“I write to create myself.” —Octavia E. Butler
Culture codes
Balance
Milkshake
Turf
Shedding
Migration
After the creative process for "BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play," I held a desire to dig even deeper and tell more stories of ritual, gestural vocabulary, and traditions of the African Diaspora.
Read MoreBLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play celebrates the unspoken rhythm and language that Black girls have through Double Dutch, social dances, and hand-clapping games that are contemporary and ancestral. As I began to create the work, I realized that I was exhausted by stereotypes and tropes because, as a Black female director, I battle with them daily. Kyra Gaunt’s book, The Games Black Girls Play, inspired the concept for the work. The word “play” immediately shot out.
Read MoreWhat it is…
The piece started from a personal feeling of restriction. As an artist I was starting to see the fabric of this social game that I didn’t want to play – attending parties, “being in the right place at the right time” – all suggestions given to me about how to move up the choreographic ladder. I didn’t understand why I just couldn’t be supported as an artist without doing superficial things.
