My dance training began at a competitive dance studio near my hometown in the Chicagoland area and continued at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. When I entered higher education, I discovered a desire to be part of a legacy, or lineage, and how dance fulfills this desire through the philosophies, ideologies, practices, and choreography that are passed down person to person, class to class, teacher to student. We take part in rituals that have been practiced by real people for decades–even centuries–and are connected across generations and oceans.

I pay homage to people, techniques, connections, and lineages that I admire while adhering to my own style and tendencies to create and perform work. I welcome influences from codified techniques–ballet, Cunningham, Graham–and my own creative habits developed from experiences with jazz, contemporary, and post-modern styles. I challenge myself to play with the balance of embracing and breaking down habits to further develop my artistic voice and engage the imagination. My choreography is sometimes visceral with direct intention, while other times it is nuanced or even ironic. This irony is shown through juxtaposing relationships of the sound scores and movement qualities or the dynamics of certain phrases in the space. I value juxtaposition, contrast, and unpredictability while also maintaining thematic cohesion. I enjoy connecting ideas and aspects of performance that would otherwise not go together to make art that is engaging and unexpected.