Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitney Geldon.
Whitney, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
Dance has been my creative outlet since I can remember. The study of dance from an early age, in a nurturing studio, built my curiosity about movement. Additionally, as an athlete in my youth, I was inquisitive about both the technical approach and the expressive nature of each modality. Of course, outside of dance classes and sports events, I was socially timid and preferred to blend into the observer role.
After undergrad, I launched into a regional touring company in the midwest, where we performed for audiences of all ages. During this time, I really developed my passion for the dancer sacrifice, if you will. When my head hit the pillow each night, I was mentally, physically, and psychologically exhausted. The hours spent in the studio drove my curiosity for life’s lived experience in the body. This investigation into our human condition led me to graduate work at Texas Woman’s University, where I spent every waking and sleeping hour, researching the creative process.
Currently, I train and facilitate movement experiences for the recreational mover to the professional. My many inquiries into dance are embodied through making experimental work with Jordan Fuchs Company, teaching a myriad of classes at the University of North Texas, Texas Woman’s University, the Community Dance Center at TWU, and co-directing Big Rig Dance Collective.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I make dance in all facets of life. It keeps me sane… While movement feels fundamental, it also elicits the endless possibilities of expression and vitality of our everyday. As a maker, I often forge a considerable amount of small divergent pieces, where gestures lose their meaning, and I embrace paradoxes. Before I know it, the pieces have formed a web of relations, and a new world has developed. The curated world often offers witnesses a journey of multiple interpretations or memories. As a mover, I love shifting through various states of being, whether they illustrate explosive physicality, raw emotion, interruption, or whimsical ambiguity. Moving beyond my shy youth, I create to connect people. Improvisational game structures and contact improvisation excite the immediacy of space and time when creating, and performing, for that matter. The stage, wherever it may be – a crosswalk, a living room, or a theatre, is a place to see people, to share our humanity and life experiences.
We often hear from artists that being an artist can be lonely. Any advice for those looking to connect with other artists?
Witness and be witnessed. Dance is a medium of the people. Reach out, whether it is for a cup of coffee and discussion or critical response from a mentor. Dialogue and witnessing other’s work often feeds a desire to see the world through varying perspectives, not to mention the ability to pull us beyond imaginary boundaries. Along the same line, I am always up to discuss and collaborate with artists in other artistic mediums, as it furthers my curiosity of how to interpret and inform art making, as well as the profound potential collaboration fosters.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
Dance is a medium best witnessed in person! I perform and present work throughout DFW and the region with Big Rig Dance Collective and Jordan Fuchs Company. One place to check out upcoming events would be, www.bigrigdance.org. Save the date for Dance Co-op 2019, August 1-3 at UT Arlington, an annual gathering of artists for workshops, dance & music improvisation jam, and a curated dance performance.
If you are near the Denton area, I teach weekly movement classes for all ages at the Community Dance Center at TWU. As our mission states, we teach dance technique and the creative process while promoting individuality, positive self-esteem, and teamwork among our students. Come dance with us!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bigrigdance.org
- Email: whitney@bigrigdance.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigrigdance/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigRigDanceCollective/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/communitydancecenter/
Image Credit:
Highways Performance Space, Jesse Scroggins, Lisa Vining, Lily Sloan
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