Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE)

In My Room

As an evolving choreographer and artist, I wanted to explore the topic of control. I prompted the dancers to think about having their “room,” whether this was physical, mental, or emotional allowing them to be present and experience themselves in raw form. Life Is unpredictable and far from linear, which makes these “rooms” safe to explore. The dancers feel safe because they have control there. My piece answers the question: what does it mean to exist in your room in the midst of the present and what exists outside of you? As humans, we tend to notice growth once we are dealing with unfamiliarity. This unfamiliarity can be a feeling, place, headspace, or person; however, we fail to acknowledge ourselves in all spaces. I address this topic because everyone deserves to experience having control that can coexist with relinquishing control. It is important to make space for yourself to feel anyway, to move forward in spite of. I constructed a workshop centered around my dancers answering questions about their “rooms.” This workshop challenged them to unpack topics such as what their room looks like, who they allow in it, what risk means, and what they fear. I took that information and created movements mimicking their thoughts and lived emotions. By starting this conversation with my dancers, I gained a deeper understanding of them. I was able and honored to draw inspiration to craft how I wanted the dancers to experience their rooms on stage through my choreography.