New Works 4 Weeks Festival

May 22-June 14, 2025

Writing one.
3/6/25

Background.
In December of 2023 I had left my own rehearsal and bumped into a mentor and friend. In the cool air exchanging “How are you?” I had confessed not being happy. Despite receiving a grant to make new work, purchasing a condo, traveling, being healthy, and feeling supported by my family and community I was feeling less than. No matter how much I reflected on all the good things, it was not enough. A week or so later I made a phone call to a friend to discuss grad school as an option. Perhaps learning something new in the periphery of dance could fill this void. I remembered the writing I did for my own shows. I also remember being tethered to reviews as a measurement of success. Who dictates what voice is heard, what perspective exists on the work being created, what is unsaid? In the context of dance, why are BIPOC voices only highlighted during a performance weekend? Why are conversations not happening throughout the unseen effort and unheard dialogues? Somehow what existed in myself and what I witnessed in the field was not enough. 

In Practice.
“Reflections” emerged at the nudge of this friend, at the desire to seek answers for myself, and at the walls formed by circumstance. My reflective dance work and desire to learn by listening to others forms this writing practice; offering a choice of how the artist's message translates into writing by fact checking what is said. At a bigger scale, offering the public a deeper relation to a work before, during, or post performance. Independently I reached 3 artists, 4 sought me out and 2 of those offered compensation. A total of 17 writings were made during 2024. All different just like the artists themselves. I found it impossible for my own voice to not exist at times. Whether in my inquiries, misunderstanding, or inspiration. Sometimes scheduling and extra layers of being a stage or production manager became difficult to ignore in relation to when the softness and deepness of reflecting occurred. I saw my own timelines at conflict with artists at times. I learned and am still learning to slow down, to listen harder, and be present honestly. 

With Red Eye.
Through “Isolated Acts”, a curated rental, “OMNIVERS”, and co-curating their fundraiser,  my relation to Red Eye continues. Built on mutual interest to support each other and welcome experimentation, our relationship shifts and finds each other anew through dialogue. Each program invites the artist to shape and ask what they need while considering their role in the larger community. How do artists support each other? My own interests, questions, and desire to grow found fertile ground at Red Eye. The primarily solo work I create emerges from within to find its place amongst others. So does this practice of “Reflections” find itself seeking to support the NW4W artists. 

Through June 2025.
Leading up to the premiere and perhaps after, I set out to have a minimum of two writings. This being one, giving context of who I am and where I come with “Reflections”. The second, focusing on the artists able and willing to meet with me to reflect on their experience holding and seeing each other. Their work, their hopes, their state of being. The one on one modality of “Reflections” in 2024 would be difficult to pursue with 11 artists. So, with Red Eye, the artists, and myself, we find ways to shape a mutual relationship. An ongoing conversation of what it means for performance art to be held beyond the theater, a documentation serving the artists in the room, a reason to continue growing with each other, and a practice to share art more than ever. These may be reasons why I continue with writing, even if it is new to me, but I hope this experimentation and in this trying that we may all feel more connected, seen, and heard by each other.

Photo: From Red Eye

Further ways to intersect with Red Eye
https://www.redeyetheater.org/