Dance diagrams
I am not a dancer, but I make a lot of public art about dance! To create my "dance diagrams" murals, I work directly with local dancers and choreographers: I translate their moves into mural designs – literally diagrams of their choreography – that are faithful to the dancers' creative vision, while being simple enough to be understood by a casual passerby. Collaboration is key to create diagrams of moves that do not require great skill or even a background in dance, and can be simplified into eye-catching, non-intimidating diagrams.
The goal of these murals is to create networks of playful sidewalk murals that add color and liveliness to neighborhoods; invite residents and visitors to get their groove on and have fun outside; add new public art to under-appreciated surfaces; and to spotlight and promote the work of local dancers and culture bearers.
As of Spring 2024, I am hard at work on an 8-part mural series for Lowell, MA and a 2-part mural installation for Brookline Village. If you're interested in bringing sidewalk dance steps to your community, drop me a line!
Roslintrail, aka "Dance Your Way Downtown" – 2022-2023
Roslintrail was my first dance diagram series. I collaborated with choreographers Raquel Jacobson-Peregrino, Statix Legacy, and Olga Marchenko, and was supported by the Roslindale Village Main Streets and Roslintrail volunteer committee. RVMS sought an intervention for 8 sidewalk locations around Roslindale Village that would inspire visitors to enjoy Roslindale on foot and promote fun, safe pedestrianism. I was thrilled for the chance to work with local dancers to create "dance diagrams" from their repertoires, and paint these danceable diagrams on the sidewalk, so as to create a groovy, site-specific walking tour.
Each choreographer offered me dance moves that were both true to their training and artistic background – Mexican folklorico; hip-hop and street dance; ballet and classical – and at the same time simple enough that they could be rendered graphically, and be understandable for dancers of all skill levels. We also sought to have many of the dances be adaptive for seated dancers.
Halfway through the project, I collaborated with the Roslintrail Committee to put on a community art walk. In the course of a fun evening, we took a large group of community members on a walk between four of the completed sidewalk murals and murals-in-progress; tried out some of the dance moves; and even got an expert demonstration of the Jarabe Tapatío and Toro Mambo from choreographer Raquel and her family.
There are many work-in-progress photos in my Instagram highlights and you can read more about the project and the choreographers via RVMS.
