FLOODESIGN

All dance forms always borrow, beg, and steal. I don't really worry about this imagined 'pure land.' I enjoy the mess. " The Shields and Yarnell Show, with two people who were very gifted mimes. They played a robot couple called The Clinkers. I had a big love of the silent comedians, Chaplin and Keaton. I started B-Boying and breaking in the '80s and later, house dancing and vogueing. The Mother of the House I came through was Willi Ninja. Willi had a love of all things Bollywood and kung fu. But all dance forms always borrow, beg, and steal. I don't really worry about this imagined "pure land." I enjoy the mess. His Collaborators The artists I am fortunate enough to work with are brilliant and tirelessly inquisitive. They are willing to help me figure out stuff. I don't make work in a vacuum. I'm lucky to have a team that I get to work with. The dancers are generous with who they are and deeply curious. They have a high tolerance for uncertainty and are willing to go gleaning and dumpster diving to make art. I am so grateful for that fellowship. Humor Somebody once said to me, "Your work tends to be very funny; are you ever serious?" And I said, "Oh, I'm serious all the time. I just don't think it precludes a sense of humor." A joke is a kind of delivery system. It sets up an expectation and then mildly twists it or points out its absurdity to offer a change of perspective. One of my favorite descriptions of being a choreographer is by the brilliant Trisha Brown, who said, "I'm a bricklayer with a sense of humor." Like a joke, it's a statement that misdirects you. You laugh, but what is she really talking about when you undress that statement? It speaks to someone who has an appreciation for craft and structure, but with that tag at the end, with a sense of humor. A sense of humor is ultimately something very human. " Hapless Bizarre Choreographed by Doug Elkins Photo: © Jamie Kraus, courtesy of Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival www.peakperfs.org 49

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