You studied and performed classical ballet before leaving the professional dance world to study poetry and literature. How does writing, your other creative avenue, inspire your choreography?

In terms of the process of creating movement, I write a script first, in the form of a play. That, along with annotated music, drives the movement. I do that first, before I get into a studio and start playing with movement, and that creates the framework. I keep referencing the script as I go through the different scenes. I’ll share the context and what’s going on with the characters—what’s happening with them emotionally, and their intentions—with the dancers so we’re all on the same page and get to explore and experiment with those feelings and those relationships together.  

How would you describe your movement style?

I’m utilizing those beautiful aesthetics from classical ballet—I’m keeping certain lines and some of the things in classical ballet that we’re all drawn to because they’re so beautiful, yet I’m layering it with this theatricality and this modern context and these very humanistic movements that help convey what’s going on with the character internally.

In the upcoming show, you’ll be debuting a new work called “American Gothic.” Tell us a bit about the inspirations behind the work.

American Gothic—it’s the Grant Wood painting from 1930. I've just always loved the title—and that painting is in the consciousness of our culture. It’s this thing that we all know in terms of pop culture—this couple, and this woman looking at this very stern man and she's not looking straightforward, she's tilted. And so all of these questions come to mind: Why is she not as stern and straightforward as him? Why is she tilted? What has transpired before that point? What's their family like? Do they have children? How do the siblings interact? How do they relate to the parents? And how does the couple relate to each other? And so—here you go! You already have the beginnings of something in terms of the script. 

This piece explores the internal and external dynamics of the nuclear family. I'm also referencing “The Four Temperaments” from Balanchine in this piece. My relationship to Balanchine works goes back to childhood—seeing videos when I was really little, trying to emulate them and learn variations. I grew up in the San Joaquin Valley (in California)—there wasn't a lot of culture or art. A friend of mine would videotape, on cable, these great performances. She had an attic room that was a mock studio with wood floors and mirrors and we'd learn the variations and critique what we liked about the dancers and their performances. And so Balanchine, he's a major influence for me. He has 465 ballets, which blows my mind. How do you even get to that point? His work is still performed by every major company—which is mind blowing to me—and it’s not just here in the US, but wherever you go. There's reason for that, I think. I just think it's important to acknowledge where we come from in terms of movement. And as we move forward and push dance forward, I love to reference what came before us.