– Where were you born? Carlton, Australia
– Where do you live? Bergen, Norway
– What pronouns do you use?
She/Her
– What makes you work with performance?
Movement and performance for me has always been about expression and storytelling. There is something so simple and human in how we express ourselves through our physical body, how we feel things, and how we connect with others. My work explores the similarity, the quirks, and the relatability of the human condition. I try to relay this feeling to audiences, and in a way try to get them to connect with the power their physical body holds in telling their own story. I try to make work that is accessible for all audiences, breaking down the barrier of 'experimental performance' only for 'experimental audiences'.
– Do you have any rituals before performing?
I like to look at pre-performance as a chance to fine-tune the body, calm the nerves by focusing on the technical side of things. A structured, technical warm-up allows my brain to switch off for a moment, I can consume it with thoughts of alignment and weight placement, instead of conceptual matter, nerves and the ever impending existential dread.
– What was the best performance you have done so far? Why?
'The Leftovers' is a work that I hold very dear to me. We are now on the fourth stage of development and performance and it has emphasized to me the importance of re-visiting work and allowing it to grow and change, just as you have grown and changed since it was first created. In a way, it is challenging the idea of when a performance is over, continually challenging it's existence. Each dancer and artist involved has grown, they have new life experiences, new interests, new views on the content manner, and it's so important to listen to that so you never feel that a work only exists in a certain period of time.
– Are you currently working on any performance?
We are currently looking at re-staging 'The Leftovers', which is a contemporary dance work for 4 dancers made in collaboration with sculptor, Nicholas Hanisch. It is a very physical work, examining our life as a continuous cycle and the small changes within it that make us who we are. I am also about to start a first stage of development on a solo work called 'Narrated by Cillian Murphy', which is an abstract look at higher beings and a personal journey of belief.
– What advice would you give to someone who is interested in working with performance?
Don't be consumed by the idea of originality, it's an ongoing process that requires working on something for a long period of time. Work with what interests you and what you enjoy doing. Your work can be a reflection of who you are, but don't let the practice of it define who you are. You are allowed to enjoy other things, take up new skills and take time off from performance. You are no less of an artist in the off-periods.
– Can you give us a few names of performance artists who inspire you?
(not exactly performance artists, but artists who inspire me at the moment)
Felicity Boyd, Pina Bausch, Lee Brummer, Nick Cave, Dora Garcia, Joan Jonas, Greta Gerwig
