The Dancer and the Dance

Movement is our first language.
Dance is the poetry of that language.

Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen

Why do we dance and where do these dances come from? I am interested in intention, inspiration, obsession. I explore improvisation as a political act and as passionate gesture. I want to know more about what the body desires, what it demands, where it takes us and how often we do not go along for the ride; about rhythm, stillness and listening; about finding and losing oneself in the movement and the moment.

What I love to see in performance is something Stephen Nachmanovitch in Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art says about art, absorption and flow: "The noun of self becomes a verb."

What I am seeking is the complete, exquisite surrender of the dancer to the dance. Movement and mover inseparable, incandescent. That is my goal as a choreographer and as a performer. It is at the heart of my teaching and my dancemaking.

. . . your work has never deviated from it's wonderful strangeness and intensity. It has only matured over time, and has even more intellectual richness and depth, more detail and nuance. You are an extraordinary artist!

Dena Davida, Curator, Tangente, Montreal, QC

Dear Paula, Your work was richly layered and captivating, reminding me of refined jazz musicians like Thelonious Monk. Thank you for sharing with us!
Bill Evans, Choreographer/ Educator

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Read Tonya Lockyer's paper on Paula Josa-Jones and Metaphysical Choreography in North America.