During peak pandemic times, a colleague, Ali Duffy, at Texas Tech University had one of her undergrad classes interview dance makers with specific missions in their work. I was honored to be one, and to have that interview now published in an Open Educational Resource text available from Raider Press. Check it out!
Preventing Harassment and Abuse in Dance Webinar Recording Now Available
Last month, Renee Redding-Jones and I, representing Intimacy Direction in Dance, joined a panel of dance educators, scientists, social workers, and mental health professionals on a panel for IADMS (International Association for Dance Medicine and Science) to discuss creating consent culture in dance.
IADMS has made the recording available, for free, for everyone. Watch it here.
2 Recent Podcast Appearances
In the past 2 weeks I’ve been on two podcasts-
Apolla Performance/Turning Point Creations’ “Beyond the Steps” talking about how, as dance educators, we can help students distinguish the difference between a boundary and a risk.
Audra Allen’s “Dance CEO Coach” talking about equity and professional development in dance.
Both of these are great resources for dance educators and dance entrepreneurs!
Power and Consent in Dance Writings from DanceGeist ezine
Sadly, DanceGeist ezine will be going away soon. DG was a great alternative to competition, commercial-based dance publications, with its focus on Somatics, disruption, and community. Unfortunately, that also means it was hard to sustain. But, I have been given access to all of my pieces from DG! I have link the power and consent series here, and the rest of the articles are all over on the Dance page, if you scroll to the bottom. Enjoy and share!
Creating Consent Culture in Dance
originally published in the Dance Geist ezine, Feb-April 2021
2 Great Reviews for Jagged Mind
There’s always going to be good and bad reviews. And I feel like with magical/sci-fi/horror blends, you are really going to get strong opinions on what worked and didn’t.
But here’s the link to two reviews of Jagged Mind, now available on Hulu, that let you know- the simulated sex worked!
Lesbian Thriller “Jagged Mind” Is a Haunting Portrayal of Abuse- by KAYLA KUMARI UPADHYAYA for Autostraddle.
Jagged Mind Review: Putting the Eroticism Back in Erotic Thrillers - by David Reddish for MovieWeb
New Photos and Videos up on Work Samples page
Head over to my Intimacy Choreography page to see photos from City Theatre’s Summer Shorts: Homegrown Edition, as well as the trailer for Jagged Mind, now available on Hulu!
Me, wearing my Intimacy Choreographer mask at Opening Night of City Theatre’s Summer Shorts: Homegrown Edition. Photo by Morgan Sofia Photography.
God Forbid Wins Miami New Times Best of Award
Every year the Miami New Times gives out “Best of Miami” awards. Last year when these were announced, I was actually on the set of God Forbid, with Bill Corben and the Rakontur team when they won, in this category, for Cocaine Cowboys.
This year, God Forbid is taking home Best Miami Documentary! Were there lots of contenders? No idea. But, without a doubt, I know this one is the best.
I am very proud to have been the Intimacy Coordinator for the reenactments for this doc. Haven’t seen it yet? It’s on Hulu (and is still their most-watched doc!).
"Jagged Mind" to American Black Film Festival and Hulu in June
Excited to share that Jagged Mind, a film I worked on most of last summer (when I wasn’t on the set of God Forbid) is making its world premiere a feature at the American Black Film Festival here in Miami in June! A few days later, it will hit Hulu, as a Pride feature. Hulu actually kept me very busy last summer!
Woodward and Richardson-Sellers in a moment created by Kelley Kali and Nicole Perry for Jagged Mind, coming to the American Black Film Festival in Miami June 2023.
The 20th Digital horror feature from director Kelley Kali and writer Allyson Morgan stars Maisie Richardson-Sellers and Shannon Woodward.
Intimacy Coordinator: Nicole Perry
New Free Downloads
Over on the “Why Hire an Intimacy Choreographer” page, I’ve created 3 new, free, downloads that I think might be useful for theatre or dance companies or production companies or studios considering whether an Intimacy Choreographer is the right fit for the project, and what they can expect that to look like:
5 Questions to ask when Hiring an Intimacy Choreographer
Intimacy Coordination Overview
Intimacy Direction Overview
As this is my website, the views expressed on this page, that page, and in those documents are solely my own.
Urgency v. Efficiency
Clock-time is a colonial construct, followed to support capitalism. We know that is only a construct, and that time is much more spiraling than linear. And yet, we have agreed to live in society following this guideline.
As a teacher or leader, I can’t create more time, but I can shift how we feel about time.
Read MoreLife Transitions
For those unaware, my grandfather passed on Monday. While his death is not unexpected, grief is has a way of being so.
Read MoreMFA Shower!
Last week on my TikTok, I stitched a video in which 2 women were discussing the fact that grown women really only get parties for things that make them define their identity in relationship to someone else- getting married and giving birth.
So, I decided I wanted an MFA shower. Not a graduation party. I want to all grown folks to have showers. I’m reclaiming that word for all of us to be showered in celebration and congratulations for the big life achievements that matter to each of us.
So, later this spring (after all theses shows wrap) I will have a shower (And that thesis was labor.). And I’ve created a little registry if folks want to help me celebrate.
Read MoreTalking about Intimacy Coordination as part of the Miami Film Festival Promos on WLRN's Sundial
I had the honor of being on South Florida radio staple Sundial today to talk about the intimacy profession and give a teaser of my conversation as part of the Miami Film Festival.
Hear the episode here. Get tickets to the conversation here.
Accountability is Not Punishment
I'm an MFA!
Finally, after a long road of graduate exploration beginning in 2016, I am excited to share I officially hold a Master (hate it) of Fine Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Arts with concentrations in both Decolonial Arts Praxis and Performance Creation Concentrations from Goddard College.
This wasn’t a journey I took alone. The following is my acknowledgements page from my thesis, Working Consent: Ethical Engagement with Collaborators, Audiences, and the Land in Dance and Theatre Pedagogy and Practice.
Read MoreAccountability is Necessary for Community.
Manifestation can be another way to absolve us of communal responsibility. Away to keep us ignorant of structural racism, patriarchy, and all the other -isms that shape our systems. It gives us an excuse to not be informed on our state and local policies, or vote in ways that support the people we say we love.
Read MoreSex Scenes in Film and TV
Right now, my Twitter timeline is full of conversation about sex scenes in film and tv. You might think this is because I am an Intimacy Coordinator. You would be wrong. This is because I follow a lot of other exvangelicals, many who are more engaged than I in debates with current evangelicals.
There are apparently many folks who feel like current entertainment options have TOO MUCH SEX! Never mind that it’s really not the case. They don’t like it!
I think it is really interesting that this conversation is so hot (haha, get it?) around sex, and not around violence.
Read MoreMoney and Time
Money is a challenge for every artist. Despite the buzz around Intimacy work for theatre, film, dance, tv, and opera, payment remains a sticky subject for any Intimacy Director or Intimacy Coordinator.
Read More2022 in Review
2022 was a big year of work for me. Here’s my year in review!
Read MoreLanguage in Dance Class, Pt. 2
Styres (2019) quotes Marie Battiste (2013), an Indigenous scholar focused on protecting and promoting Indigenous knowledge systems and education, “in order to effect change, educators must help students understand the Eurocentric assumptions of superiority within the context of history and to recognize the continued dominance of these assumptions in all forms of contemporary knowledge” [186] (33). So, in the ballet class, we examine the particularity of the ballet situation. Students’ first reading is a choice of An Anthropologist Looks at Ballet by Jean Kealinohomoku (2001) and a post from Marlo Fisken’s (2020) blog, A Letter to the Pole Community: It’s time we talk about toe-point supremacy. These two pieces clearly connect the dots of assumptions of supremacy culture—that Euro-centric is more valuable—to the prevalence and significance of ballet in Western dance training and on concert stages. Tuck and Yang (2012) write “The settler positions himself as both superior and normal;...” (6), and this is often what happens to ballet in dance studio settings—it is considered a baseline for other genres, rather than its own particular form, drawn from its own cultural context. In every class, students are encouraged to find the appropriate cultural context from which to consider their situation.
Read More