My choreographies are influenced by my research into the effects of imposing sociological structures such as structural functionalism, interdependence & psychological manipulation on myself, my choreography and the audience. I am interested in the effects of control, constraint, illusion, and perception, as they appear in a society that is deemed to be free.
Currently, my work focuses on a primal movement aesthetic, exploring the power of the female body through a state of nature which is neither tamed nor domesticated, in other words, I am intent on portraying a different way to be feminine. I have been developing this signature since 2018. I am interested in researching what it means to explore a primal body in an era that is farther away from internal self than we’ve ever been before. I am interested in creating an aesthetic where women move in what is perceived to be a more masculine way, showcased via grounded strength and mixing sequential movement flow with dynamic power and explosive range.
I create highly visceral works with intense musculature and athletic physicality. I play with a combination of virtuosic and state-based movements. My movement signature has been described as vigorous, vivid, animalistic and intricate. My knowledge of Hip-Hop and Krump movement principles has influenced me to highlight isolated, rhythmic, bound, and fast-twitch movement qualities in my contemporary choreographies. Currently, I am interested in combining rock music, focused on guitar and drums, with more risk and abandonment in the body through primal floorwork.
My research comes directly from my trust in the body and investigating how bodily experiences are deeply embedded. I am researching how my experience with anxiety, trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder affects the movement states I am interested in, and how I compose female bodies on stage. I believe my work is in protest to the misogyny and gender polarity that I see in society, on stage, and in my lived experience. I see my work as Feminist Physicality, as I approach the work from a physical rather than a narrative or conceptual lens. I work with a lot of tension, glitching, and tremors in the body, because this is the rigidity I’ve experienced through trauma. Most times, all I know and all I have known is chaos – it’s actually where I feel the most comfortable. This fire comes out in my work, as all of the movement is devised from my body. I use my work as a vessel to uncover and process the chaos. The state of equilibrium is unfamiliar to me – which is why I actually think I thrive on the workload of being an artist.
Choreographing is a psychic endeavour for me, not only because the themes of my work are extremely personal, but because of the on-stage magnetism and interconnectedness I look to craft between the dancers. I devise movement and choreographic structures that involve explicit rounds that the dancers need to endure. This encourages the dancers to experience the movement in real-time and embody the challenge, the risk, and the abandonment in the movement, then to surrender and “Ride the Wave”, which we practice so we can healthfully go to physical extremes in my work. As a result, the work is real and raw both for us and for the audience, grasping them and placing them in a visceral state with the dancers.