This week will be dedicated to my love for the art of dance. Throughout my life I’ve maintained an active interest in dancing and as an adult it has developed into one the most important elements in keeping a balanced life. For the past 15 years, I make sure to dance at least once a week, more often when possible. In the early days, Michael Jackson and breakdancing were keen influences to my style. During college I took a modern dance course and was also exposed to contact improvisation, a lesser known dance form that is all about creating a dynamic balance between you and your partner or whatever you might be engaging with – the floor, a chair, etc.

In 2006, I started practicing kung fu and the first and only time I attended Burning Man was in the summer of 2007. After a day or 2 of being there, I really started to take advantage of having the largest dance-floor ever right at my toe-tips. All the sudden movements and forms from kung fu were seeping out through the dance moves and it felt like something altogether new and exciting was taking shape. Since then, I have continued to expand upon these martial influences and have also noticed the likes of my skateboarding days creeping in as well. It has been and will continue to be an exciting exploration of how my body is inspired to move to music.

A few things to share about what you will see this week. These dances are not choreographed, they are single takes and I will be adjusting the video taping to account for and improve upon what is captured. Also, I’ve never exposed myself in this way before, so this feels a bit humbling. I hope you enjoy it, and thank you for watching.

More info about Manatee Commune:
https://manateecommune.bandcamp.com/

More info about contact improvisation:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contact_improvisation

Dance Week – Day 1: “Brick Orange” by Manatee Commune