The Swim series looks at the vernacular choreography generated when people perform the mundane act of swimming. Each person’s body responds in a unique way to the freedom of movement they find when lifted and supported by the water. This unrehearsed choreography fascinates me. When composing the pieces digitally, I look for patterns of movement and rhythms that speak about how the subjects, who become “dancers,” relate to each other in the overall choreography of the scene. I construct specific patterns of dancers across the space allowing each one’s body language to dictate how they will lead to, compliment, contrast, and punctuate the movements of the other.
The works are constructed using the grid as a point of departure. Within the confines of the grid’s rigidity I look for the organic rhythms of the water and “dancers” to emerge. I enjoy working within this contradictory space where the unyielding structure of the grid attempts to contain the fluidity of the water and the bodies.
“Swim #3: Song of the Sirens”
“Swim #8: Jacob's Pillow”
“Swim #7: Saltarello”
“Russian River Dance”
“Float”
“The Siren's Lament”
