A couple of weeks ago I had the extreme pleasure of watching the musical “Hamilton” on Broadway. When I say this was the best musical I have ever seen, it is not hyperbole. Hamilton is at once a history lesson and an urgent call to action. Masterfully woven, brilliantly executed, and most importantly… Absolutely engaging!
Watching Hamilton reminded me of the power Art (at it’s best) has to educate, move, and inspire us to be a higher version of ourselves. Art has the capacity to touch us at the deepest cores of our being, dance achieves this without even using any words. That is POWERFUL, and we should never diminish how large our capacity is to positively impact the lives of those around us through our work.
About a year ago, I began asking myself “How can I marry my passion to my purpose?” How can I use this vehicle of dance, to which I have dedicated my life, for the betterment of my people, of all people, in concrete ways. I believe that each of us has a different mission, a distinct purpose. For me personally, my life as a performer had begun to feel selfish. I was dancing in this incredible opera house in Sweden, but I was completely isolated from the communities and the people who had nurtured me; watching from afar the political and social unrest going on right here in New York City and the rest of the United States. I asked myself:
What can I do?
How can I use my art to uplift others? To make a difference?
What is the place of dance, and by extension all of the Arts, in contemporary society?
What, if any, is our responsibility as artists to awaken, engage, and at times disrupt the status quo?
I imagine the answers to these questions are equally as individual, and I celebrate that. But I urge us all to remember that Arts have ALWAYS played a huge role is social progression. They have been a mirror, a reflection of the world we live in. The Arts have been an optimistic or scathing projection of what we could become. They have provided insight into the lives of people and cultures we would otherwise never have had access. They have also served as pure entertainment, an escape from a hard and often times unfair life. All of these are valid, valuable even.
Hamilton reminded me that none of these roles need be mutually exclusive. We can entertain and teach, challenge and engage. Hamilton made me ask myself “If not now, when; If not me, who?”
Since coming back to New York City, I’ve joined the Gibney Dance Company. It has been an incredible adjustment on many levels. Until now, my adult life as an artist had consisted of taking classes, learning repertory, and being apart of new creations. At Gibney Dance, on top of all of that, I am also responsible for going into shelters for survivors of Intimate Partner Violence and leading movement workshops that aim to empower, renew, and lighten the lives of women & children throughout the city. We go into Middle and High Schools as well, facilitating lecture demonstrations in order to raise awareness about healthy and unhealthy relationships. Additionally, each dancer is responsible for creating programing. I am essentially doing 3 jobs in the space that I used to do 1. And last, but absolutely not least, I am in the process of creating a tuition free summer dance intensive for New York City teenagers, MOVE(NYC), with my best friend and partner, Chanel DaSilva. That, as I am learning, is what they call the “New York Hustle!”
I am exhausted; But I am FULL. I have never felt more connected to my art. I have never felt more connected to my power as an artist. You are powerful. We are powerful. And we have the capacity, through our art, to change to the world… one microcosm at a time.
My path is mine. My journey singular and unique… And it is worth noting that I have only just now reached the point in my career where this kind of work even interests me. So I want to be very clear, I am not suggesting that everyone or even anyone live their lives the way I do. I merely want to use this platform, however small, to let anyone reading know that YOU DO have the capacity to enact change; To initiate one small dent that creates a ripple effect of positivity.
Maybe I’m just thinking out loud, but if my ramblings have brought even one person closer to their purpose, then I would be satisfied! To quote a line from one of my favorite songs in Hamilton:
“Look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now. Revolution’s happening in Manhattan and we just happen to be in the greatest city in the world, in the greatest city in world!”
So whether you are here with me, pumping down the streets of NYC, or somewhere else in the world, far far away… LOOK AROUND, LOOK AROUND.
YES!!! Hamilton was absolutely amazing and so are you! Sometimes it takes that one amazing musical or dance or song to remind us how important art is in society (when we need to be reminded most! )