Filtered and forward - rewind: finding a new artistic voice through collaborative dance-making processes

Filtered and Forward - Rewind are two of the four dances that consisted my and fellow MFA candidate Ashley Bassett’s shared thesis concert, TRACING. IMPRINTING. BEING. The production took place on March 29, 30, and 31, 2018 at the University of Iowa’s Space Place Theater.

My research for this thesis is focused on the creative processes and resulting performances of Filtered and Forward - Rewind, created by and with two highly diverse dance artists, Chicago-based Hanna Brictson and Philippine-based Michael Que respectively. In the early stages of these processes, my primary role was to be a performer. But in the midst of constructing these dances, I had to step into the roles of choreographer and collaborator in different aspects of the production, and this caused a shift in my priorities as a performer. In this thesis, I discuss and examine: 1) my experiences in working with these two artists with very distinct choreographic styles and practices, 2) my transition from performer to choreographer and collaborator, and the challenges of assuming these multiple roles, and 3) how I discovered and developed a new artistic voice, and how my values as a performer changed through these collaborative creative processes. Finally, I assess and reflect on the valuable information I learned from being immersed in these collaborative dance-making practices, and how I can bring this knowledge into my future endeavors as a dance artist.