VISION
I aim to create work that affects and resonates with the audience by presenting a mindful body. Core values are body & mind, awareness & self-consciousness, being in the present, and work in collaboration.
As a choreographer, my point of departure in the choreographic process is the body and the perception of it. I am interested in looking at the body, in its interplay between internal processes (physical, emotional, and mental) and the outside environment/space. In dance, this interplay is related to movement.
As a choreographer I am passionate about connection, belonging and the empowerment of being in the present. I am interested in how we connect with oneself, the others and the world and how we adapt to change. Therefore my choreographic work explores transformation and evolution. I believe art is the research and development department of our society. Dance serves as a metaphor for life that is in constant movement and does not stop changing or transforming. Furthermore, adaptation to change is becoming more difficult in a society in which individuals seem to lose the connection with oneself and to evolve as humans we need to adapt to change. Dance can make us more aware of what connects us as human beings, besides our ideas and cultures.
The challenge for me as an artist is to translate and communicate my findings through the body and choreography to the outside world. By doing so, I hope to help society to understand better the changes that we are currently going through.
The themes I use are related to what I consider the essence of human experience, to dreams, ideals, desires, and doubts, as well as to the absurdity of seemingly ordinary life stories. It is a surrealistic choreography full of power, subtleness, and precision, where the imaginary world created by the dancers becomes a new reality. A journey that aims to bring the audience to the experiential and the sensorial body, making the imaginary realm tangible.
I strongly believe that the best contribution I can offer to others is sharing my knowledge through my different abilities as a choreographer, teacher, coach, and performer.
Choreographic practice
My practice has developed into a method that I call the “Preliminary Choreographic Phase” from where the choreography emerges.
The start of the creative process is taking the dancer on a journey or “state of presence”.
I find it essential to pay attention to the dancer´s mental and physical preparation. This is not only to warm up the body-mind in terms of practicing different qualities and physicalities, but also a way of activating particular attention processes within the dancer as they experience the movement. While observing the dancer perceiving movement, I focus on the somatic self-consciousness to find ways of bringing the dancer to a higher state of alertness. A genuine, surprising, intuitive, and natural movement material originates when I start creating from this higher state the dancers are engaged in. Allowing the imaginary and creative realm to arise as an embodied experience.
Further in the process, the elements for the choreography are introduced, explored in a playfully and openly way through improvisation. Where I am busier creating patterns, set material, and composition.
Collaboration
When choreographing a piece, I always work in a collaborative, co-creational way with the whole creative team.
I consider it very important that all the collaborators – not only the performers but also the composer and f.i. lighting designer go through the same process. Right from the start, their input affects and alters what is happening and how the piece is taking form.
For me, co-creation means that I can trust the creative and personal input of the collaborators, because there is a common understanding. We all work towards what is needed for the piece. We share a common mind, and I know I will be challenged and inspired by their individuality, talents, and skills.
Although, as the choreographer, I have the responsibility to direct the work and to make decisions based on the information that emerges in the process. I am convinced that nobody is independent of one another but rather interdependent. All the collaborators can explore their full creative potential, knowing that we are all contributing to making the piece as one, together.