Searching
Emma M.
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Dancing is an act of constant searching: searching for the longest line, the most extreme or most subtle movement, the most tension, the most release, the most pleasure. When I dance I feel stretched-constantly reaching for a goal that is unattainable because as soon as I reach a limit, another appears.
As a dancer, I’m an investigator at heart. I divulge in the creative process: from finding unique inspiration to creating a stage-ready final product. I start by taking note of the space, becoming acquainted with the music, and following whatever instincts may arise.
Soon, I have creative tunnel vision, focusing my mind so intently on carrying out tasks at hand that there is no room left for judgment or hesitation. I imagine that I have a ball of light flowing through me, sending energy wherever it touches and initiating the direction of my movement.
When my instincts as a dancer within the walls of a studio have been exhausted, I desert my familiar body and surroundings. What would a snake move like if it were sliding through lava? What if I could physically emulate the action potential of each nerve as it travels through my body? Though it seems counterintuitive—the more obscure, the more paradoxical, the more impossible the prompt—the more satisfying.
Whether morphing my body into organic waves and ripples or mimicking the confident and sophisticated flair of a glamorous peacock, I can manipulate myself and my surroundings so that my body moves, intending to accomplish the task at hand. The prompts enable me to abandon reality for the sake of creating a new one that is more flexible and forgiving. With each idea, new realms of movement are opened, offering me endless explorations of new textures, dynamics, and movement paths.
Dance has taught me to be vulnerable enough to keep a childlike imagination and humble enough to follow it.
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Dance exercises the imagination just like any other muscle and offers me the freedom, power, and obligation as a dancer to use my platform to express myself and what I stand for as a young female artist. I strive to empower and advocate those who cannot do so for themselves.
