Air Over New Skin

As a dance filmmaker, I invite my audience closer to the dancer’s perspective, combining visual points of view, soundscapes, and layering textures on film to create a sensory experience for the viewer. I often film using a single handheld camera so that I can easily weave around my dancers and capture multiple angles. The dancers’ breath, as well as sounds make from their costumes or the terrain, are integral in grounding the tactile explorations shown on the film. Likewise, the color and pigmentation of the finished cut are of great importance during my editing process. Music is usually the last element considered, not because I lack a connection to music, but so any preoccupation with a song will not lead the direction of the filming or editing.
I am often inspired to choreograph by the books I read or favorite paintings, and I gravitate towards dancers who are willing to collaborate rather than simply be told what to do or how to look. Rather than have carbon copies in my work, I invite dancers to put their own character into the movement, which I frequently have them write themselves provided it fits a mood or quality that I am seeking to display. The camera helps me reveal the relationship between my dancers and their environment at the pace that I want the audience to witness it. While I strive to convey concepts of humanity that we all experience, I aim to transcend literalism to explore human emotions and experiences in a space beyond the mundane, where the authenticity and depth of humanness is no longer restrained.