DANCE MAKER
PERFORMING ARTIST
TEACHER
Values:
Passion and commitment. Investigative creative research and physical theater leaning on nuance and texture. Performing with honesty and sensitivity, immersed in environment and character. Ensuring my dancers and students perform with the same level of commitment and belief. Teaching and making work that is relevant to this day and age. Challenging yet entertaining my audience. Giving back to the community. Engaging with interdisciplinary work that dismantle singular paradigms in performance. Investing in practices and communities that keep the heart beating.
NEWS AND UPDATES
WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING
This immersive theater production takes the audience on a visceral journey through a defunct office building that was once part of Mannheim’s Felina Outlet, located in an area that is heavily affected by gentrification. We explore the dangers of this demographic displacement by recreating a changing neighborhood within the space itself.
Inspired by Alyssa Cole's novel of the same name, the physical space is redefined by storytelling and scenography that are interwoven in the live dance theater piece. Within this performative act lies a fascinating interplay - the delineation of space as a means of controlling specific bodies and, conversely, as a means of creating inclusivity and diversity.
WNOIW ART INSTALLATION
A tailored mini-exhibition about the concept of gentrification - the historical perspective, it’s effects and socio-economic impacts - along with actual materials used in the original performance and historical footage of the area, curated artwork utilizing AR technology, and a film of the LIVE DANCE THEATER PIECE - were compiled and prepared for installation at Maquis Mami Wata Gallery in Mannheim. Exhibition was curated by Thomas Eaton and Delphina Parenti.
MANNHEIMER MORGEN ~ NEWSPAPER CRITIQUE
A great review came out in the local paper after our premier on October 13, 2022. The full article can be read below:
ABOUT
I am a freelance dance artist and teacher living in Kerkrade, NL. Growing up in a family of performing artists, I received my BA in Dance from the Juilliard School, where I performed works by choreographers such as Ohad Naharin, William Forsythe, Twyla Tharp, Azsure Barton and Eliot Feld. Professionally, I was a member of the New York City-based dance companies LeeSaar the Company, Company XIV and Nadine Bommer Dance Co. A former ensemble member of Company | E (Washington DC) I worked with choreographers Sharon Eyal/Gai Behar (L-E-V), Yossi Berg & Oded Graf, Lidia Wos, Alex Neoral, Danielle Agami and Brenda Way. Since 2019 I have been working in the EU as a guest artist with the Mainfranken Theater Würzburg, the Nationaltheater Mannheim, the Compagnia Zappalà Danza and with the local freelance choreographers La_Trottier Collective, Catherine Guerin and the Nostos Tanztheater.
As a member of the Company | E, I have served as a cultural ambassador for the United States, teaching outreach programs to resource-constrained communities internationally. Since moving to the EU I have been teaching first year contemporary dance techniques to the students of Dance Professional Mannheim and advanced contemporary dance classes at Aki Kato Tanzforum. I have worked closely with Margie Gillis and her Legacy Project and studied Margie's work - Conflict Transformation - a somatic approach integrated into the field of conflict resolution. During my years of collaboration with LeeSaar the Company, I have immersed myself in the Gaga movement language. When I joined the Nadine Bommer Dance Company, I learned to use Nadine's unique somatic movement and acting language - Animato Dance Art. Animato Dance Art has led me to understand, develop and express my own unique, limitless possibilities of movement and character development, and to share this work with others. These methods of movement allow both performing artists and non-dancers to dynamically shift and advance their minds, physical abilities, and artistic sensibilities. I.E.: https://nadinebommer.com/en/animato-en/ and https://www.gagapeople.com/en/about-gaga/.
I use these methods choreographically in my work process, whereby the movement is always motivated by sensation and inner connection. From this perspective, I aim to create an interdisciplinary storytelling experience that combines dance, theater, visual arts and cinematic flair. I have received multiple grants to create immersive full-length theater productions in Germany from LaFT Baden Württemberg, the City of Mannheim, GLVstartup Kultur, and NPN Stepping Out/Joint Adventures, and have created several short works for festivals in New York and Washington DC.
I've been fortunate to teach Vinyasa, gentle yoga and meditation for the past 7 years, and worked as a personal trainer in NYC.