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7 months, 8 of my most talented friends, hundreds of hours of rehearsal & discussion ... It's BOUNDARIES tech week! This show began as a dance-based theatre response to #YesAllWomen, but has become so much more than that. It begins a conversation about how we interact as friends, lovers, strangers and family. We hope to continue to engage, educate and reflect with the DC community about these ideas of how we exist amongst and treat each other. I'm so very proud and honored to be a part of this cast and show. We got powerful response from our December premiere and we hope to continue to engage, educate and reflect with the DC community about these ideas of how we exist amongst and treat each other.  For those of you who have been to Joe's Movement Emporium before, we made it totally new! We've flipped the grid, moved the floor, and turned their theatre into a black box. For those of you who haven't, come see one of the area's most awesomest spaces for dance performance, education and arts outreach.
Join the conversation, be a part of this thing that we made for you. Hope to see you there!
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Class opportunity with yours truly! On Friday Jan. 23, I'm teaching a master class in the DC metro area that I (and many of my friends who think they are helpless on the dance floor) are excited for: POP LINE DANCING 101! Pop Line Dancing 101 is for anyone who wants to have the moves for the next wedding, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, party, or basically any situation you find people doing a synchronized dance everyone but you seems to know. I'll break down the steps of few popular line dances like The Wobble (my favorite!) and The Cupid Shuffle, as well as some old classic favorites. This high-energy Friday evening class/(let's be serious, it will be more like a party) is open to all levels and ages, and you'll leave feeling ready to be the life of the party - and to impress your friends. And the next shindig you go to could look something like this:  (photo credit: North 40 Photography) Hope to see you there! If you can't make it to this class but would be interested in coming to another Pop Line Dancing class elsewhere or at a different time/day during the week, please let me know.
 Three of my photographs were accepted to the 2014 Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series contest!
The series, for emerging artists, is a contest of online submissions for a chance to exhibit work at a BOMBAY SAPPHIRE Artisan Series Mural project in DC, and the grand finale winner receives a solo show a SCOPE NYC in March 2015. Voting is now OPEN - I need as many votes as possible to be put in the running to be on display in DC in November. Please take a moment to vote on my photos - you can vote as many times as you want. It takes less than 30 seconds - thank you! Clarified voting instructions: Click the photos or my purple buttons below for each image, which will open your browser's window to another page (Bombay Sapphire's Facebook voting platform), where you then click "Vote for this photo" to register a vote for each photo - you may need to scroll down a little to see that. Just clicking once from here will not register the vote! 
You can also purchase the print directly from the gallery at this link. If you'd like to purchase a different size print or canvas of this print, head over to my online store and email me to get started.
This spring I had the exciting opportunity to participate in a performance collaboration for a women's boarding school in southern Virginia. It was not only a chance for me to teach and watch my movement, but also the chance to collaborate professionally with two of my classmates from Denison University. In April, I spent three days at Chatham Hall in Chatham, VA teaching my original choreography to the students of the school's dance department, run by Brittany Jackson, with whom I danced at the Denison dance department. The pieces I taught the girls were to the music of Caroline Spence, a singer-songwriter based in Nashville who also attended Denison with me a few years ago. Caroline Spence is super talented and is making a name for herself touring regularly and has recorded one full album and two EP's, with another full-length album on the way. Besides being a wonderful human being, her music is soulful, honest, catchy and original Americana folk - check her out and get listening. When I returned to Chatham in May, I was also joined by Caroline herself, who accompanied the dancers live for their end-of-the-year showing. I was honored to be a part of this collaboration of three college friends now working professionally together to combine our talents to create an original (and joyful) performance by passionate dance students.
I am thrilled once again to be performing with Contradiction Dance this spring for my third consecutive season, and to be contributing as choreographer for our upcoming show, "#DanceAboutDC: The Joe's Experience" happening April 26-27 at Joe's Movement Emporium, right outside D.C. proper in Mt. Ranier. Besides performing in multiple pieces including a modified solo Getting from Here to There from Contradiction Dance's March 2014 show "Walk a Mile", I am also presenting the next version of my site-specific work in progress entitled Lay(her). Inspired by a cathartic year in my life and family's - namely my sister's battle with cancer - I craved to create a piece that is, in a nutshell, about kindness. Through movement that accents angles, contrast and complexity, I want to remind that humans are just humans who are all fighting a battle underneath our public personas, and why a little ounce of anonymous compassion can go a long way to coexist with other humans in shared spaces. This piece was first performed at Meridian Hill Park in NW D.C. in September 2013, and I'm proud to have its Joe's debut. As a little sneak peek, here's some rehearsal footage of Lay(her) we spontaneously videoed on a phone last week (hence the not so great quality, apologies).  "#DanceAboutDC: The Joe's Experience"
#DanceAboutDC is an ongoing series by Contradiction Dance of site-specific pieces taking place all over the DC metro area. This is our third installment, following outdoor showings in the summer and fall of 2013. This next iteration of #DanceAboutDC is a unique site-specific treat. With original choreography by company members and artistic director Kelly King, site-specific pieces will take you (the audience) through the nooks and crannies of Joe's Movement Emporium (an educational space for all things movement from aerial to hip hop in Mt. Ranier, MD). You'll be mobile and in the middle of it all with your choice to experience the dances the way you choose. The pieces will then lead you into Joe's black box theatre for a final trip through our imagination(s) and the choreography, with the company presenting more work on the stage. Plus, after each show, we're throwing an after-party for all audience members in the Joe's spacious lobby with food, drink, music and art presented by local artisans and partners of Contradiction Dance. FUN! Intrigued? Come see the full piece in motion and the other wonderful things we've made for you to see! Contradiction Dance & Joe's Movement Emporium present: #DanceAboutDC: The Joe's Experience April 26 at 8pm + April 27 at 7pm Joe's Movement Emporium 3309 Bunker Hill Road Mt. Ranier, MD 20712 *$20 General Admission/$15 students, seniors, artists/$10 youth *BONUS! Buy tickets online here & get a $20 Lyft credit!  Exhibit announcement!
Two of my photograph canvases will be on display and for sale at Untitled (The Fold), a group exhibition and silent auction for emerging artists, on Saturday, April 19 from 7-9pm at The Fold in Rockville, Maryland. Patrons, artists and art lovers are invited to view, bid and socialize with local emerging talent. The event is free an open to the public. Check out the Facebook invite with all the info. Untitled (the Fold) was created to welcome any contemporary artists living in the DC metro area to exhibit, share and sell their artwork. All proceeds from art sales go directly to the artist. This show represents The Fold's first attempt to open its walls to the community at large. The Fold's mission is to provide a shared creative and social gathering place for DC Metro visual artists, performers and curators of all mediums. The Fold was conceived out of the passionate desire for constructing a space that eliminates creative restraints - a space where access, convenience, efficiency, elegance and simplicity exist. The Fold is an exciting modular facility; it provides both a supportive studio environment and acts as a multi-purpose venue. As a studio, The Fold gives artists the gift of time and space. As a venue, The Fold is a local and enthusiastic cultural host, providing exposure for performers, musicians, dancers and performance artists. It is a place where collaboration and cross-pollination is definitive, an environment for an artistic community that values flexibility and development. The Fold is located at 110A Frederick Ave, Rockville MD 20850.  My photography has made its debut on display in NW Washington, D.C.! An 8x12 canvas of "Jig" is hanging at The Lamont Street Collective in Mt. Pleasant through Thursday, April 17. There it is, hanging! --> The canvas is on display as part of the Collective's Salon de Libertad, their biannual show of all things art and performance to showcase local talent. I am thrilled to be participating in this open and collaborative space that has established itself as an advocate and propeller of DC-based artists for over 40 years. Read their story here. "Jig" was taken in 2008 in Barcelona, Spain. The canvas is for sale at the Lamont Street Collective and also through me. As part of the event, I will also be showing an interactive improvisational dance performance in the late afternoon. Salon de Libertad is an all-day event happening from 2-11pm on Saturday, April 12 at Lamont Street Collective, 1822 Lamont St. NW. 
 Photo: Michael J. Avilez It's that time again: I'm on stage! I'm thrilled to be performing with the DC-based Contradiction Dance in Walk a Mile, a show about, among other things, shoes. We're halfway through our run, having performed three successful shows last weekend, and gearing up for our closing at the Anacostia Arts Center this weekend.
We've been working on this show since the start of 2014, and it is near and dear to my heart for many reasons. Besides talking through the show's concept over glasses of wine and watching gurgling children with artistic director Kelly King (she's two toddlers deep), I'm also performing my first professional, public solo in this show. It is a personal milestone for me that is a joy to dance, and I'm looking forward to sharing with DC-area audiences. I've also designed all of our promotional materials and show programs. I'm considering this show my trampoline into my new career as full-time artist. I've happily been dancing with Contradiction for three years and I couldn't ask for a better family of people to share the stage with -- they are full of joy and talent (from fire spinning to painting and entrepreneurship) and I am proud and humbled to join them in this work. So, come Walk a Mile with us! And, read a lovely review of the show from DC arts advocate Erin Mitchell. BONUS: If you get your tickets online ahead of time, you get a discount PLUS a code for a $20 Lyft credit, aka DC's newest cab service that I'm a big fan of. So, essentially, you get paid $5 for letting us entertain you! Not a bad deal. |
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