Overview

When dancing in a social context, it feels vivacious, unpredictable, sweaty, joyous. Everyone on the dance floor is a part of the experience.

But when viewing dance in an art or entertainment setting, it can be devoid of that back and forth interaction that cultivates joy.

In Dance is Participatory, I invite the viewers, normally passive bodies in an exhibition context, to interact with the art in order to see it as intended at full speed.

If the viewer stays still, the art slows down, the more movement, the more enjoyment for all.

A collaboration with dancer Awa N’Gom.

Context

Awa performs Dancehall, a style of dance that is created and choreographed on the streets and halls of Jamaica. It’s not uncommon for one person to start a dance move and others to join in for a song or two, it’s quite exhilarating.