Happy Places

This piece is a collaborative effort between myself and the dancers. If one person of this group were to change, this would become an entirely new piece. Happy Places is inspired by the point in time, location, or people that make us happiest. It is one giant pick me up. Each dancer created their own movement vocabulary to express themselves at their happiest. Some imagined they were with their loved ones or on vacation while others were imagining being curled up in bed or many small moments that brought them joy. The unison choreography was created after watching hours of improvisation from these dances.

The staging pulls on a dance experience that I find joyful, unique, and empowering: the cypher. Whether you are at a hip hop freestyle event, a classical ballet, messing around in an improvisation class, or even at a wedding, nearly everyone has experienced a cypher. They inspire other movements and spur the imagination. They encourage cheering, clapping, and response because their audiences are also the performers. Much like how this dance would be completely different with different dancers, it changes depending on the audience. Those watching are just as important as those performing.

The dancers start onstage and in the audience to trigger that engagement. They talk to the audience members, they encourage a rowdy crowd, and maybe they even see their most joyous selves in the dancers onstage.

This piece was premiered at Nozama Dance Collective's N2: An Intimate Showing of New Works on July 9, 2022 and has since been performed at Dance for World Community Festival on September 24, 2022.