Director’s Notes
I love acronyms. You simplify an idea into just a couple of letters derived from the first letter of each word. Sometimes they form a word of their own—sometimes they don’t. Some of my childhood’s favorite book series had acronyms as titles in them (H.I.V.E., N.E.R.D.S., etc.). Maybe that’s why I was so drawn to the title of my piece: “FYI”. For most people, including me, those letters stand for “For Your Information”. But I soon realized there were other combinations of words with that acronym that allowed me to express how I wanted the audience to view my piece. So, at this time, I humbly ask you, my audience, to consider the following:
For Your Information: This is a Christian Hip-Hop number. The artists featured in this song, “I’ll Find You”, are Lecrae and Tori Kelly, who have been open about how their faith has influenced their creative process. This song is no exception and this statement rings true for me as well. As a dancer who was trained in a worship ministry and church almost my entire life, my purpose of performance is beyond just to entertain or to express myself. Now I share this not to force my religion onto others or make anyone uncomfortable. In fact, I want to invite you no matter your religion, sexual orientation, race, gender, etc. to look at how my artistic journey has been touched by my faith in a higher power. You don’t have to agree with my beliefs, or even like the song. All I ask is to listen and watch with an open mind and potentially be touched. I am unapologetically me and this dance is unapologetically for my God.
Free Your Inhibitions: What you are about to see is not conventional violin playing, nor full hip hop. This is why I recommend that you let go of any previous expectations of what you expect to see from someone dressed in a tuxedo holding a violin. I intend to thoroughly explore what discoveries I can make within this wide field called hip-hop and be inspired by the movement qualities translated from motions I can make while playing the violin onto a different genre of dance. The research process behind this may sound dull and analyzing what is supposedly just a form of entertainment can seem like sucking the joy out of art, but that is another stigma that I hope to break through this piece. Dance theory only adds to the palette of techniques I can use to choreograph and doesn’t discourage from simply throwing all that away and embracing your natural instinct. This piece is meant to blur the lines between the classical era of music as well as the new, modern generation of beats and rhythms as well as show the “fun” side of applying theory into an art form. Hopefully, it’ll be a surprise for you, viewer, and inspire you to break free from any creative confinements you may have set on yourself.
Feed Young Imaginations: When I say “young”, I do not mean age—I mean any imagination open to sparkly new ideas. The first time I saw a person playing the violin while dancing at the same time was Lindsey Sterling on a YouTube video. She redefined what a dancer and violinist were capable of and I began to see myself in her. My mind’s eye sparkled as a new realm of movement opened up that day. Today, I want to be that same kind of inspiration for any creative artist watching my performance. Even if you’ve seen violin and dancing before, I hope that there is some challenge to any conventional thought and pushes you to make some beautiful mistakes of your own later on. I’m venturing into territory I’m not fully confident in and sacrificed stability and comfort for this chance at a new adventure—would you come with me?
Works Cited
Lecrae, and Tori Kelly. “I’ll Find You.” By Lecrae. MP3. Frank E, Danny Majic, 2017.
