I am not the stereotypical dancer. Growing up, I didn't have the best technique, turnout, or flexibility and that directly translates into my movement. I also grew up surrounded by music. I play many musical instruments and I sing. That made me very rhythmically inclined and I was able to pick out intricacies within the music that most of my peers could not. It made it very easy for me to pick up choreography of all kinds. I feel that emotion is something that is very important when it comes to dancing. When telling a story through dance, I focus on the musical aspect of the song and the story of the song itself. I try to convey the lyrics to the audience through movement, the emotion that the song puts out, but I also try to focus on what emotions I feel when listening to the song as well. Using those emotions, I think about what kind of story I can tell to the audience. People also affect my work. A solo to a song is bound to be different from a duet because of what I can do with two people. I love the idea of dancing in opposition and partner work. Colors are also something I focus on, within the lighting and the costuming I give my dancers. When I listen to certain lyrics, like they are poems, I associate certain colors with them that help me pick a mood for the piece. Music has many rises and falls with dynamics and that also plays a big role into the level of emotion that I’m conveying. A soft anger is very different from a hard hitting anger. I try to make my work as cinematic as the song is, very much inspired by the tv shows and movies I watched when I was younger. I have had a fight in me for dance for as long as I can remember and that inspires my movement as well. Because of my lack of certain aspects of dance, I always had to fight to be
noticed and that inspires the lack of technical things in my choreography but also the movement quality I produce. I can produce some very hard hitting things that with the right music, make me feel the most alive. Going along with the non-technical side of things, I feel that the movement should speak for itself. I don’t feel that I need all the tricks in order to make my choreography seem better. Sometimes I do incorporate tricks into my movement because it does look cool, but overall it’s not needed. I have many inspirations that I can thank for my work. First is my love of music, my dance and music brain go hand in hand. I was able to pick up on music so easily because I started as a dancer and because of my music I was able to become a better dancer in terms of rhythm and making my own work. I don’t think I would have ever ventured into making my own works if it hadn’t been for me starting music. My second inspiration is the instructors I’ve had, they have taught me to never give up, but they also all impressed upon me their own movement quality. I have many instructors and all of their inspirations have molded onto me and made me the creator that I am. Thirdly is what is going on today, I try to be inspired by some of the things happening today within the real world and within the cinematic world. The last thing I think would be my big inspiration is myself, and that's a broad concept. I am inspired by my past, what’s happening within my mind today, and my hopes for the future. My mood while I’m creating inspires everything, the music and how I move to the music. But overall, my whole creative process and everything that I do within dance makes me feel like me. I have had a lot of restriction in life, but I feel the most free when I am one with dance and I want everyone to feel that way when they are doing anything or seeing anything that I am putting out in the world and I want to inspire others to embrace their freedom within themselves.