In my work, I aim to connect with what makes us human, beginning with our universal search for grounding, safety, and security; and from there, fulfillment – meaning and purpose, expression, and truth. I see dance as a way to empower the storytellers of our time, not simply by the allegory of the dance itself, but in its dialogue with the audience. Dance, using the language of the body and movement, speaks a truth that is universal, immediate and tangible. As our society advances with technology, there are, increasingly, more and more opportunities to disconnect. Dance revels in connection. It pulses with touch, physicality and emotion. Dance activates a canvas of ideas, truths, and passions. I do not attempt to tell a linear story or unveil new truths, but rather to illuminate signposts that raise questions so that audiences can make meaning for themselves. I linger in repetition, variation, deconstruction, isolation, and stillness to unpack each image and illuminate different ways of experiencing an idea. I search for moments of lightness. As my work develops, it traverses my original imaginings and takes on its own life, telling me who it is, what it wishes to say, and where to go next.

 

Now in the 26th season of my company, I have growing excitement and confidence in my creative process. With each new work, I up the ante for myself. This audaciousness plays out in my desire to integrate innovative scenic, video, costume, and musical elements, my insistence on harvesting a surfeit of raw material, and my relentlessness for trial and error that coaxes the movement to find its own voice in the creative process. I strive principally to engage my audience from start to finish and then secondarily, but perhaps most importantly, to raise questions and magnify humanity through dance. Since founding Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre, I have tested my own choreographic voice and created a cohesive vision for the company that offers our audience access, inclusion, and emotional engagement to our performances. Through thoughtful collaboration with designers, the original movement lexicon in my choreography is artfully staged within a landscape of color, texture, and sound. The choreographic vocabulary erupts from the discourse of exchange between dancers. The movement speaks a language of community.

 

I seek out organic discoveries, raw and uninterrupted, to let movement flow from momentum and physical sensation. I enjoy mixing the recognizable and the unusual. I seek to find joy in the process and experience visceral truths in the movement. I thrive on bold choices and taking risks, and desire to beckon an audience response of thought, feeling, and soul. I aspire to uplift, inspire, exhilarate, and create a community of support. I believe I get back the energy that I put forward. I call the pauses in the process bookmarks – there is this interruption with more waiting to unfold.