Close artistic collaboration with Karole Armitage

Over the years, I have been in at least 15 new works of Karole Armitage. She first invited me to dance for her in NYC back in 2004 when I was still living in London. The piece was a success and it was an exciting time as my husband and I also decided to move to NYC. I became one of the founding members of the “Armitage Gone! Dance” company. I would never have imagined back then that I would go on to have such a close artistic collaboration with her for this long.

I have seen so many dancers (and office staff) come and go over the years. Sometimes the company has been bigger and sometimes smaller. But I am still here. I am getting older and the difference between the ages of me and my dance partners keeps getting bigger. (Happily, my recent dance partner, Cristian is the same age as me!) Often people say that I am a Karole Armitage’s muse. Maybe! but the truth is every time Karole brings up projects, I never say "No" and I always show up. I like the way she organizes the schedule in advance and is very clear about how much money I will make. We are not a full time government-funded company, so this is pretty good, especially for someone like me who has a family with children and it allows my husband and I to plan ahead. For all these years, our relationship has always stayed the same: a Boss and a Dancer. We always meet in the studio. But above all, the reason I can’t say “No” is because I know that she gives me a lot of dancing and gives me a freedom to express things my own way and still every time it is challenging. Photo credit : Julieta Cervantes

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