What is your roll at No)one. Art House?
I curate all of our events which are usually movement based instillations, throughout Los Angeles. Our presentations aren’t in theaters or conventional spaces where dance is usually scene, [they’re in] warehouses, galleries, museums, or events we are hired for and I will kind of dictate how the movement is seen. I also arrange educational components, where we’ll invite choreographers or dancers from out of town to come and teach people apart of our community and seeking knowledge about contemporary dance on a global scale.
I’ve noticed you refer to No)one’s performances as movement rather than a dance, is that strategic?
Ha, it is, because when people think of dance, they think about whatever preconceived notion they have it. I feel like a lot of people now associate it with ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ or music videos or ballet, and there are just a lot of other ways to see dance.
I’ve found dance companies are kind of failing in the US right now because the government doesn’t support it, and because it feels like people have lost touch with dance. So I don’t think they know how to consume it anymore.
That was a big part of the reason we’ve chosen not to perform in theaters. I feel like now in 2018 people need to need to interact with it, like the way they are able to interact with it on their phones, on Instagram, so I think when people can be closer to it, more immersed in it, they understand it better, it effects them in a different way and they end up wanting more.
Yea it seems like a lot of your performances can be viewed 360..
I mean seeing dance in a theater, on a pristine stage, is amazing but it also costs a lot of money! If there’s no funding you have to be creative in how you present it.
How do you get funding for your projects?
Ha, we don’t! At this point people reach out and commission us. But in the beginning, it was just asking around, people that would donate space to us, dancers willing to work for free to get us off the ground but now that people know who we are, they’ve been reaching out for us to perform and provide us with a budget. I’ve never applied for a grant. After hearing from friends that have done it, it’s this long tedious process and a lot of the time, people that are very talented and produce great work won’t get it because of the way they describe their work and the people receiving that grant information don’t understand the language. And then you see people that do get these grants and the way they describe their work is so eloquent and imaginative - then you see the work it’s not up to par. I have this issue with over intellectualizing this art that we’re making. You can have all the words but if people don’t connect when they see it, what’s the point?
