I am an experimental artist. I enjoy risk taking and pushing the boundaries of dance. My work draws on 40 years of experience with post/modern dance, butoh and contact improvisation, my knowledge of body systems through studies of Body Mind Centering and my education in ecology. My work has been presented in the United States, Europe and New Zealand. I currently direct Insitu performance by Cynthia Stevens, a group of six professional performers.

Artist Statement

My performances are rooted in dance but are multidisciplinary in nature, incorporating live vocal work, music, theater and visual art. They are multidisciplinary not only because they utilize a few artistic disciplines but because the systemic perspective of ecology strongly informs my work.

I am intrigued by the intersections of the body, community and environment. Through successive pieces I have been examining these inter-relationships from different perspectives. I am exploring questions such as how can I foster a sensual and spiritual connection of people and place? What is the relationship between embodiment, artistic practice and sustainable living?

Frequently my performances are site-based public art. For the past 17 years I have been creating dances in a number of different man-made and natural environments. I love the opportunity to spend time in and respond to the richness of these sites. I often enjoy creating humorous, off-kilter images in these new contexts.

One important aspect of this work is creating a different relationship with audiences than a traditional theater experience. Frequently I have a large contingent of “unintentional audience”- passersby who come upon my performances and are drawn in unexpectedly. My pieces engage with audiences very directly and on a more intimate scale than in a theater. I also feel it is important that the audience can play a more active role in their performance experience-they have choices of what to look at, touch, smell and listen to. They see us in relationship to and as an element of a larger environment.

I would like to thank the McKnight Foundation for this fellowship and gratefully acknowledge the contribution of my family and all the performers and collaborators who have worked with me to create performances over the past 23 years.

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