women, are told we are longwinded when we speak. However, through dance I can speak uninterrupted. I create from a spectator perspective; a voyeur, the same role as the audience. I view my work as if though I didn’t compose it. If it speaks to me then it is successful. I don’t concern myself with whether or not anyone will like it or not. You feel about it what you feel. It is not created solely as entertainment. It is not meant for everyone. I had something to say and then I shared it. When there is a need to speak, I speak. When it isn’t I remain silent.
I recently realized I fell in love with music, before I fell in love with movement. I grew up with a house filled with music, energy and imagery. Without realizing it, art was in surround sight and sound. Dance embodies the soul speaking, the heaven’s singing, and the heart feeling, expressing itself, its emotions, and life situations. Creating is therapeutic and brings meaning to my life.
How do you feel about your dance on a spiritual level?
I always speak about dance from a place of purity, honesty, and spirituality, rather than ego. This brings about the connection between you, the audience, and the art. When dance resonates beyond the surface it is healing to the soul. Whether stepping onto the stage as a performer or creating, I step aside and ask God to move and speak through my body by way of my soul.
womenanddance 