Today we’d like to introduce you to Danielle Georgiou.
Hi Danielle, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My journey with dance began when I was three years old, and my parents put me in creative movement classes. I took my first ballet class when I was five, my first jazz class at seven, and then dance became my everyday. When I got to high school, I took my first modern dance class, and something clicked. It was the first time I was allowed to be creative and have my own voice; it was through modern dance that my confidence as a dancer and person grew. The instructors I studied under focused on traditional modern techniques, from Graham to Cunningham to Limon to Horton. I was fortunate to have been exposed to these varying techniques at a young age and when I was easily moldable and influenced. In college, I started to study modern and contemporary dance further and dance professionally. It was a fundamental time for me, and one that was further shaped when I entered graduate school at the University of Texas at Dallas.
There I began studying and becoming immersed in concepts from physical theatre, dance theatre, and performance art. While I am a dancer/choreographer, I am also an actor, director, and visual artist. I come from these various worlds and have had the opportunity to work with artists who exposed me to technical backgrounds and nontraditional environments that sparked inside of me a reconsideration of how I view the creative process. I want to blur the line between a traditional dance performance, performance art, and installation and encourage other artists and dancers to do the same.
After receiving my first commission through Teatro Dallas, I launched my company, the Danielle Georgiou Dance Group (DGDG). DGDG is a “pick-up” based company, meaning that performers are hired when DGDG is commissioned or asked to perform. DGDG is also a collaborative, ensemble-based group that attracts artists interested in exploring the strange, beautiful, and challenging concepts of humanity.
With my own work as a video/performance artist/dance/installation artist and my work with my dance theatre company, the Danielle Georgiou Dance Group, I have created new spaces in which to perform: the traditional stage, a warehouse, a park, on the street, on film, in a digital world. But yet, I still have the responsibility to entertain and create a mirror for the audience. It’s theatre in a new holy space. I’ve committed myself and DGDG to explore this: creating environments and situations with the dance works we produce. Installing them in new ways. There is also a sizeable untapped dance audience that doesn’t particularly like going to the theatre. I have been able to approach those spectators that traditional dance companies aren’t able to reach.
This desire also translates to my teaching pedagogy, which has further expanded due to the pandemic. I have implemented techniques from my visual art background into my dance technique classes. Creating exercises and opportunities for my students to explore new media and technology through and with dance. I also try to instill in my students that while dance can be a storytelling device, it can also be an object and something to explore and manipulate. Dance doesn’t need a stage to occur; it doesn’t need lights, curtains, or an audience. Placing dance or movement in unpredictable places allows you to inspect dance for what it truly is: a work of art.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not always. There are always bumps in the road as you travel toward your goals. I don’t have the classical dancer body, and I have often been overlooked or told to change things about myself to be let into a room. But I can’t change my body or my genetics; honestly, I don’t want to. My body is strong; she holds me up and helps me move throughout the day. She is the reason for my power on and off stage, and it’s time we say goodbye to the antiquated ideas of a “good dancer body.” Because it is more than just long skinny limbs.
And it has taken time to understand that I’m worthy enough and I am enough to be in the room and to be teaching and leading groups. There will always be people who will manipulate you and bully you into thinking that you are not “good” enough for the job. That if you can’t do, well then, you teach. But that saying is honestly just a bunch of words that someone strung together to sound meaningful. If you can do it, you can teach. If you can teach, you can do. And the best teachers are the ones who are lifelong students – who are constantly training, learning, and bettering themselves and their technique. That is what I am: a teacher-student, a student-teacher. I never want to lose the spark of learning, and I work to instill that concept and drive in my students.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
My work as an educator and my work as an artist are very tightly woven together. I am an artist-scholar. I began teaching dance at the college-level 15 years ago. I worked as an adjunct at various institutions while attending graduate school. I was lucky to be hired as a full-time professor 10 years ago. I am currently a dance professor who also teaches humanities and visual arts classes at Dallas College-Eastfield campus.
As a dance practitioner, I see myself as a facilitator and movement coach, empowering students to make their own discoveries and decisions while utilizing the tools they have studied and gathered during their academic journeys and outside experiences. Putting students first is paramount. I believe in the continued support of my students in and out of the classroom. I also believe in decolonizing contemporary dance practices and discovering ways to help decentralize the patriarchal classroom. It opens learning to a broader performance canon that includes a variety of dance forms, experimental movement practices, performance art, and dance theatre, allowing students to experience the incredibly diverse nature of dance.
My goal is to create self-sufficient and independent artists who deeply understand their bodies, instruments, repertoire, and style. Supported by my background in contemporary dance forms, I teach modern dance techniques, ballet with somatic elements, jazz, musical theatre, improvisation and experimental practices, choreography, and theory courses: Dance Appreciation, Dance for Camera, Choreographic Elements, Intimacy, and Movement for Actors.
I have spent much of my career working with diverse communities, strengthening my resolve and ability to work with those with varying amounts of physical training or specialized skills. My intention inside these communities and as an artist is to allow people to find themselves more fully through movement, embodied awareness, and playful investigations. I believe all movement practices and cultural expressions are of equal value, and I work diligently to eliminate hierarchical classifications between dance and performance styles. I have long been committed to diversity and recognize the barriers faced by women, people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, and other minorities engaging in the field of dance. I believe in creating a safe space where students feel comfortable and receptive to understanding the art of dance. I accomplish this goal by providing various ways to approach dance learning: physical, visual, auditory, sensory, or a combination. I access as many senses as possible to give students multiple ways to enter into dance and performance.
In conjunction with my work as an educator, I am also a practicing artist in movement and video. I started the Danielle Georgiou Dance Group (DGDG) with a love of dance and a curiosity to explore the type of dance I never saw around me. I wanted to show that despite all the training a dancer can do, technique is your foundation, but not your identity. Today, our body of work consists of so many various forms, styles, venues, and audiences. We explore the tension between the individual and culture, the individual and the mass, and we seek to provide a dialogic mechanism in place of the void of fear, ignorance, and hate. We have created ten-minute dances, and three-hour, durational performances. We have made bizarre films and created beautiful, still portraits. It’s such a joy to create our special works of art.
As humans, we cannot truly invent cultural practices and novel art forms in the ways which can be easily marketed. Rather, our innovation is defined by our artists. We cultivate a sense of collaboration and cooperation, allowing us to discover our own stories and perspectives. In this way, we avoid telling any story other than our own. It’s dynamic and fascinating, and I wouldn’t want it any other way.
I am most proud of myself for constantly learning, even though it can sometimes test my mental health. I am most excited for all the people I will meet in the coming years, crossing paths on our artistic journeys.
What are your plans for the future?
The future is unpredictable. I guess the question for me is, do we want to be a part of the energy that acquiesces to the fear of the unknown, or do we want to be a part of the energy that embraces the unknown? I choose the latter. For me, the future is tomorrow; tomorrow, I choose to keep teaching, learning, and dancing.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dgdgdancegroup.com
- Instagram: @eastfielddance
Image Credits
Alondra Puentes
Danielle Georgiou
Sarah Mendez
Dakota Muenz
Eastfield Dance Company
Martha Villalobos
Taylor McMillan
Kieran Disspain
