Dance Portfolio

Recent Choreography Projects

Winter's End

This project used The Rite of Spring as a framework to examine society's expectation of women as objects of sacrifice.

Research for this piece included: intersectional feminism, waves of western feminism (where they succeeded or fell short), LGBTQIA rights, history of The Rite of Spring (specifically the Nijinsky and Bausch versions), reckoning with the past in order to reimagine the future, working with a large cast, ritualistic movement, using voice while dancing, using movement to both abstract and connect with the past/present/future.

*This project can be set on professional or college level companies and ensembles as a guest residency. Contact me for details.

Photos: Chancey Bush

Dancers: Amaya Alvarado, Elana Denise Anderson, Rayne Baca, Dalila Michele Baied, Miles Firkins, Emily Gardner-Mayberry, Lourdes LeDoux, Paola S. Chávez Molina, Alayna Grace Prasifka, Martin Quintana, La Reina, Aaliyah Sandoval, Calleigh Sweetser, and Riley Swinney

Evolution

This project was an experiment in repetition and variation.

That movement then became representative of human progression and the fear of making progress when it could mean losing the safety of now. As the beginning of my research on women as sacrifice, I went further and used the imagery of Eve being brave enough to leave the Garden of Eden as an example of personal sacrifice for community progression.

Photos: Pat Berrett and Chancey Bush

Dancers: Safa Bamatraf and Jessica Wilson

Look Up

This piece is an abstraction of Van Gogh’s The Starry Night. It looks at the texture and suggested motion in the painting as well as the themes and struggles of the painter. It includes elements of the prominent cypress tree, the incredible swirling of the heavens, observed and then presented on the canvas despite, or even because of, his growing mental illness.

Research for this piece included: texture in dance, Van Gogh's life and struggles, The Starry Night, ensemble movement.

Photos: Chancey Bush and Madrone Matysiak

Dancers: Sandra Bermudez, Lillian Bowles, Lourdes LeDoux, Sofia Leyba, Indika Oritz, Alayna Grace Prasifka, Martin Quintana, Calleigh Sweetser, Charlotte Williams

This was a very quick project born out of watching cement being poured into wells in Gaza, razor wire being spread across rivers in Texas, and learning about Indigenous people losing water rights at different times across the US and Canada.

This dance film combines Flamenco (choreography by Kayla Lyall) and Contemporary movement (choreography by Jessica Wilson) and was inspired by Dominika Laster encouraging me to just make something even if it won't fix things.

Filmography: Donelle Torres

Dancers: Jazmine Maldonado, Fae Stjonn, La Reina, Sofia Chavez, Kayla Lyall, Jessica Wilson

Borderlands

Waiting, Alone or Together

This piece explores the many feelings of waiting on the unknown. We can experience them alone, or we can look around, reach out, and support each other. This was also an exploration in smoothly mixing pedestrian movement into more traditional contemporary dancing.

Photos: Pat Berrett

Dancers: Veronica Estrada, Laura Hu, Riley Swinney, Isa De Groote Tavares, Marisol Velazquez, Lennon Washburn

It is said that at bedtime children turn into dehydrated philosophers. This piece came from some of the real questions my children have asked when they should have been sleeping, and the soundtrack was my daughter reading them.

Research for this piece included: abstraction and using text as both a soundtrack and choreographic tool.