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Last month we defined how Power Dynamics show up in dance classes and dance rehearsals. This month, I offer some ways dance teachers and choreographers might mitigate those power dynamics to help create consent-based dance spaces!
Find it in the DanceGeist ezine!
The article will link to Part 1.
The full series is linked on the Consulting page, as this is a resource given all my clients.
Ewan McGregor’s Joy at Intimacy Coach for Embarrassing Sex Scenes. The Daily Record. 30 April 2021
New Canada Theatre Agreement includes Initmacy. 29 April 2021
New SAG-AFTRA Sexual Harassment Reporting Site and New Intimacy Accreditation Program. The Hollywood Reporter. 29 April 2021.
Intimacy Choreographers and their importance to the future of theatre performance. From OnStage Blog. By Irene Martinko. 28 March 2021.
I am thrilled to be writing a 3-part series for DanceGeist Magazine about Power Dynamics in Dance.
The first part was released earlier this week in the February issue. Read it here. Catch part 2 about disrupting and divesting from harmful patters in March. Part 3 in April will look at consent-based practices.
The ezine is free, but does require a subscription. Get yours here.
I was thrilled to be interviewed this summer by Boca Magazine about my work on Theatre Lab’s To Fall In Love and Intimacy Direction in general.
The title cracks me up because I’m really the only one in Dade/Broward/Palm Beach doing this work! It’s easy to be premier that way! But huge shout out to my mentor Dan Granke in Tampa. Technically still South Florida, and they are much more gifted than I.
The piece appears in the February 2021 issue. Here’s a link to the online ezine!
Photo by Wide Eyed Studios.
Misuse of Power in Movie Sex Scenes. The Guardian. 31 January 2021.
To be clear, I find this piece HIGHLY problematic.
It’s presentation would suggest that women cannot abuse power- this is obviously untrue.
It invisibilizes non-binary intimacy coordinators, who definitely exist.
I include it here because it is getting shared a lot, and it does have a good summary of the role of an Intimacy Coordinator.
Phoebe Dynevor on Intimacy Coordination for Bridgerton. Backstage. 22 January 2021.
Congrats to my friends and colleagues Enric Ortuño and Lizzy Talbot for their work as the Intimacy Coordination team on Netflix’s new Bridgerton Series.
'Bridgerton' star says 'intimacy coordinator' helped craft those sex scenes everyone is talking about. CNN. 29 December 2020.
Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor praises intimacy coordinator for ‘fun’ sex scenes. iNews UK. 29 December 2020
I had the pleasure of speaking with Lauren RE Larkin on Sancta Colloquia very early in the pandemic. We talked about how what I know from training in intimacy direction applies to my work as an educator and all our lives as humans.
CW: sexual abuse, religious content
Intimacy Directors More Important than Ever. An Interview with Gaby Labotka in the Chicago Reader
What Intimacy Direction can Bring to Dance. Dance Magazine. September 2020.
What Playwrights can Learn from Intimacy Directors. A conversation with Gaby Labotka for Howlround. September 1, 2020.
What It’s Like To Be A Black Intimacy Coordinator In The Era Of Consent And Political Resistance. An interview with Tenice Divya Johnson and Sasha Smith. Elle Magazine. September 8 2020.
Back in July I got to be a guest on the Wilzig Erotic Art Museum’s Thursday afternoon Tea and Sex sessions, talking about intimacy direction!
Here Melissa and I discuss the “what it is”. This is just the first few minutes of an hour-long conversation and interactive session with participants.
Nicole Perry is a guest on the Wilzig Erotic Art Museum's Tea and Sex Thursday afternoon session with Melissa Blundell-Osorio discussing what is intimacy dir...
And this is one of those times!
Jimmy Chrismon, an intimacy direction colleague, hosts ThedTalks, a theatre education podcast. He interviewed me about intimacy direction and Momentum Stage. Check it out here: https://thedtalks.com/podcast/
I have a few more podcast appearances coming up. Stay tuned!
Intimacy Direction in a time of Physical Distance. Emily Snyder for HowlRound.com . Nicole was interviewed for this piece, but sadly no quotes were used.
Vice News Mini-Documentary on Intimacy Direction. July 30, 2020.
Sharon Stone Speaks about Intimacy Coordinators and Moments that Made her Uncomfortable on Set. Indiwire. July 2020.
Momentum Stage has just launched a new course I wrote combining my training in intimacy choreography, the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System and my years as both an educator and creator of movement.
This is to offer teaching options for those who are either encouraged or mandated to not touch in teaching. This is not a class about touching student. It is a class to consider IF touch is necessary, HOW do we teach without it (or very little of it), and WHEN/IF it is necessary, to make very specific choices in our type of touch in order to be as effective as possible with that touch.
Read MoreJune 22, 2020. Alicia Rodis named one of Indiewire’s Influencers.
June 22, 2020. Nicholas Hoult (The Great) “Intimacy Coordinators: a Good Thing for the Industry”
June 14, 2020. Claire Warden wins Drama Desk Special Award for Intimacy Direction.
June 3, 2020. MSU takes Academic Lead on Intimacy Direction.
Well, that’s a really bold question, as we have no idea what just being on stage looks like right now!
But, in the past week I’ve had a couple of conversations about this, and I do have some thoughts.
Even if we’re “back to normal”, there are going to be performers, directors, and administrators that are more wary of intimacy, especially if those intimate moments would cause a meeting of soft tissues like kissing. I am already in the habit of choreographing a “Plan B” for kisses that can be done in case of actor illness, and understudy stepping in, etc. A good intimacy director/choreographer should have been providing these all along, and they, the director, and the actors involved should all feel just as confident about the story-telling involved in those moments as they do with the kiss. See my earlier post about Plan Bs.
It is possible that bringing on an Intimacy Director/Choreographer is part of a company’s safety plan. This was raised in a conversation hosted by Directors Lab West yesterday with Ann James of Intimacy Directors of Color and Carly D. Weckstein, an independent sex educator and Intimacy Director (check out the convo here). Bringing in an ID could be a way a company says to their community that they take the physical and mental health of their performers and production crew seriously, and are hiring people with specials skills in doing that.
Both of these thoughts lead me to #2.
Intimacy Directors/Choreographers are Movement Specialists. And movement is still going to be on stage, even if physical contact is not.
Intimacy Directors/Choreographers are movement specialists (or at least they should be). They have been trained in movement for the stage. Sometimes this aspect gets lost in the more “news-worthy” part of the job- gaining consent, establishing boundaries, hopefully avoiding lawsuits for the company, etc. I came to this work after 10 years of choreographing. I have a Bachelor’s degree in dance. I have studied movement at an even deeper level by obtaining my Laban certification. When I train with IDI, IDC, or TIE, we are given feedback not just on our ability to put best practices in communication into use, but in our choreographic abilities. My job is make sure the story is told, and told well, and that the director and actors feel confident in the performance.
I believe my in-depth knowledge of movement will make me more of an asset to confident story-telling on the stage, even if the actors must remain apart or not fully physically engaged in the intimacy.
I do believe my role will still be necessary when we get back in space together. For safety and for the sake of the story, I think it will be even more necessary! We’ll see if the industry agrees!
I’d love your thoughts- whether you are a performer, director, producer, or audience member- what would seeing this role in a playbill mean to you pre-Coronavirus? Would it mean the same, or something different after? Leave me a comment!
25 April 2020. Sexy Beats: How “Normal People”' ‘s Intimacy Coordinator Works. by Sian Cain for The Guardian.
21 April 2020. Claire Warden Receives Drama Desk Awards Special Award for Intimacy. See list of all nominees and awards at the link.
12 April 2020. The Stake Were Really High: The Stars Bringing Sally Rooney’s ‘Normal People’ to Life. by Claire Armistead and Johanna Thomas-Corr for The Guardian.
4 April 2020. Creating Scenes of Intimacy Safely, Seamlessly, and Convincingly on Stage. by Aaron Krause for Theatrical Musings.
Please check out the guest post I wrote for the Consent Awareness Network!
Momentum Stage is pleased to be an Ambassador for the Consent Awareness Network.
Times-Union. Choreographing Intimacy for a New Era in Theater by Tony Pallone. 24 March 2020.
HowlRound Theatre Commons. Intimate Reform. by Ann James. 19 March 2020
Denton Record-Chronical. The Look of Love. by Lucina Breeding. 19 March 2020
Provokr. Creating Initmacy. by Amanda Jane Stern. 9 March 2020
The BBC. The Women Helping Hollywood Shoot Safer Sex Scenes. by Valeria Perasso. 7 March 2020
The New York Times. Review of “The Hot Wing King”. by Ben Brantly. 1 March 2020
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