Nicole Perry, MFA, CLMA Intimacy Choreographer & Movement Specialist

Bodies are sculpted, legislated, objectified, punished, idolized, and idealized. For performers, bodies are often “other”: an instrument or tool, an object to be trained, the focus of work. But, bodies are also the point of connection — sharing space, ideas, meals, a glance, or a touch.

In my work as both an artist and an educator, I explore connections between bodies.

Through dance and intimacy choreography, I focus on how movement creates meaning, and how power dynamics in educational and performance spaces affect embodiment.

My training in the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System, in addition to my work to unsettle my creative practice, provides communication tools, allowing me to uphold the creative sovereignty of my collaborators, as well as my own creative integrity. We work together to develop confident spaces, in which every artist is cared for, and operates from agency.

I value collaboration and co-action.
I value “no”, because it is an opportunity to be imaginative — it creates space to explore creative possibilities.
I value stories and the perspectives they give us that are different from those we already hold.
I value integration, and being able to bring my various practices and interests to inform each other.

As an educator and a scholar, my work is research on the intersections of bodies, power dynamics, consent-based practices and creativity. Writing serves as a way to put words on my values, and to share them with others.

Our bodies give the rest of the world information about what is perceived as “ourselves” — gender, age, race, ability, and more — but we know there is so much more that makes up our essence. As we move through the world in our bodies, we offer those around us an opportunity to connect to who we really are. My work allows me to be an active participant in developing these connections.