The first piece of my choreography publicly presented was based on Pablo Neruda's poem "A Callarse," and performed as part of Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance's BAAD!ASS Women Festival in 2006. In 2007 I worked with director Tamilla Woodard to build choreography for the national tour of "We Got Issues!" and in 2009 I assisted Peter DiMuro and director Laurie Woolery, choreographing for Cornerstone Theater Company's "Jason in Eureka."
In 2009 and 2010 I choreographed for several theater projects directed by Simón Hanukai, as well as for Yadira De La Riva's "One Journey" and Kilusan Bautista's "Universal Filipino." In that time I also choreographed a number of community theater productions for venues such as Bristol Riverside Theater and Queens Theater in the Park.
Other choreography projects include Andrea Thome's new play "Necklace of the Dove," Working Theater's "Bamboo in Brooklyn" and PopUP Theatrics' "Broken City: Harlem." I also conceived and choreographed "Belly" and "Make Me," original movement theater pieces that explore how social constructs impact our bodies and sense of ourselves. More recent projects include movement direction for Eliana Pipes' DreamHou$e at Ashby Stage in July 2022, and SF Shakespeare Festival's San Francisco Bay Area tour of Much Ado About Nothing also in the summer of 2022.
In 2009 and 2010 I choreographed for several theater projects directed by Simón Hanukai, as well as for Yadira De La Riva's "One Journey" and Kilusan Bautista's "Universal Filipino." In that time I also choreographed a number of community theater productions for venues such as Bristol Riverside Theater and Queens Theater in the Park.
Other choreography projects include Andrea Thome's new play "Necklace of the Dove," Working Theater's "Bamboo in Brooklyn" and PopUP Theatrics' "Broken City: Harlem." I also conceived and choreographed "Belly" and "Make Me," original movement theater pieces that explore how social constructs impact our bodies and sense of ourselves. More recent projects include movement direction for Eliana Pipes' DreamHou$e at Ashby Stage in July 2022, and SF Shakespeare Festival's San Francisco Bay Area tour of Much Ado About Nothing also in the summer of 2022.
My approach to choreography is to develop physical scores that speak powerfully through the bodies that perform them. I have been inspired through my Viewpoints studies with Wendell Beavers to work with movement as "text," a language capable of communicating as articulately as words do and sometimes even more so. With this in mind I develop material that is deeply embodied, well-crafted, and in service of the story or project it is part of. My movement vocabulary is broad, inspired by training in formal and folkloric dance forms such as Ballet, Dunham Technique, Capoeira, Limón Technique, House, Hip-Hop, West African, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Haitian, Salsa, and Step. For projects that require a more pedestrian approach, my training in the Grotowski Approach to Physical Theater, the Viewpoints, and Barbara Dilley's Improvisational Composition work, as well as Body-Mind Centering and Somatic Technique allow me to develop simple scores that support truthful and fully embodied performance, supporting actors even in the moments of performance that are not choreographed.
In keeping with my work as a facilitator and cultural organizer, my approach to choreography is also highly participatory. I assume the responsibility of structuring and refining physical scores, and I also see the choreographic process as a conversation between myself, the director, the performers, and the source material. Each performer's body speaks a different language, and that nuance enriches the work. If need be, I can create powerful choreography independent of performers, but when possible I prefer to develop it collaboratively through structures for improvisational composition. When I bring in set choreography, it becomes a form for performers to fully inhabit and communicate through, to allow us all experience the work in a deeper way.
Whatever the process, as a choreographer it is my job to shape movement into a coherent aesthetic, in service of the story and/or vision of the work. In doing so, I also support each performer's process of truly embodying the material so it can reach its fullest, most expressive potential.
In keeping with my work as a facilitator and cultural organizer, my approach to choreography is also highly participatory. I assume the responsibility of structuring and refining physical scores, and I also see the choreographic process as a conversation between myself, the director, the performers, and the source material. Each performer's body speaks a different language, and that nuance enriches the work. If need be, I can create powerful choreography independent of performers, but when possible I prefer to develop it collaboratively through structures for improvisational composition. When I bring in set choreography, it becomes a form for performers to fully inhabit and communicate through, to allow us all experience the work in a deeper way.
Whatever the process, as a choreographer it is my job to shape movement into a coherent aesthetic, in service of the story and/or vision of the work. In doing so, I also support each performer's process of truly embodying the material so it can reach its fullest, most expressive potential.