Tell us a bit about yourself (who you/your team are, your background, training, past projects?)
I’m currently a student on the BA at Dance City Newcastle. During my three years on the degree, I’ve experienced a deep level of contemporary dance training. Alongside this, I have actively been involved in local projects such as working with Surface Area Dance Theatre in 2018 with their work ‘Hand in Hand’ that was performed at Dance City. I’ve also been involved in various music videos as a dancer and choreographer and was incredibly honoured to be hired by avant-garde artist Livia Rita, to dance for her touring work at Cobalt Studios.
How would you describe your style of work?
I create work that is often a mix of contemporary dance and experimental live art. I explore and experiment with improvisation to generate a feeling of pureness. I like to produce work that evokes curiosity within the audience and allows people to resonate and feel connected.
Did you do any creative work during lockdown?
Yes, lockdown opened up a wide window of experimentation for me. As I was in the last leg of my second year of the degree, I began to realise that this sudden lack of linear structure was an opportunity for me to delve into my personal artistic side. The work I did during lockdown didn’t have any real conclusions; it was more exploration into different ways to create, which I was training myself to continue on with even after lockdown. It was a more creative mental state that I created for myself.
Has the lockdown changed your working processes, your career/company pathway or your vision for the future?
Following lockdown, I have been more relaxed with my dance practice and prospects for the future. I realised that rushing a creative process is damaging to the work itself and to yourself, therefore I am allowing my creative mind to have space and time to develop. Meditation is a great source for creating this open space and time. Future plans are kept to a minimum, I know I want to keep creating dance and artwork, but in what place or time-scale – I don’t know.
When the industry starts to get back to a ‘new normal’ what would you like to see change for the better?
The ‘new normal’ is something I am very excited yet worried about. I hope to see a deep appreciation from people for the things we once took for granted. The arts was shown to be something that countless people ended up relying on during lockdown. I hope that there is a continuation of people realising the value and importance of the arts, whether it’s for entertainment, mental health, socialising, fitness etc.
Digital dance has been popular during lockdown. Do you have a class/workshop/webinar/performance you can recommend to others?
I have always been intrigued by dance films but during lockdown I became obsessed. My favourite place to go was Nowness.com, as they produce a wide range of art and dance films. Below is a link to just one that really captured my attention.
The choreographer is Damien Jalet who also choreographed the movement material for the 2018 re-imagination of the film Suspiria and he collaborated with Thom Yorke on a short musical film on Netflix called ‘Anima’ – these are both recommended watches!
Tell us about your latest project.
I am currently thinking about a few little personal projects that involve dance film, yet these are in the very early stages. There is a project that I briefly started working on before lockdown with a local musician and local animation artist, so from this Summer we are in plans to start it up again. This will involve choreographing and dancing a few minutes solo which will eventually be converted into an animation. We are discussing ideas on whether the work should just be a film or a collaboration of filmed work with a live performance. It’s very exciting to be working on projects again!
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