Artistic Statement
Over the years my work has been focused towards the celebration of peoples, cultures, and souls. How a person thinks about each of these, affects how they participate as a citizen in society. Currently, throughout the world we often limit ourselves to only celebrating ideals of peoples, cultures, and souls, more than the actual realities of these humans’ lives. My overall vision is to create artistic works that empower people, move their souls, and that celebrate communities for who they are, versus society’s opinion of what they should be. My choreographic works consist primarily of the Hip hop, House, and experimental street movement styles. In the past, I have partnered with live musicians, painters, political scientists, actors, and community outreach coordinators to piece my works together for the community in the most effective way possible. I do not believe that only by collaborating with other fine artists are meaningful works made.
My most recent project is entitled “Forbes20Tour”. It is a combination of a series of films, dance and non-dance, live performances, and community workshop tours around North Carolina. These events were created with the idea in mind to provide people the tools to be empowered, moved, and celebrated in local areas. I have created this project to expand upon my vision as a professional artist, to reinforce the significance of valuing someone as a human being with a soul, and to express how embracing your soul can make being a human being more empowering and worth celebrating.
Camille A. Brown and Frankie J are two influential artists who have played a major role in my ability to dig deeper with this ongoing project. I appreciate Ms. Brown’s authentic efforts to engage the communities she travels to through workshopping, community discussions at the end of her shows, and the modern, to date style in her choreography to make her work universal and relative to today’s times. She empowers and celebrates humans for who they are, brings reality to life on the stage.
In my work, I also aim to accomplish this difficult task. I admire Frankie J, a House dancer’s ability to study his craft and to create movement, writing stories with his body in any environment he moves in. I appreciate his ability to construct (build) and change his own perspective/mentality about his movement, life, and the people he engages in cyphers by thinking about the potential of the environments he works in. The ability to reconstruct realities or overcome physical/natural circumstances through the creation of places (mentalities, positions, or physical place) is a repetitive theme in my work and speaks strongly to today’s society where so many people struggle to fight political structures, systemic injustices, and the various isms.
Overall, I am always expounding upon the direction of my work. It will always be aimed at empowering others, moving souls, and celebrating human life. Street performances, community centered workshops, and productions will continue to reign in my approaches to delivering my work, engaging my community, and developing into a deeper artist.
