Artist Statement

The focus of my work is to dramatize the human experience through dance and start conversations, on both the good and the bad, about what it means to be alive. Ultimately, what drives my work is wanting to connect with people through the pieces I choreograph and create work that is genuine and relatable because it speaks to the human experience. Even if my audience walks away from seeing something I’ve created with a different message or emotion than was my initial intent to convey, I am appreciative they walked away with something. More specifically, I aim to highlight how Black people, like everyone else, have access to the full spectrum of emotions and should be able to portray them free from judgment that stems from other people’s biases and inaccurate stereotypes. I strive for everything I create to be honest, and I do not shy away from the ugly and beautiful parts of that honesty. 
I am classically trained in many dance styles, which has helped me to develop a movement vocabulary that is unique to me and has helped me to break some of the unofficial rules of choreography to make powerful and on the edge dance works. I gravitate towards pedestrian gestures because I find those qualities lend itself to a more sincere depiction of human experience. I love to portray complex concepts through my choreography, which leads to a lot of nuance and detail in my work. Through mixing contemporary and balletic styles, I create work that is unique and captivating. I take inspiration from choreographers such as Bill T. Jones, and Kurt Joos, who’s work, “The Green Table”, which speaks on the realities of war, is still powerful and accurate to this day. I aspire to create works timeless in this way, as well.
When starting a new project, I always start by researching my concept, looking to find pertinent information and minute details that should be represented in the choreography. As an example, for my work, “…Goes On,” about time and how it both exists and does not exist, I researched the science of time and read articles about how it was invented by humans. I made it a point to think about what it means emotionally when people say, “time stood still” and other phrases along those lines. In the end, I was able to get much cleaner images in my choreography from doing that work, which is why it's so important to my process. I enjoy exploring abstract concepts and new movement, and make it a point bring clear, captivating images to the stage. All art should spark conversation but, especially in dance, be a conversation in and of itself and through my choreography, I am able to do just that.