Abstract 
 

Title of Thesis:​ WITH NEVER ENOUGH HAPPENING: THE PROCESS OF  
EMBODYING MATERIALS, CHOREOGRAPHING TEXTILES, AND 
DESIGNING COSTUMES THROUGH THE PROCESS OF DANCE 
MAKING AND PERFORMANCE 

 
​ ​ ​ Daniel Miramontes, Master of Fine Arts, 2025 
 
Thesis directed by: ​ Maura Keefe 
​ ​ ​ Professor and Smith Chair of Dance 
​ ​ ​ School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies 
 
 

with never enough happening is a 30-minute interdisciplinary performance that explores 

the use of materials, textiles, and costumes and their ability to perform and be performed. This 

dance, alongside this paper, integrates theory and practice, embodiment and materiality, and 

costume and choreography while positioning identity and cultural perspective within the 

discourse. By embedding a cultural perspective, this research offers an expanded view of 

materiality, embodiment, and resourcefulness in choreographic practice.  

Upon completing this paper and defending its contents, Daniel came to understand he had 

used Rasquachismo (a Chicano/a aesthetic) as a framework to gather and organize its content. 

Rasquachismo, a practice of resourcefulness and making the most from the least, shaped his 

approach. Not as a way to minimize the labor or significance of the work, but as a way of 

assembling and repurposing the writings, materials, and choreographies developed and 

co-created over the course of two and a half years. This realization provides both a foundation 

and direction for future creative and scholarly work. 

 



 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

WITH NEVER ENOUGH HAPPENING: THE PROCESS OF EMBODYING MATERIALS, 
CHOREOGRAPHING TEXTILES, AND DESIGNING COSTUMES THROUGH THE 

PROCESS OF DANCE MAKING AND PERFORMANCE 
 
 
 

by 
 
 

Daniel Miramontes 
 
 

Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the  
University of Maryland, College Park in Partial Fulfillment  

of the requirements for the degree of  
Master of Fine Arts 

2025 
 
 
 
 

 
Advisory Committee  
​ Professor Maura Keefe, Chair 
​ Associate Professor Crystal U. Davis 
​ Assistant Professor Kendra Portier 

Lecturer alexx shilling 
 
 

 



 
 
 
 
 
 

© Copyright by 

Daniel Miramontes 

2025 

 
 



ii 

Acknowledgements 
 

Thank you, Maura Keefe, chair of my thesis committee, for your generosity, insight, and 

guidance. But most importantly, for seeing me and believing in me. Your mentorship has shaped 

not only this process, but also the artist and thinker I am becoming.  

I am grateful to the rest of my committee: Kendra Portier, Crystal U. Davis, and alexx 

shilling. What an honor it has been to learn from all of you, your care, brilliance, and humor have 

made a lasting impact on me, one that extends far beyond these pages.  

My research would not have been possible without the generous support from the School 

of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, the Maya Brin Institute for New Performance, the 

Board of Visitors, and the Jim Henson Fund for Puppetry, who financed aspects of this work.  

The dance with never enough happening was co-choreographed and co-performed by a 

group of deeply involved and supportive artists and friends: Emily Adams, Miriam Hermina, 

Charlotte “C” Macko, Alondra Torres Negrón, Emma Vanderlinde, and me. A special thank you 

to Zoe Cushman Walders for assisting me in rehearsals by providing choreographic support, and 

for helping me navigate all of the unraveling threads.  

I express my heartfelt appreciation to the amazing design team and their teams for all of 

the work towards with never enough happening: Bailey Hammett, Sophia Tepermeister, Mariah 

Faulkner, Evan Thanicatt, and Zaq Kenefick.  

I want to thank Christina Collins for her friendship, humor, and for reminding me to get 

out of my own way. To the friends I have made here in the dance program at UMD, I am moved 

by our time shared inside and outside the studio. To my friends back home, here, and all over the 

place, your support has kept me afloat and means so much to me.  



ii 

To all of my students at The Wooden Floor and Renaissance High School for the Arts, for 

the growth I experienced as an educator which led me to seek something more for myself, thank 

you.  

And finally, a special thank you to my mom and dad.  

 



iii 

Table of Contents 

Acknowledgements​ ii 
Table of Contents​ iii 
List of Figures​ iv 
 
Introduction​ 1 
 
Chapter One: Costumes, Materials and Embodiment​ 3 
Designing costumes​ 3 
Historical Artistic Collaboration​ 4 
Artistic Collaboration with Bailey Hammett​ 7 
Activating the Archive and the Repertoire: The Embodiment of Materials​ 12 
An activated material interlude​ 15 
 
Chapter Two: Aesthetics of Excess and Minimalism​ 18 
Arriving at Maximalism through Minimalism // Aesthetics in  
Contemporary Dance from a Latinx Perspective​ 18 
My Perspective​ 19 
Minimalism/Maximalism​ 22 
difficult aesthetics: an interlude​ 25 
Rasquachismo​ 29 
Lingering thoughts​ 32 
A choreographer’s note, translating, and Maximalism​ 33 
 
Chapter Three: Choreography of with never enough happening​ 36 
Early Research​ 36 
Choreographic and Creative Process​ 44 
Maximalism and the complexity of layering events​ 46 
Moments in Performance:​ 51 
 
Conclusion: A series of endings​ 64 
Ending 1​ 64 
Ending 2​ 64 
Ending 3: Epilogue​ 65 
 
Bibliography​ 66 

 

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iv 

List of Figures 
 

Figure 1, Drawings by Joe Eula 1975 
 
Figure 2, Drawings by Joe Eula 1975 
 
Figure 3, Drawings by Joe Eula 1975 
 
Figure 4, Drawings by Joe Eula 1975 
 
Figure 5, Costume Rendering for with never enough happening by Bailey Hammett. 
 
Figure 6, Charlotte “C” Macko, Alondra Torres Negrón, and Emily Adams in rehearsal for with 
never enough happening with Golden Nuggets at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in 
2024. Photo: Daniel Miramontes. 
 
Figure 7, Emily Adams, Miriam Hermina, Emma Vanderlinde in golden nuggets section of with 
never enough happening. Photo: Taneen Momeni.  
 
Figure 8, Emma Vanderlinde and Daniel Miramontes performing in drops of gold, for the Jim 
Henson Award presentations. Photo: David Andrews. 
 
Figure 9, Gold mylar blankets layered, scattered, and held vertically, burgundy quilts folded and 
spread out, strips of various colored fabrics coming through the portal, and performers. Photo: 
Taneen Momeni. 
 
Figure 10, from left to right, Alondra Torres Negrón, Miriam Hermina, Emily Adams, Emma 
Vanderlinde, Charlotte “C” Macko, Daniel Miramontes. Scattered, animated, floating gold and 
silver mylar, navy blue cotton fabric stretched, burgundy quilt being carried, scattered golden 
nuggets. Photo: Taneen Momeni. 
 
Figure 11, Daniel Miramontes performing gold solo. Photo: Taneen Momeni.  
 
Figure 12, C Macko and Alondra Torres Negrón performing burrito, mirroring one another on a 
mylar blanket and quilt. Photo: Taneen Momeni. 
 
Figure 13, performers C and Alondra replicating an X shape that was performed on the blankets, 
now on top of one another, both blankets which are underneath “C” and are unseen. Photo: 
Taneen Momeni. 



iv 

Figure 14, Alondra Torres Negrón, C Macko, and Emily Adams performing Trio A. Photo: 
Taneen Momeni. 
 
Figure 15, Miriam Hermina performing Remy Solo. Photo: Taneen Momeni.  
 
Figure 16, Miriam Hermina performing Remy Solo. Photo: Taneen Momeni. 
 
Figure 17, the gold mylar blanket takes a solo, surrounded by Emily Adams, Emma Vanderlinde, 
C Macko, Miriam Hermina, Daniel Miramontes, and Alondra Torres Negrón. Photo: Taneen 
Momeni. 
 



1 

Introduction 
 
The original Judson concept was to have people to work with and some space to do it in. 
The performances were just an offshoot, never the intention.... A good Judson piece was 
really boring, usually too long with never enough happening. That was an important part 
of the Judson look. Tasks were also a nondance element which Judson invented. And that 
was it. It changed dance.... Now it's been all dressed up again. We need to flush the grace 
of movement out of dance again, because that's what made Judson so fresh. It's the 
perfect time for a new idea like that.1 

-​ Robert Rauschenberg2 
 

I begin with these words from Robert Rauschenberg, a seminal figure in American art, to 

situate myself within the lineage and spirit of post-modern dance. This statement captures the 

spirit of experimentation and the stripping down of traditional expectations that marked the 

Judson Dance Theater era - a lineage I both draw from and respond to as a choreographer and 

maker. 

The title of my thesis dance, with never enough happening, emerged directly from this 

Rauschenberg excerpt. As I neared the end of the research process, I searched for a title that 

could encapsulate the themes of excess, the intricacy of assembling and organizing this work, 

and a poetic resonance - something that suggests many things unfolding at once. 

In creating with never enough happening and now, writing this paper, I find myself 

navigating a terrain that feels familiar and also something I can’t fully articulate. Material 

explorations, choreographic processes, and costume design are not new concepts within the field 

of dance, but they feel newly significant to me, in this moment. My journey in dance has brought 

me here to a place where I am compelled to question, to explore, and to see why these things 

2 Robert Rauschenberg was an American Painter and Artist. A performer and collaborator with artists of the The 
Judson Dance Theater era of Post-Modern Dance. Regularly collaborated with Merce Cunningham, and Trisha 
Brown.  

1 David Sears, A Trisha Brown - Robert Rauschenberg Collage. Ballet Review Fall 1982. 48. 



2 

matter. Even if the ideas themselves are not wholly original, the work feels vital because of the 

lived experiences that inform it, and the impacts they have made.  

In this paper, I explore how embodiment and performance studies are pertinent to 

material explorations, and use performance studies scholar Diana Taylor’s theoretical framework 

of The Archive and The Repertoire to deepen my understanding. I emphasize the role of 

costumes and costume design and their relationship to dance and embodiment in search of 

expanding the limited discourse within the field of dance studies. I also place my own identity 

and culture in relation to aesthetics of Maximalism and Minimalism, and how these frameworks 

shape my creative perspective. Finally, I talk about how I integrate theory and practice and how 

it shows up in my choreography, creative practice, and the relationships I build and co-create 

with others.  

This dance - which encompasses the performance of with never enough happening, and 

this paper - exists as an inquiry into what emerges when materiality, movement, and culture 

converge with connection, collaboration, and co-creation.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



3 

Chapter One: Costumes, Materials and Embodiment 
 

Designing costumes 
 
Dance costuming is wedded to everyday dress, for it imitates or shows alternatives to 
fashion trends or helps envision alternative social realities. As with movement, the 
medium of dress becomes explicit in the imaginary space of the theatre to the extent that 
audiences are encouraged to see it anew.3 

-​ Eric Mullis4 
 
I am both a choreographer and costume designer. I came to the University of Maryland, 

College Park because I was offered one of five Maya Brin graduate assistantships because of my 

interdisciplinary research perspectives. Therefore, costumes were always already at the forefront, 

I wanted them to be just as important as the dance making; to be considered. Due to the nature of 

the production process, budget, timelines, and the time it takes to construct costumes, the desire 

to have the costumes available during the rehearsal process was not possible. However, because I 

know through my own research that dress has an effect on embodiment, for rehearsals I would 

ask dancers to wear and dance in clothes that made them feel “cool” (in some ways that’s an 

arbitrary word, but the point was that they chose what that meant). Dancers should feel good in 

what they are wearing, if they feel good, their dancing will inherently make a positive impact in 

terms of embodiment. What you wear is important to embodiment and performance, this 

sentiment echoes in author and dance scholar Eric Mullis’ book Instruments of Embodiment 

which draws on fashion theory and the philosophy of embodiment to investigate costuming in 

contemporary dance: “In dance, the medium-specific view takes the analogous position that only 

the patterns of movement developed by a choreographer are fundamental for a work’s identity 

4 Eric C. Mullis is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Queens University of Charlotte, USA. He has published 
essays on somaesthetics, dance technology, and dance ethics, as well as other books.    

3 Eric C. Mullis, Instruments of Embodiment, Costuming in Contemporary Dance. Routledge 2023. 9 



4 

and that scenographic elements are just add-ons.” I consider costumes as fundamental for the 

work’s identity and not as scenographic elements, or add-ons, or after thoughts.  

​  
Historical Artistic Collaboration 
 
​ In the second year of the three-year graduate program, I applied for, and received a 

competitive award from the Board of Visitors5 at the University of Maryland, College Park, to 

conduct self-directed scholarly and creative research in relation to costume design, artistic 

collaborations, and choreographic exploration. This research involved accessing the special 

collections at the Jerome Robbins Dance Division at the New York Public Library for the 

Performing Arts6. I wanted to enrich my understanding of dance history and the intersection 

between costume design and dance by learning about noteworthy collaborative relationships 

involving choreographer Martha Graham7 and fashion designer Halston, as well as 

choreographer Trisha Brown and painter and graphic artist Robert Rauschenberg. Within this 

examination of historical collaborations, seeking a path forward to envision my own trajectory 

within my creative interests as they relate to costume design, and dance making.   

On July 9th, 2024 I was able to access four images of gala dresses for Martha Graham, all 

designed by Halston. I offer a description of each of the four drawings, and I include words that 

were written on the side of each drawing, all drawings were similar with slight differences in 

drape and color.  The drawings were made and signed by American fashion illustrator, Joe Eula8. 

 

8 Joe Eula was an American fashion illustrator and served as creative director of Halston. Embedded in the art and 
fashion world. A costume designer for choreographers George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins.  

7 Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer, who’s style, the Graham technique, reshaped 
American modern dance.  

6The Jerome Robbins Dance Division is the world’s largest dance archive and library with an international and 
extensive collection that spans seven centuries. 

5The Board of Visitors for the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS) serve as advisors and 
advocates for our students and the school’s programs. 



5 

                
Figure 1, Drawings by Joe Eula 19759​ ​ ​ Figure 2, Drawings by Joe Eula 197510 
 
 

10 Figure 2. Joe Eula, [Martha Graham Gala Dresses Designed by Halston / Drawings by Joe Eula], drawings, 
1975, Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, New York, NY. 

9 Figure 1. Joe Eula, [Martha Graham Gala Dresses Designed by Halston / Drawings by Joe Eula], drawings, 1975, 
Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, New York, NY. 



6 

                
Figure 3, Drawings by Joe Eula 197511​ ​ ​ Figure 4, Drawings by Joe Eula 197512 
​  

Drawing 1:  Chinese, Red, 3 Layers, Chiffon, All In One. 
Drawing 2:  No words added, similar drawing to drawing 1.  
Drawing 3:  Purple Chiffon, 3 Layers, Gold Ballet Slippers. 
Drawing 4:  Poison Green Over Kelly Chiffon, Gold Ballet Slippers. 
 
In these drawings, I chose words to describe what I was seeing: Glamour, Majestic, 

Decadent, Liberatory, Comfort, Heightened. The renderings although only in black marker offer 

a visual representation of these descriptors, especially in the way that a fabric like Chiffon13 

gives an airy and elegant appearance in the way that it drapes over the body. I had questions 

about why chiffon, why the layering, and why those combinations of colors. I conclude that it is 

because of the elegant appearance that those combinations of fabric and color provide.  

13 Chiffon is a delicate, lightweight, sheer fabric made from silk or synthetic fibers.  

12 Figure 4. Joe Eula, [Martha Graham Gala Dresses Designed by Halston / Drawings by Joe Eula], drawings, 
1975, Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, New York, NY. 

11 Figure 3. Joe Eula, [Martha Graham Gala Dresses Designed by Halston / Drawings by Joe Eula], drawings, 
1975, Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, New York, NY. 



7 

Although this collaboration between Graham and Halston was not for a specific dance 

but instead a collaboration for what she would wear to a Gala (presumably of her own work). I 

found myself crafting a similar experience, I sent the dancers curated Pinterest boards for their 

post-show outfits, each night had a different theme: black and gold, monochrome/color block, 

and Carol Baskin wore a doily to brunch with grandma. The black and gold theme was to 

celebrate the opening of our show. The monochrome/color block aesthetic was meant to be 

functional and interchangeable since it was a two-show day. The “Carol Baskin wore a doily to 

brunch with grandma” look, as the title suggests, was about excess - prints, colors, and textures; 

particularly because our show closed on a Sunday. The purpose of these Pinterest boards was to 

add an extra layer of connection, to build excitement and celebrate together, and also as an 

extension of the artistic experience.  

The Board of Visitors asks what the long-term impact of this research will be, and I 

believe that this project extends beyond the immediate creative outcomes. As I advance in my 

career as a dance artist, costume designer, and educator, the experiences gained from this project 

have the potential to inform my pedagogical approaches. Envisioning myself as a mentor, I 

aspire to offer future students a distinct perspective on the relationship between costumes and 

dance-making. This project illuminates the capacity for costumes to drive and influence the 

development of dance, and I aim to continually deepen this understanding through collaborative 

experiences and scholarly research. I believe that through the completion of this project, there is 

inherent innovation in the field by expanding the discourse between dance and costume.  

Artistic Collaboration with Bailey Hammett 
 

I had the great pleasure of collaborating with costume designer Bailey Hammett in the 

designing of costumes for with never enough happening. This collaboration began during a 



8 

fabric shopping trip to New York City that was funded by the School of Theatre, Dance, and 

Performance Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park. I was invited to join the MFA 

costume design students while they shopped for fabrics for shows they were assigned. I learned 

about swatching fabrics to visually and physically examine color, texture, drape, and quality 

before making a final design. This process allowed me to see a variety of fabrics in close 

proximity to determine how they could function together or not.  

Hammett was quick to notice the fabrics and materials that I was drawn to, and hearing 

an outside voice name those qualities clarified for me what I was and was not interested in. This 

also shifted my perspective to be open to considering other options. For example, combining a 

shiny fabric with a solid color, or using both sides of a textured fabric to create a contrasting or 

complimentary look. What I appreciated most about this collaboration was the openness in 

conversation and sharing of ideas.  

During the research process of designing the costumes for this work, Hammett asked 

about my sources of inspiration and what I was envisioning. I discussed Trisha Brown and some 

of my favorite costumes from the company’s repertoire, and admired the costumes in a new 

commission by Judith Sanchez Ruiz14 titled Let’s Talk About Bleeding15, with costume design by 

Curious Orange16. These costumes featured a simple color palette of cream and black, but their 

combination of fabric manipulations and textures created an elevated look for the company that 

made them look like individuals that belonged in the same world together. When I saw those 

costumes as an audience member for the first time, it evoked a desire of belonging. I wanted to 

feel what it felt like to move in those costumes. I understand the impact that costumes have, not 

16 Curious Orange is a director, designer, and performer with 25 years of experience in the performing arts.  

15 Let’s Talk About Bleeding, the first commission by the Trisha Brown Dance Company to continue the conversation 
and impact of Trisha Brown’s Legacy. 

14 Judith Sánchez Rúiz is a Cuban artist based in Berlin, Germany. Former member of the Trisha Brown Dance 
Company.  



9 

only for the performers, but audience members as well. This instance allowed me as a viewer 

with embodied experiences to “envision alternate social realities”, and then figure out how to 

make that happen for myself and the cast of dancers I would later perform with by working 

collaboratively with a costume designer.  

In our conversations, I also discussed other artists and areas of interest, and a variety of 

color palettes with Hammett. I was interested in color, texture, and layering with the possibility 

for removing and adding costume pieces. On one occasion she asked me to list words of how I 

wanted the costumes to feel and look, I responded with:  

Soft, Powerful, Beautiful, Care, Absence, Presence, Transition, Attention, Rigor, Love, Grand, 
Expansion, Fantasy, Important, Detailed, Fucking cool. 

 

 
 
Figure 5, Costume Rendering for with never enough happening by Bailey Hammett. 
 

During a showing, I had shared a material exploration that involved using materials to 

manipulate a dancer’s movements. Seeing that prompted Hammett to invite me to consider 



10 

threading strips of fabrics that were being used in performance or those that were part of the 

scenic design through the costumes, she proposed adding grommets in various parts of the 

costumes to make this possible. I was initially unsure about the design choice, but I agreed to it 

because I trust the expertise that a costume designer brings to the process, a key aspect of 

working collaboratively. Ultimately, I was satisfied with the outcome. In production, when I was 

able to see all of the elements come together through video in terms of scenic, lighting, and 

costumes, there were references to all of the designs which felt very sophisticated to me. The 

grommet functioned as a metaphor for absence, the absence of the fabric that was there before it 

was removed, the absence of materials, the absence of people/performers, the absence of material 

in the scenic design of the portal. I also see this metaphor as something present in my work as a 

maker and performer – there’s something about memory and potential, something that invites, an 

emotional depth that isn’t necessarily spelt out, but it comes out / becomes transmitted. I don’t 

know how to fully name it, but naming those aspects of it feel important. 

​ The impression of the grommet detail during show week prompted me to write this poem:  

 
 

Absence 
​ ​ of materials 
​ ​ of bodies 
 
​ creating space 
​ ​  
​ ​ spaces that were filled 
​ ​ spaces to be filled 
 

​ ​ spaces surrounded by materials 
bodies 
memories 

​ ​ ​ ​ ​ absence 
 



11 

End of poem, threading back to costumes: 
 
 
 
Another design aspect in the costume that feels important relates to the scenic design. 

The scenic design was a collaboration between Sophia Tepermeister, a wall emulating a portal 

was built with strips of various colored fabrics entering through the portal into the dancing space. 

The process involved working together with Hammett to make sure that the fabric colors used 

for the portal complemented the colors in the costume. During our set dressing day, Tepermeister 

and I worked together by cutting strips of fabric that would come through the portal which was 

great in the sense that it was a moment of co-creation. Initially, strips of fabric would be 

embedded within the costume, and as the dance progressed they would be removed. During tech 

week, we decided that the strips of fabric should remain attached the entire time because of the 

way they reacted to the movement section at the end of the dance. It was beautiful to see the 

scenic design be integrated with the look of the costumes and to see them at different scales in 

size. 

Dance scholar Mullis makes the distinction between the body and costume by saying: 

“Flesh and fabric are ontologically distinct, for flesh is sentient and animate while clothing is 

crafted from inanimate materials.”17 I agree with this statement, however, through my inquiry I 

have discovered that these inanimate materials have the potential to be sentient, and become 

animate, responsive, and extensions of the body through engagement, dancing, and performance. 

To expand on this notion further I connect theoretical frameworks in relation to materials, 

performance, and embodiment in the following chapter.   

 

17 Mullis, 5. 



12 

 
Activating the Archive and the Repertoire: The Embodiment of Materials 
 
​ Making involves working with materials. It involves a knowing about materials.18 

-​ Cameron Tonkinwise19 
 

This chapter focuses on engaging with materials in a way that brings both archival 

qualities and performative elements into play. In doing this I bridge theory with the practical 

embodiment of materials. American academic in performance studies Diana Taylor provides an 

understanding of the vital role of performance in her book The Archive and The Repertoire. To 

understand the simple definitions and “role” of the archive and the repertoire Taylor describes 

them as: “the archive of supposedly enduring materials (i.e., texts, documents, buildings, bones) 

and the so-called ephemeral repertoire of embodied practice/knowledge (i.e., spoken language, 

dance, sports, ritual).”20 This example provides Taylor’s perspective on embodied knowledge in 

the repertoire versus static knowledge in the archive. This is important for thinking through my 

thesis because of my emphasis on working with materials that have meaning outside of dance. In 

with never enough happening both of these concepts are present in the way that materials are 

both “archived” (as in objects with inherent qualities) and “performed” (as in interactive, living 

participants in my dance-making process and ultimately in performance).  

The materials I chose to include in the making of with never enough happening include: 

gold mylar blankets, burgundy quilts, and a bolt of blue cotton fabric. The mylar blankets are 

most commonly known as emergency blankets, also referred to as “space blankets”, and “foil 

blankets”. A material object given in times of crisis; at border sites, climate catastrophes, and 

forced displacement. The material is lightweight, portable, waterproof, and provides warmth. I 

20 Taylor, Diana. The Archive and The Repertoire. Duke University Press. 2003. 19. 

19 Cameron Tonkinwise is a Professor and International Expert in design studies with a focus on the importance of 
achieving sustainable and equitable futures.   

18Cameron Tonkinwise, Knowing By Being There Making: Explicating The Tacit Post-Subject In Use. Studies in 
Material Thinking. 2008. 5. 



13 

name this, to acknowledge that I am not dismissing the fact that this material object is 

socio-politically charged, I understand its presence within my work, and its complexity. Even 

more so now with ongoing and emerging wars, forced displacement, and an inhumane desire for 

mass deportation by the incoming administration in the United States.  

This work reimagines the material. The mylar blanket has two sides, gold and silver. I 

emphasized the gold side of the blanket because I like the color, I find it visually striking. The 

color gold is symbolic and evokes qualities of value, nobility, and grandness; attributes that take 

on different shape and meanings throughout the making of this dance. Over the last seven years 

that I have worked with this material, I have developed a deep understanding of how to “be” with 

it. Each iteration is different because of where I am in my life, what has happened between the 

last time and this time, there is familiarity, and always newness. This deep care for the material 

has allowed me to guide others through material explorations, and invite them in. There is a need 

for connection with others, and this material functions as a bridge to create opportunities for 

connection. I have witnessed the coming together of people when they work together, when they 

experience magic and awe together. This tells me that this work is important. I felt this very 

clearly when I guest taught an Introduction to Dance course, an unnamed student shared in a post 

class reflection the following:  

I found this class to be a much needed experience in the middle of a particularly 
challenging week/period in the semester. Being asked to collaborate with my classmates, 
to access playfulness, curiosity, and creativity, and to respond to unpredictable outcomes 
with grace shifted my focus from the noise of academic stressors, personal struggles, and 
the worrisome social landscape that is our wild world. The teacher clearly emphasized the 
need to be connected and responsive to both our peers and our materials.21    
 

21 “Post-Class Reflection”, unpublished manuscript, Maryland, 2024.  



14 

The mylar blanket functions as a tool for belonging, bridging personal and collective 

experiences. While its socio-political implications cannot be ignored, within this work, the 

material transforms into a medium for connection, creativity, and shared humanity. 

I have written elsewhere, my desire of working with organic and synthetic materials and 

textiles to explore their capabilities as objects - scenic - world - partner - costume - wearable. I 

explained my belief that materials hold information: texture - weight - temperature - meaning… 

questioning how we as dancers allow our imagination to listen to the information a material is 

offering, what is it (the mylar, the quilt, the cotton fabric) saying about its desires and fears, how 

does it want to move, how does it want to move the performer, what does it want to become? 

 Design studies scholar Cameron Tonkinwise has had a profound impact on my thinking 

both theoretically and creatively. In Knowing by Being-There Making: Explicating the Tacit 

Post-Subject in Use, I was particularly drawn to the statement, “when making there is a sense in 

which the material seems to be speaking to us about its capabilities.”22 I wanted to listen, because 

the materials were asking to be animated. In my experience, my dancing feels richer when I am 

in deep collaboration - conversation - practice - listening - downloading with materials. It 

requires in depth patience and imagination. There is a change that happens somatically, there is 

an altering, and a change in states of being. This exploration is inherently subjective; those who 

engage in it bring their lived experiences, which, in turn, shift how the materials are experienced. 

I open this chapter with Tonkinwise’s quote: “Making involves working with materials. It 

involves a knowing about materials.” 23 This concept of “knowing” through making resonates 

deeply with performance as a way of knowing, as Taylor suggests in her discussion of the 

repertoire.  

23 Tonkinwise, 5. 
22 Tonkinwise, 7. 



15 

Just as making requires an understanding of materials - how they respond, transform, 

interact - performance involves a similar engagement, where the body and its movements are 

both material and medium. In addition to the body's materials at play, there are gold mylar 

blankets, burgundy quilts, navy blue cotton fabric, and the golden nuggets. 

If performance is a way of knowing, it is through the body’s dialogue with objects, 

materials, space, and other bodies. In this sense, performing is not just an act; it is an embodied 

process of discovery, where knowledge emerges from the interplay between intention, 

materiality, and movement.   

An activated material interlude 
 

I was drawn to how choreographer Annie-B. Parson24 activated objects with language in 

her book Drawing the Surface of Dance, A Biography in Charts25:  

The [object] sang. The [object] sat next to her facing the same direction. The [object] 
went on a daredevil ride. the [object] rotated like the dancer. the [object] fell and 
splattered all over the floor and made a mess. the [object] flirted with the [object]. the 
[object] sat still, meditating.26  

 
To me, Parson activated what Taylor theorizes as the archive to function as repertoire. I 

was curious about replacing the word object with words related to my process: blanket, costume, 

choreography, and performer to envision how they could come to life in a new way by changing 

the context.  

Iterations with blanket, costume, choreography, and performer inserted:  
 
The [blanket] sang. The [blanket] sat next to her facing the same direction. The [blanket] went 
on a daredevil ride. the [blanket] rotated like the dancer. the [blanket] fell and splattered all over 

26 Annie-B. Parson, Drawing the Surface of Dance, A Biography in Charts. Wesleyan University Press. 2019. 

25 Annie-B Parson rethinks choreography as dance on paper in her book Drawing the Surface of Dance, A Biography 
in Charts.  

24 Annie-B. Parson is an American choreographer, dancer, and director. Parson is notable for her work in 
dance/theater, post-modern dance, and art pop music.  



16 

the floor and made a mess. the [blanket] flirted with the [blanket]. the [blanket] sat still, 
meditating. 
 
The [costume] sang. The [costume] sat next to her facing the same direction. The [costume] went 
on a daredevil ride. the [costume] rotated like the dancer. the [costume] fell and splattered all 
over the floor and made a mess. the [costume] flirted with the [costume]. the [costume] sat still, 
meditating. 
 
The [choreography] sang. The [choreography] sat next to her facing the same direction. The 
[choreography] went on a daredevil ride. the [choreography] rotated like the dancer. the 
[choreography] fell and splattered all over the floor and made a mess. the [choreography] flirted 
with the [choreography]. the [choreography] sat still, meditating. 
 
The [blanket] sang. The [choreography] sat next to her facing the same direction. The 
[materials] went on a daredevil ride. the [costume] rotated like the dancer. the [choreography] 
fell and splattered all over the floor and made a mess. the [blanket] flirted with the [costume]. 
the [performer] sat still, meditating.  
 
 
 
End of material interlude, threading back to:  
 
 
 

The archive and the repertoire are significant aspects of this research because they reveal 

how materials operate on multiple levels in with never enough happening. As archival objects, 

these materials contain a history and a physicality that shape their potential uses, meanings, and 

limitations. This “archival” aspect acknowledges the textures, weights, and origins of each 

material - their pasts, and multiple uses. However, it is through performance “the repertoire” that 

these materials are continuously activated and transformed. In collaboration with the dancers, the 

materials transcend their static forms and become animated while also responding to and 

influencing the movements and choices made in real-time.  

Both the archive and the repertoire allow the materials to be something known and 

something constantly discovered, aligning with Taylor’s notion of the repertoire as a “live” 



17 

knowledge that “shifts, breathes, and refuses to be pinned down.”27 By engaging with these 

materials in an embodied way, we not only encounter their pasts but also allow for new meanings 

to emerge, creating a kind of living archive that exists within the dancers, within the materials, 

and within each moment of performance. This process is inherently cultural, as mentioned 

previously, those who engage in this work bring a multitude of lived experiences which in turn 

shift how the materials are experienced and utilized within the group.  

I am fascinated by the interplay between these cultures and the materials, and by how this 

interaction fosters the emergence of a distinct culture within the group. Due to the long-term 

nature of my rehearsal and building process, I see a parallel with Taylor’s sentiment: “Embodied 

practice, along with and bound up with other cultural influences offers a way of knowing.”28 And 

so, working with materials in this way becomes a dialogue between individual cultural influences 

and collective exploration, where distinct perspectives interact to form a shared understanding.  

This dynamic highlights how culture shapes how each dancer approached the materials 

and the materials facilitate a new collective culture within the group. For example, the cast of six 

dancers in this work comes from varied backgrounds, which perhaps explains why Alondra 

Torres Negron was particularly drawn to the quilts, while Emma Vanderlinde gravitated toward 

the golden nuggets. I think of my own inclination/orientation towards working with these 

materials. This way of engaging contributes to the culture of the ensemble, through embodiment 

and cultural influence as a way of knowing and creating together.  

I continue the conversation on culture in a more personal way in the following chapter 

where I discuss aesthetics of Maximalism and Minimalism as they relate to aesthetics in 

contemporary dance through a Latinx perspective.  

28 Taylor, 3. 

27 Niki Tulk. Performing the wound : practicing a feminist theatre of becoming.Advances in  
theatre and performance studies. Routledge. 11.  



18 

Chapter Two: Aesthetics of Excess and Minimalism 
 
“Primitive man had to differentiate themselves by various colours, modern man wears his 
clothes as a mask… The lack of ornament is a sign of intellectual power” 
 

-​ Adolf Loos29 
 
 
Arriving at Maximalism through Minimalism // Aesthetics in Contemporary Dance from a 
Latinx Perspective 

 
This research project explores the relationship between my Mexican-American dance 

experience and creative process, in conversation with the aesthetics of Minimalism and 

Maximalism and their presence and intersection within contemporary dance. I draw examples 

from choreographers Rosie Herrera, Miguel Gutierrez, and Trisha Brown whose work, I argue, 

encompass the aesthetics of minimalism and Maximalism. In the context of this paper I use those 

terms in this way: Minimalism emphasizes simplicity and clarity, and Maximalism emphasizes 

excess and abundance.30 This exploration involves several scholars within the field of dance, 

including Danielle Goldman, Brenda Dixon Gottschild, Jacqueline Shea Murphy, Amanda 

Hamp, Celeste Fraser Delgado and Juanita Suarez. Additionally, I include scholar of U.S. Latino 

and Latin American arts and culture Tomás Ybarra-Frausto to support my ideas and research. 

The more that I delve into this research the more I am aware of the intersection of aesthetics in 

choreographies, theories, and within myself, and that aesthetics cannot be singular, rigid ideas. 

30 I arrived at these definitions through a variety of searches on Google, as they relate to visual art, as well as reading 
Aesthetics of Excess by Jillian Hernandez. This inquiry has led me to learn more deeply about the respective art 
movements of Minimalism and Maximalism, and their distinct qualities and aesthetics. Through this viewpoint, 
Minimalism is about distilling and arriving at simple and direct engagement with the viewer, while Maximalism 
embraces intricacy and abundance, it invites complexity.  

29 Adolf Loos was an Austrian and Czechoslovak architect, influential European theorist, and a polemicist of 
modern architecture. This quote is from his design manifesto Ornament and Crime (1913).  



19 

My Perspective 

For now, I want to make the distinction that although I am using the identifier Latinx in 

my title and throughout this paper, when I am talking about myself I use Mexican-American. 

Latinx applies to people who come from Latin countries such as Mexico, Puerto Rico, Central 

and South America, and Cuba, and because I write and talk about other Latinx people, it seems 

appropriate to do so.  

​ In writing about and critiquing dance, there is an emphasis (and value) on how 

contemporary dance relates to Minimalism. An example of Minimalism in contemporary dance 

is Yvonne Rainer’s Trio A (1966), this choreography incorporates no music and features a 

seamless flow of everyday movements like toe tapping, walking, and kneeling. As one of the 

co-creators of the Judson Dance Theater, this work exemplifies the stripped down, Minimalist 

approach to choreography (from footnote 68).  

In thinking about my own cultural identity, and my dance lineage, a question I keep 

returning to is how Maximalism in contemporary dance can serve as an expression of culture. I 

already know that Minimalism in contemporary dance is an expression of culture because I 

experience it, and am drawn to it. This connection to culture is illuminated by an interview 

response from performer Sid Bobb in dance scholar Jacqueline Shea Murphy’s Lesson’s in 

Dance, He says: “The way you do things always changes – throughout your personal life, as well 

as your cultural life. Your culture has a history and it’s still changing, it’s going somewhere, 

same as your personal history is changing and going somewhere.”31  For me, there is something 

special about seeing my culture on the concert dance stage, even if it’s just music; there’s a sense 

of “ah, THIS is for me”, a sense of belonging and resonance. As I attempt to better understand 

31 Jacqueline Shea Murphy, Lessons in Dance (as) History in Dancing Bodies, Living Histories. The Banff Centre 
Press. (September 15, 2000) 143.  



20 

and integrate various aspects of my Mexican American modern dance experience and lineage, 

and what they mean to me and the work I create, I find myself exploring the concept of 

Maximalism as it relates to materials and excess, and their role in cultural expression.  

I want to highlight that I also utilize the aesthetics of Minimalism to achieve 

Maximalism, and vice versa. The particular mode of excess I take up in this thesis research is 

what I term “material-aesthetic excess.”  I offer material-aesthetic excess as a concept for 

theorizing modes of material utilization within choreography. Too many events happening at 

once, too many materials on stage, too many mylar blankets (or not enough). I make the 

deliberate choice to overuse mylar blankets to find a multitude of ways for them to be utilized, 

experienced, and seen. I return to this material-aesthetic excess in a later chapter, where I discuss 

how this concept is present with never enough happening.  

In her dance theater works, choreographer Rosie Herrera integrates her Latinx culture 

with her choices in music including Juan Gabriel and Rocio Jurado, extravagant costumes and 

sets, and religious iconography. In Herrera’s work Pity Party (2011)32 exemplifies Maximalism 

through the use of gold streamers, candy spilled on the floor, or slices of bread placed and held 

onto a dancer's body. There is a moment in the choreography where a female dancer is made to 

represent a piñata, is lifted upside down by two male dancers and as pieces of candies fall out a 

crowd of dancers fight for the scattered candy. While this moment resembles an exciting moment 

for partygoers to reach for the best candy, it’s impossible to deny the potential problem presented 

by this imagery which I discuss later in this paper. It invites me as a viewer with cultural 

understanding to think deeply about how these moments are perceived by me, or how the Latinx 

community is presented in concert dance or society. 

32 Rosie Herrera. Pity Party, Commissioned by the American Dance Festival, 2010.  



21 

Cultural representation in dance matters. In her essay, "Spectres of the Dark: The Dance 

Making Manifesto of Latina/Chicana Choreographies" dance writer Juanita Suarez delves into 

how choreographies of Latinas/Chicanas challenge traditional dance forms and cultural 

stereotypes, often addressing complex issues, and she argues that Latina/Chicana choreographers 

create works that reflect their lived experiences, incorporating elements of darkness and struggle 

alongside resilience and empowerment.33 Suarez says:  

I did not know if there were other dancemakers who made dances by drawing from the 
Mexican-American experience. If there were others like myself—I assumed there were or 
would be—how do they speak through dance and how do their dances voice a cultural 
aesthetic particular to the Mexican-American experience?34  
 
I reflect on how my lived experiences as a Mexican-American influence my own 

dance-making. I think about the music that I listened to at home or on car rides to Mexico when I 

was growing up, I think about when my dad would say “No quiero que sean unos buenos para 

nada” meaning “I don’t want you to be a good for nothing,” So I strive to excel at many things; 

there’s that Maximalist attitude. I think about the ingrained sense of improvisation through 

growing up in an immigrant household. I know that these aspects show up in my choreographies, 

but they also show up in my choreographies in a particular aesthetic because of the artists, 

dances, and lineages that I am influenced by through a modern and post-modern dance context 

within the United States. Later in this paper, I discuss the sensibility of Rasquachismo that has 

been embedded in my life which sheds light on making due with what is available. 

34 Suarez, 404. 
 

33 Juanita Suarez. Spectres of the Dark: The Dance Making Manifesto of Latina/Chicana Choreographies, Fields in 
Motion, Sep 06 2011.  



22 

Minimalism/Maximalism 
 

As I was preparing to go into a rehearsal for with never enough happening, I was thinking 

about how to deepen material explorations in order to get at the center of an idea, to distill and 

arrive at the thing that is most important. I envisioned that moment as a minimalist postmodern 

dance phrase, with complications of course. What is strange to me about this moment is that an 

attempt at arriving at Minimalism was going to require an excess of work. So I proceeded to ask 

my cast the following questions as they navigated explorations with quilts to access the 

collaborative intelligence of the group, so that the information could come from a variety of 

sources instead of a singular one (my own). Those questions were: “how do we continue to go 

deeper within our material explorations?”, “can we write down words or feelings that came up 

during the exploration?”, and “how do you take this information to make phrase material?”, 

“what about this exploration is drawing you in?”. Ultimately the material excavated wasn’t as 

interesting (to me) as discussing the ideas and being in conversation about the discoveries that 

were being made, but at least now there is more material available to me/us that I/we can access. 

For me the strategies of using Maximalism to arrive at Minimalism come from a postmodern 

perspective in dance making and studies.  

 Shortly after this experience, I began reading Ryan M. Davis’ article “All the Possible 

Variations and Positions: The Intimate Maximalism of Miguel Gutierrez”, and was struck by the 

following passage:  

At one point, amid numerous false starts and non sequiturs, Gutierrez scatters coins from 
a plastic grocery bag around the floor. “This, dramaturgically, has nothing to do with the 
piece,” he announces. It is just ordinary loose change and a clear- cut action. Yet this 
shower of glimmering silver is also gratuitous ornament; it is exuberant expression, an 
impulse in excess of function or meaning. “I didn’t become an artist to ‘make sense,’ ” he 



23 

scoffs. “My theory is, like, you can start with everything. You don’t have to fucking erase 
yourself. You don’t have to boil it down.” 35 

 
While my dance and Gutierrez’s dance are obviously different, this description of his work offers 

an example of excess, and having all of the material available and present in the work. There is 

already so much labor that goes into creating, I think that this desire to extract and distill comes 

from my postmodern values and aesthetics. I tend to do an excessive amount of research in order 

to share the clearest possible outcome. I think it would be a good challenge for me to share a 

variety of outcomes and not worry so much about boiling it down. It brings me back to 

Minimalism's emphasis on simplicity and clarity, and Maximalism's emphasis on excess and 

abundance; how do I play the two or negotiate with them.  

I often revisit Trisha Brown's solo Watermotor (1978)36, in large part because I like seeing 

her dance, and because her movement vocabulary is a part of my history/lineage. That said, I 

also find something new each time. But I also ask myself how this was made, how was this 

choreographed when it can appear improvisational, the movement doesn’t appear like it can be 

contained. French cinematographer and director Babette Mangolte visited Brown twice a week to 

familiarize herself with the solo in order to get the best shot during filming.37 In Brown’s 

biography, her movement is described as “extraordinary, idiosyncratic virtuosity…”38 I see that 

extraordinary, idiosyncratic virtuosity in Watermotor (1978). I see many centers moving at once 

and multiple rhythms happening at once. I see the coolness, relaxation, looseness, and laidback 

energy, and it’s so crisp and clear. Yes, it’s postmodern and “Minimal”, but the attitude, energy, 

and execution of movement is Maximalist? If Maximalism is an aesthetic of excess, “more is 

38 Trisha Brown Dance Company. Biography. Trishabrowncompany.org. Accessed April 23, 2025.  

37 Babette Mangolte, On the Making of Water Motor, a dance by Trisha Brown filmed by Babette Mangolte, 
accessed November 20, 2024.. 

36 Trisha Brown, Watermotor, 1978, New York City. 

35 Ryan M. Davis.  All the Possible Variations and Positions: The Intimate Maximalism of Miguel Gutierrez, Theater 
(2015) 45 (1): 14.  



24 

more,” can this aesthetic of excess also be about the attitude, the ways in which something is 

performed? I make the argument that yes, it is. With that being said, Trisha Brown is a 

Maximalist. This is perhaps most evident in her solo titled Accumulation with Talking plus 

Watermotor (1979)39. This solo is a display of Trisha Brown’s virtuosity and genius. 

Accumulation40 uses a mathematical structure, a structure visible to the viewer, the opposite 

happens in Watermotor, the structure masked by the virtuosic display of the dancing. In this 

work, she dances between two dances and two stories, and to put it simply, it’s hard to dance and 

talk at the same time. The edges are soft enough that it’s hard to tell when one ends and the other 

begins, or the way she interrupts herself without it feeling like an interruption. A sort of “I was 

just there, and now I'm here” that keeps me leaning forward. 

​ This makes me think about an intersection of ideas, how they inform one another, or even 

how to integrate ideas so that they do not remain compartmentalized. I’m pulling from here, and 

here, and here to make sense of who I am, and also to be able to share and be in conversation 

with others. This, in relation to my personal histories and experiences, and as an improviser; is 

what can I access in this moment, how can I be available in this moment. This approach to 

navigating my artistic and creative life feels empowering, especially as I deepen my 

understanding of improvisation’s potential through the lens of dance artist and author Danielle 

Goldman. In Goldman’s book I Want To Be Ready: Improvised Dance as a Practice of Freedom  

she states that improvisation’s power is: “A full-bodied critical engagement with the world, 

characterized by both flexibility and perpetual readiness.”41 I think that’s also an aspect of 

Maximalism, I accumulate knowledge and experiences that I can access. This full-bodied critical 

41 Danielle Goldman, I Want To Be Ready: Improvised Dance as a Practice of Freedom (The University of Michigan 
Press, 2010) 5. 

40 Trisha Brown, Accumulation, New York, 1971. 
39 Trisha Brown, Accumulation with Talking plus Watermotor, New York. 1979.  



25 

engagement with the world is part of how I access information that informs my dance making, 

and my way of being as a performer and collaborator.  

difficult aesthetics: an interlude 
 

How are the aesthetics of Maximalism perceived? Contemporary dance is a site for 

innovation and experimentation, offering artists the freedom to express themselves and engage in 

interdisciplinary collaborations. It is meant to celebrate individuality and provides a space for 

social and political commentary. When choreographers like Miguel Gutierrez and Rosie Herrera 

embrace these principles, critics often recognize the significance of their work yet grapple with 

their choreographic choices and aesthetics.  

Drawing on the insights of dance scholars Amanda Hamp and Celeste Fraser Delgado, 

this interlude explores the critical analysis of Gutierrez and Herrera’s choreographic works. 

Hamp’s article, “I want to understand (what Is happening to me)! Miguel Gutierrez Performs 

How to Be Okay in a Non-Utopia”, and Delgado’s article, “Cruel Exuberance: Choreographers 

Rosie Herrera and Octavio Campos Challenge the Imperatives of Latin Popular Performance”, 

shed light on the similarities and differences in the reception of their works.  

The Maximalist aesthetics present in Gutierrez’s work are labeled as difficult when 

discussed in Hamp’s article. She uses the term 'difficult aesthetics' to encompass choreographic 

choices she perceives in his choreographies. Hamp says: “difficult aesthetics - I discern qualities 

of fatigue, off-kilter embodiment, shadowiness, crowdedness, and incoherence - which perform 

ways to be in and move through lived complexities of the here-and-now.”42 I do not discuss each 

of these qualities in depth because Hamp does so in her article, however, since she uses them to 

analyze Gutierrez’s work, it’s important to name these qualities. Hamp also discusses how 

42 Amanda Hamp, I want to understand (what Is happening to me)! Miguel Gutierrez Performs How to Be Okay in a 
Non-Utopia, The Drama Review 60:2, New York University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016. 
15-28. 



26 

Gutierrez emphasizes subjecthood within his work, where performers actively participate in 

embodying and engaging in the difficult aesthetics present in his choreography. For Instance, 

when Hamp is expanding her own definition of off-kilter embodiment in dAMNATION rOAD 

(2004) dancer Michelle Boule’s “actions transgress the traditional lexicon of American concert 

dance, they provoke audience members to look at her not just as a dancer, but to also consider 

her as a person inscribed by history and experience.”43 This example offers insight into how 

performers may be perceived in his work, and can allow audience members to relate to the 

performer at a human level.  

I agree with Hamp’s assertions of difficult aesthetics, I also agree with her and believe 

that Gutierrez’s approach to dance making is significant in the way in which he expresses 

himself, innovates and experiments through his work. As Hamp writes, doing so by actively 

challenging contemporary dance aesthetics:   

Gutierrez turns to strategies for queering how dance is made. He resists traditional, 
hierarchical practices by granting dancers and other collaborators authority in creative 
decision-making. Extremely aware of dance’s capacity for spectacle, he both refuses and 
hyperbolizes it. And while highly tuned to how things appear, he gives primacy to 
interiority and experience. He focuses on sensations and psychosomatic states. He asks 
dancers what they think. He allows things to be chaotic and nonsensical.44 

 
This offers a powerful insight into his choreographic process and that he is intentional about his 

choice making, and also that he cares about his collaborators and isn’t engaging in reckless 

pedagogies to make social and political commentaries. Reckless pedagogies, defined as a lack of 

care, caution, consideration for consequences that could negatively impact his performers’ 

well-being, would be contrary to his approach. I believe that being in dialogue with his 

44 Hamp, 24. 
43 Hamp, 19. 



27 

collaborators during the building process of his work is crucial given that they are tasked with 

embodying difficult aesthetics not just in performance but the rehearsal process as well.  

Celeste Fraser Delgado discusses the aesthetics of cruel exuberance and coerced consent 

present in Rosie Herrera’s choreographic work. Delgado focuses her critique on Herrera's work 

in relation to the social and cultural landscape of Miami, Florida. Delgado states:  

In Miami, the cruel exuberance of Latin popular performance is made more acute by the 
demands of the tourist economy and the city’s status as a center for transnational Latin 
entertainment. Latin exuberance is overlaid on the eternal happy face of hospitality, 
which is an imperative for low-wage workers from the hotel industry to the sex industry 
to the entertainment industry and the arts.45 
 

Her company, the Rosie Herrera Dance Theater, from my observations unveils the pain behind 

the glittering smiles of drag queens, divas, and showgirls. The examples used in Delgado’s 

article reflect moments from Various Stages of Drowning: A Cabaret (2010) and Pity Party 

(2011) which display cruel exuberance and coerced consent.  

In Various Stages of Drowning: A Cabaret (2010) coerced consent is exposed when 

performer Ana Mendez is dipped into a series of birthday cakes by male performers in tuxedos. 

“At first, she giggles and coos, but as the men dip her into cake after cake, despite her growing 

protests, she grows distraught and sobs.”46 This scenario reflects what scholar Eve Kosofsky 

Sedgwick terms “the empathetically and sexually hyperavailable female figure,” regardless of 

whether that figure is biologically female or otherwise. 47 This aspect of hyperavailability 

reinforces ‘the eternal happy face of hospitality’ mentioned earlier, and the way female 

latinidad–used here to discuss latino communities and cultural practices outside of latin 

america–must abide by the expectations of eternal happiness. Presenting this difficult aesthetic 

47 Fraser-Delgado, 13-14. 
46 Fraser-Delgado, 13-14. 

45 Celeste Fraser Delgado, Cruel Exuberance: Choreographers Rosie Herrera and Octavio Campos Challenge the 
Imperatives of Latin Popular Performance, Conversations Across The Field of Dance Studies, 2014. 13-14. 



28 

on stage means shedding light on the issue and inviting viewers to grapple with that reality 

within the context of concert dance. It challenges the audience to question societal norms around 

gendered expectations and hospitality, particularly as they relate to Latinx femininity, and to feel 

the discomfort that arises from such a display. By exposing these challenging themes, Herrera 

pushes audiences not only to recognize but to reckon with the endurance and resilience masked 

behind the hyperavailability imposed on women, suggesting that these constructs demand both 

critical awareness and change. As Fraser-Delgado describes it: 

In Pity Party (2011) by Rosie Herrera, the choreography presents an example of coerced 
consent to display a forced joy involving performers Liony Garcia and Octavio Campos: 
Standing behind him in an elegant suit, Octavio Campos pulls a roll of Scotch tape from 
his jacket pocket, yanks Garcia up by the hair, then tapes the sobbing man’s eyelid and 
eye brow into a raised position. … while Campos sticks a finger in Garcia’s mouth, then 
applies another strip of tape from the corner of his mouth, across his ear, to his opposite 
cheek. Soon Garcia’s face is a grotesque smiley face wracked in pain.48  

 
This instance highlights an ongoing choreographic choice present in Herrera’s work to convey 

dark realities. It prompts me to consider how often we hide behind fake smiles in uncomfortable 

situations to make others feel at ease. Delgado also notes, “Herrera’s works regularly erupt into a 

dance party, reveling in the very exuberance they challenge elsewhere.”49. 

These examples display extreme states embodied by performers, challenging traditional 

notions of contemporary dance to make social commentary. Herrera’s ability to integrate difficult 

aesthetics into moments of joyful eruption makes a powerful statement about resilience within 

the Latinx community. While Delgado makes these assertions of Herrera’s work in the context of 

Miami, Florida - and I have previously emphasized the importance of Miami’s social and cultural 

landscape - I believe that the themes and examples extend beyond the specific location and, in 

49 Fraser-Delgado, 13-14. 
48 Fraser-Delgado, 13-14. 



29 

some cases, beyond the Latinx community. This opens up a broader topic of discussion and 

critical inquiry best explored and discussed in another paper.  

The works of Gutierrez and Herrera ask their audiences to witness the complexities and 

oftentimes difficulties of human existence with a Latinx perspective on the concert stage through 

contemporary dance. Hamp quotes American author on sexuality studies and feminist theory Jill 

Dolan within her discussion and argues for performance’s social efficacy, suggesting that “the 

experience of performance, the pleasure of a utopian performative, even if it doesn’t change the 

world, certainly changes the people who feel it” 50 These choreographic choices and aesthetics 

are necessary regardless of their difficulty in viewership. Maximalism can’t just encompass the 

excess of “nice and beautiful things” Maximalism is about aesthetics in complexity, cruel 

exuberance, fatigue, extravagance, incoherence, it can be messy and not perfect; unveiling all 

aspects of humanity. Both Gutierrez and Herrera emphasize subjecthood in their work, to make 

visible what we (audiences) wish to hide from, and then name it as a difficult aesthetic. 

 

End of interlude, threading back to: 

 

Rasquachismo  

While attending the inaugural Latinx Dance Educators Alliance Convivencia, I had a 

conversation with fellow attendee Roxanne Gray. We shared our current research, and I began 

discussing this paper and its relationship to my creative process. During our conversation, she 

mentioned the word Rasquachismo—a term I had never encountered before. Little did I know 

that she was about to introduce me to an aesthetic deeply embedded in my cultural upbringing as 

a Mexican-American.   

50 Hamp, 29. 



30 

In Spanish, rasquache means ‘leftover’ or ‘of no value.’ The term Rasquachismo was 

coined by scholar Tomas Ybarra Frausto and describes it as an attitude, the taste or lifestyle of 

the underdog.51 This attitude is rooted in resourcefulness and adaptability, survival and 

inventiveness, and resilience. It is an aesthetic expression that comes from discards, fragments, 

and recycling, of everyday items to be given a new purpose/meaning. Learning about 

Rasquachismo has allowed me to embrace my heritage in new ways and has fostered a deeper 

understanding of my bicultural identity52.  

​ So how do the sensibilities of Rasquachismo show up in my work? As an improviser,  

the words resourcefulness and access come to mind; what can I access in this moment, how can I 

be available in this moment, how do I pull from everything that I know. Which brings me to a 

few experiences I had during my dance thesis process, as they relate to costume and props.  

Costume: I decided to build a pair of pants for one of the dancers. I used a fabric manipulation 

technique called pleating, and added a pleat on each side of over 200 4 x 4 square pieces of 

muslin fabric, creating a mountain like shape on each square. After sewing the squares into 

panels, I was able to sew them together to create a pair of pants. These pants were worn by 

dancer Alondra Torres Negrón in rehearsal and during thesis proposal presentations. I wanted to 

emphasize to the design teams that there were specific costume related looks I was after. During 

initial production meetings, Costume Shop Manager Jen Daszczyszak53 requested that I bring the 

pants in so the shop could look at them so they could figure out a way to build them. I was 

nervous. Although I have a background in costume design, and have worked as a technician, my 

experience does not compare to that of a fully staffed costume shop. I made them by identifying 

a texture that was interesting to me and figured it out. A similar situation occurred with the 

53 There is a professional staff who work in the costume shop for the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. 
52 Growing up in an immigrant household, and the complexities of living and assimilating in this country. 
51 Tomas Ybarra Frausto, Rasquachismo A Chicano Sensibility, Duke University Press. 2019. 



31 

properties manager, Timothy Jones54 in relation to the golden nuggets that I was using in my 

dance. Jones, expressed frustration that he had not built/made the golden nuggets. Perhaps 

aesthetically he believed that they should look better. What he did not know was that the golden 

nuggets were the result of overused, ripped, smelly mylar blankets; holding memories of the 

dancers who used them. Instead of throwing the material away, I thought about how I could 

repurpose the material and give it a new life. So, I made the pieces of mylar into small rock-like 

objects and held them together with rubber bands. In this act of repurposing I was expanding the 

materials that were accessible to us in the dance with every new nugget. More on golden nuggets 

in the following chapter with additional imagery in figure 6 and figure 7. Not only is 

Rasquachismo at play, so is improvisation, and as mentioned previously I once again quote 

Danielle Goldman’s definition of improvisation’s power “A full-bodied critical engagement with 

the world, characterized by both flexibility and perpetual readiness.”55 ​  

I also think about instances when I would help my dad, and he would make a funnel by 

cutting a water bottle, or when I would reach into the refrigerator for butter but am surprised with 

salsa or refried beans. Finding different ways to use things, to give them a different life or 

purpose, to not waste. It reminds me of the way I reuse the gold mylar blankets and turn them 

into small golden nuggets to try different choreographic experiments to figure out what else 

might be there. How can I create a different purpose for it after the initial purpose has lapsed? I 

like the way Rasquachismo intersects with aspects of Maximalism, because it’s about using and 

reusing everything, and I also see how Rasquachismo intersects with Minimalism because it’s 

about making the most from the least.  

55 Goldman, 5. 
54 There is a professional staff who work in the properties shop for the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.  



32 

Similar to Brown’s iconic Watermotor (1978) solo; in only two and a half minutes56 

Brown highlights the complexity of her dancing. She showcases the most in the least amount of 

time, from my perspective that’s Rasquachismo, she’s a Maximalist. I make the assumption that 

an outsider perspective would describe Rasquachismo as a difficult aesthetic due to its 

fragmented, recycled, held together by a string nature. But I hope that this speculative outsider 

perspective can appreciate Rasquachismo’s spontaneous, resilient, survival and persevering 

attitude.  

Lingering thoughts  

I am reminded of the importance of embracing complexity and interconnectedness, 

embracing the intersection of Minimalism, Maximalism, Rasquachismo and cultural identity, and 

personal expression. And like Rosie Herrera, Miguel Gutierrez, and Trisha Brown, I too draw 

from various inspirations to shape my own creative voice. The works of Gutierrez and Herrera 

ask their audiences to witness the complexities and oftentimes difficulties of human existence on 

the concert stage through Latinx contemporary dance. Hamp quotes Jill Dolan within her 

discussion and argues for performance’s social efficacy, suggesting that “the experience of 

performance, the pleasure of a utopian performative, even if it doesn’t change the world, 

certainly changes the people who feel it” 57 These choreographic choices and aesthetics are 

necessary regardless of their difficulty in viewership. Maximalism can’t just encompass the 

excess of “nice things” Maximalism is about aesthetics in complexity, cruel exuberance, fatigue, 

extravagance, incoherence, it can be messy and not perfect; unveiling all aspects of humanity.  

My hope is that terms and aesthetics can remain porous because they often intersect and 

inform one another. Why not just play it all? - This thinking is further evidence of Maximalism. I 

57 Hamp, 29. 
56 Wendy Perron, Dance Magazine. https://www.dancemagazine.com/short-form-choreography/#gsc.tab=0 



33 

think that ways of being/engaging with a multitude of aesthetics don’t have to look the same for 

everyone - There can be many ways of being and expressing those aesthetics. 

A choreographer’s note, translating, and Maximalism 
 
​ The following choreographer’s note was included in the program for the Fall M.F.A. 

Thesis Dance Concert where I premiered with never enough happening. I wrote this note to 

frame the performance as an invitation to witness, rather than the expectation to be entertained. 

A choreographer’s note, from my perspective, allows the choreographer to share additional 

insight about the work with their audience. I included one because some things can be said in 

words, that can’t be said with movement, and some things can be said with movement, that can’t 

be said in words.  

 
The version of the work that you will see tonight, with never enough happening, exists 
because of a deep investigation into the relationship between the body and the materials 
that surround us. - this dance also exists and is informed by my experiences with alexx 
shilling, Hana Van Der Kolk, Lea Keifer, Laurel Jenkins and Madison Clark as a 
performer, collaborator, conspirator and participant; through the seen and felt.  

 
Throughout this process, my collaborators and I explored how fabric, texture, and space 
could extend beyond the tangible, becoming intertwined with the experience of dancing 
itself. In this dancing something new emerges, something familiar and strange, organic 
and fantastical.  

 
The materials are not “just” props, they are active participants, reshaping how we move, 
how we see, how we feel, how we dance. In turn reshaping how they move, how they see, 
how they feel, how they dance.  

 
This work is also about connection - something that feels simultaneously personal and 
collective. It is a love letter to the people I have had the privilege of dancing with, a 
celebration of the power of community, creation, of being, and dancing together. 

 
Thank you for being here to witness this dance unfold.  

 
 



34 

In Spanish: 
La versión del baile que verán ésta noche, with never enough happening, existe a través 
de la profunda investigación de la relación entre el cuerpo y los materiales que nos 
rodean. -éste baile existe y ha sido informado por mis experiencias con alexx shilling, 
Hana Van Der Kolk, Lea Kroger, Laura Jenkins and Madison Clark como performer 
(artista), colaborador, conspirador y participante; al ser visto y sentido. 

 
Durante éste proceso, mis colaboradores y yo hemos explorado cómo telas, textura, y el 
espacio que nos rodea sobrepasan lo tangible, entrelazándose dentro del mismo baile 
como su propia experiencia.En éste baile algo nuevo surge, algo familiar y extraño, de 
una forma fantástica y orgánica. 

 
Los materiales no son "solo" piezas escénicas, ellos también son participantes activos, 
reordenando la manera en que nos movemos, como vemos, como sentimos, como 
bailamos. Y en cambio reordenándose, como ellos se mueven, como ellos ven, como 
ellos sienten, como ellos bailan. 

 
Ésta pieza de baile también se basa en conexión- algo que simultáneamente se siente de 
forma personal y colectiva. Es una carta de amor a las personas con quienes he tenido el 
privilegio de bailar. Es una celebración hacia la fuerza que existe en comunidad, creando 
y bailando juntos. 
 
Gracias a ti por estar aquí para presenciar el desarrollo de esta danza. 
Con apoyo de traducción de Rosario López58 (with translation support by Rosario López). 

 
After writing my choreographer’s note, I thought about my parents, as well as one of the 

dancer’s parents, who are also Spanish speakers. I wanted them to be able to read about the 

thoughts and processes behind creating a project of this scale. I felt it was important to begin 

translating the note, but I quickly realized that some of the words didn’t carry the same weight in 

Spanish. 

Initially, my attempt was only partially successful—I knew that some of the language had 

lost its original gravitas. I reached out to my friend Rosario Lopez, with whom I had worked on 

translations in the past. Lopez has a deeper understanding of Mexican Spanish, shaped by her 

58 Rosario Lopez is a Mexican-American dance artist and longtime friend. 



35 

lived experiences. I sent her my attempt and said, "Hey, I tried. I think it’s close, but it’s kind of 

bad." She assured me it wasn’t too bad, which was encouraging. 

Working with her to fill in the gaps was exciting, as it highlighted not just differences in 

wording, but also nuances and accents within the language. It was a process of discovering how 

to bridge the spaces between English and Spanish, and by doing so, make my work more 

accessible to those who mean the most to me.  

This act of translating is another form of labor, one that parallels my research into 

Maximalism. It’s not just about language, but about the work, time, and care that goes into 

ensuring every layer of my project reaches the people I care about. Translating the note was an 

act of layering meaning across languages, preserving the richness of the original while adapting 

it to a new context. It is a way of acknowledging and honoring the diverse cultural backgrounds 

of those involved, inviting a broader community into the experience. Through this translation, I 

aim to make the work not just accessible, but also reflective of the multilingual, multifaceted 

realities of the people who inspire and support it. It is an extension of the care, effort, and 

intention that inform my artistic practice, striving to bridge gaps and create connections across 

language and culture.  

 

 

 

 

 

 



36 

Chapter Three: Choreography of with never enough happening 

This chapter continues and deepens the exploration of Maximalism and Minimalism, not 

only by integrating these theoretical frameworks into choreographic practice but by explicitly 

highlighting their significance within the process. 

 
Early Research  
 

The events leading up to with never enough happening came about from exploration and 

research with gold mylar blankets, quilts, and cotton fabric in the following dances and 

choreographic studies: slow thaw, drops of gold, golden nuggets, a potential goodbye, untitled 

purple quilt solo, and Triple Spell. Noticing and naming the trend of lowercase titles, there is a 

sense of highlighting the understated. In each of these studies, I have been drawn to how the 

body/the dancer becomes changed or affected when working with materials. There are times 

when the blanket is the blanket, and there are times when it becomes something else, turning the 

ordinary into something extraordinary. What is happening within the body - within the dancer? 

How is this material relationship changing the body, therefore, changing the person? When 

talking about the process with the dancers I have been working with, I hear them say how much 

they love the process and how much they love being in the work, and while I take that as a huge 

compliment I also wonder what it is about the material (if it even is about the material, textile, 

phrasework, or something else.) This curiosity has led me to seek answers through the study of 

phenomenology, and I provide a definition by media studies scholar David Guignion59:  

the study of appearances and how people interact with things in the world as they come in 
contact with us through our senses, through our ability to touch, see, smell them, how 
they appear to us through all of these different senses, the study of those interactions. 

59 David Guignion is a media studies scholar, professor, and podcast host of Theory & Philosophy. 



37 

And how we think about them and how they become meaningful to us. The capacity to 
engage with things and others.60  

 
Because phenomenology is about the individual experience, I seek to be in conversation with my 

collaborators to hear and learn how they are experiencing the process, and what that exploration 

is bringing up to the surface for them. So, from a phenomenological standpoint I can only write 

about how I am experiencing those interactions. In my body I feel a leaning towards, like a 

craving to discover what else is there and how that leads to dance making, and the kind of dances 

that can be made. In addition to Guignion’s definition, the orientation towards material 

embodiment guides me towards British-Australian writer and scholar Sara Ahmed.61 Ahmed says 

in her book Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, Others:  

I might perceive an object as beautiful, for instance. Such a perception affects what I do: 
If I have this impression then I might pick up the object, or get closer to it, and even press 
it nearer to me. Orientations involve directions towards objects that affect what we do, 
and how we inhabit space. We move toward and away from objects depending on how 
we are moved by them. 62  

 
The gold mylar blankets, quilts, fabrics - they are beautiful, and so much more than that, 

they have oriented me towards them because I have been moved by them. This orientation has 

informed my choreographic studies and choice making where the exploration feels endless. This 

perspective asks me to invite and remind my collaborators to be very intentional about what they 

are doing, how they are relating to one another, the space we inhabit, the materials, the 

movement. This way of working highlights the collective without removing the individual by 

being individuals within a group enhancing the capacity to engage and attune to one another 

while dancing. I think of my role, and I facilitate a space that allows for things to emerge, I let 

62 Ahmed, Sara. Queer Phenomenology: Orientations, Objects, and Others. Duke University Press. 2006. 28. 

61 Sara Ahmed is a British-Australian writer and scholar whose area of study includes the intersection of feminist 
theory, lesbian feminism, queer theory, affect theory, critical race theory and postcolonialism. 

60 David Guignion, What is Queer Phenomenology, Theory and Philosophy Podcast. 2021. 



38 

things take their time without fixing because this research isn’t meant to function as a standalone 

or predetermined product. Instead serving as a launching point, and allowing for the opportunity 

to follow the thread of creativity and curiosity.  

In the process of creating slow thaw, the initial explorations of golden nuggets, the 

activation of materials through puppetry in drops of gold with support from the Jim Henson 

Award, and Triple Spell with Laurel Jenkins set the groundwork of events that would later occur 

in with never enough happening. I’d like to share some writings from these processes that helped 

me identify the potential directions this dance could take.  

slow thaw: This dance was made using mylar blankets in collaboration with five dancers. 

There is something about mylar blankets that keeps me coming back, this is my third process 

where I use this material to build a dance. Visually, it’s beautiful; at times it becomes a sea of 

gold, a structure like a mountain, or a dense rock. Audibly, it sounds like the static of a television 

or radio, and sometimes like waves of the ocean. The more I play and encounter this material, the 

more I continue to distill and extract information from it. More ideas for improvisational scores, 

information to develop phrase work by moving with or being moved by the material, thinking 

about how the materials are placed on the body, or how the materials are organized in space.  

​ There are contrasting ideas that appear during the events of slow thaw, being aware of the 

silence and noise, of presence and absence, the play with building and releasing those tensions. 

There are moments where these ideas are extremely clear and feel powerful. The 

phenomenological experience of the slowing down of time, how seconds expand creating space 

for hearing and feeling. I think about how to become one with the material, attempting to track 

when the blanket is a blanket and when it becomes something else. Transforming the ordinary 

into something extraordinary. Thinking about the visual landscape that these materials can create 



39 

in the performance space. Seeing a dancer covering themselves with a blanket to become a 

mountain, having the ability to see through and out to navigate safely through the space. Hearing 

an audience member say to me that the imagery of mountains reminded them that they were born 

by the mountains in another country, transporting them back in time. This experience ignited a 

curiosity within me to consider how to invite audience members in.  

golden nuggets: As discussed in a previous chapter, I want to make the distinction that 

when I am talking about the objects, I will refer to them as golden nuggets which is different 

from the title written in italics. The golden nuggets were used in a group improvisation called 

“The Rocks Game” as discussed in Author Misha Glouberman’s book The Chairs Are Where The 

People Go63.  

These are the instructions for the game:  
“Everyone gets some rocks. You take turns either placing a rock on the floor somewhere or 
moving a rock that’s already there. No communication, no talking or facial expressions or 
pointing. Only the movement and placement of the rocks.”64  

 
I explored this game on three different occasions; as a duet, with my cohort, and then in 

rehearsal with my collaborators. Each was a different group and setting which produced different 

outcomes, another variable was that there may have been slight variations in the way it was 

presented to each group. During the exploration with my cohort I said that the exploration would 

be over once the bag that was filled with the golden nuggets was empty the game would be over. 

So the awareness and intention shifted from patterns emerging and disappearing to emptying the 

bag. This direction of the game did not seem interesting to me. When I decided to bring the 

nuggets into rehearsals I explained the directives plainly without offering how the exploration 

64 Glouberman, Heti. 67. 
63 Misha Glouberman, with Sheila Heti. The Chairs Are Where The People Go. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 2011. 



40 

would end. It was MAGICAL. Everyone was buzzing with excitement to share all that emerged. 

 

Figure 6, Charlotte “C” Macko, Alondra Torres Negrón, and Emily Adams in rehearsal for with never enough 
happening with Golden Nuggets at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in 2024. Photo: Daniel Miramontes. 
 

This task remained improvisational in performance, because it was intended as a game 

and allowed performers the ability to find something new for themselves and the group during 

each performance. Exploring what it means to participate in a pattern and what it means to break 

a pattern. There was also the addition of self-adornment, and the adornment of others by placing 

nuggets on the body, on someone else, filling in empty spaces, and organizing around the body.  

This exploration led to an embodied practice of moving and shifting like the weight of the rocks 

that the nuggets represented. 



41 

 
 
Figure 7, Emily Adams, Miriam Hermina, Emma Vanderlinde in golden nuggets section of with never enough 
happening. Photo: Taneen Momeni.  
 

Golden Nuggets function both as archival artifacts and as part of a living repertoire. 

Interdisciplinary artist Niki Tulk integrates Diana Taylor’s framework of the Archive and the 

Repertoire in her own book Performing the Wound, where she examines artists who engage in 

multi-media, or “combination” performance practices. She states “The repertoire, Taylor 

explains, “requires presence: people participate in the production and reproduction of knowledge 

by “being there.” … the repertoire “both keeps and transforms choreographies of meaning””65 

Similarly, the golden nuggets serve as an archive in the sense that their general shape remains 

consistent. Yet, they also operate as repertoire because they respond dynamically to gravity and 

their surroundings, embodying a kind of performative presence. Tulk further elaborates, “the 

65 Tulk, 11. 



42 

repertoire is something that shifts, breathes, refuses to be pinned down. The repertoire is, in 

short, alive - and as such can live in different ways inside, and in spite of, archiving.”66 Which I 

believe to be true, because I've experienced it in my own material research, these static forms 

come alive through interaction and embodied practice.   

 
 
Figure 8, Emma Vanderlinde and Daniel Miramontes performing in drops of gold, for the Jim Henson Award 
presentations. Photo: David Andrews. 
 

Drops of Gold: Through the Jim Henson Award for Puppetry67 I was able to create three 

marionettes made of gold mylar blankets. These three marionettes were in partnership with three 

dance puppeteers, Alondra Torres Negrón, Emma Vanderlinde, and myself. These three duets 

were enacted simultaneously, exploring the felt sensations of sensing and listening across 

multiple manifestations of size and scale. This exploration integrated the improvisational task of 

67 Jim Henson was an American puppeteer, creator of The Muppets and alumni of the University of Maryland. 
66 Tulk, 11.  



43 

mirroring and the game of telephone, a combination of individual and ensemble play to find 

ourselves in and out of unison. Although the marionettes were not physically present in the 

performance, what we learned through the animation of them was present in the performance 

through deep and thoughtful sensing, listening, and the animation of materials.  

Triple Spell: Through funding from the Board of Visitors, as discussed in an earlier 

chapter, I was able to conduct scholarly and choreographic research based on costumes, 

materials, and artistic collaborations in dance. I packed my suitcase with bolts of bright colored 

fabric, a couple mylar blankets, and macrame cord and traveled to Middlebury Vermont, for a 

choreographic residency and performance opportunity with choreographer and former Trisha 

Brown dancer Laurel Jenkins.68 This choreographic and material exploration introduced aspects 

of materiality that hadn’t been explored or hadn’t come up in rehearsals with my collaborators. 

Jenkins and I experimented with a duet practice that involved one person being covered or 

underneath the material while the other was visible (without material). We discussed how the 

person who was fully covered by fabric disguised the person's identity, a losing of self, and 

blurring of boundaries - it highlighted messy relationships by hiding the mess. This act of hiding 

complexity through covering and reduction reflects aspects of Minimalism, because the fabric 

“simplifies” the interaction.  In contrast, the uncovered, fully visible person offers a 

juxtaposition, emphasizing the tension between the concealed and the revealed. The other person 

who was not covered had a different experience, they could choose to hide behind or underneath 

the material, moving in relation to the other, and there was also a sense of being held by the 

material (even though there was a person underneath doing the holding). 

68 Laurel Jenkins - Laurel Jenkins is a dancer, choreographer, educator, and mother. Her choreography emerges from 
rigorous experimentation and interdisciplinary dialogues in the realms of contemporary dance, opera, music, and 
theater. Former dancer with the Trisha Brown Dance Company.  



44 

This led directly into the section called ghost duets in with never enough happening. The process 

in rehearsal took a shape that made sense for the dancers who performed them. As rehearsals 

progressed, I learned how to guide the dancers in a direction that encouraged specificity and 

curiosity in approaching a duet of this nature while also prioritizing their well-being and safety.  

​ These choreographic experiences over the course of two years allowed me to care deeply 

about the materials and the people who I researched with. The echoes and memories of these 

experiences and people felt present as the dance continued to take shape.  

Choreographic and Creative Process 
 

Makers do not so much see what is there physically in front of them, but rather see what 
might be there, what could become of what is there before them. This subjunctive mode of 
perception is thoroughly interactive. It comes not from analysis of a material, from 
decomposition, but from experiments in synthesising something new with that material, 
from attempted compositions.69  

-​ Cameron Tonkinwise 
 
The making of this dance involved countless attempted compositions and material 

explorations; each of which had the potential to stand on their own, to make a single dance. One 

of the most exciting rehearsals was the day I asked the dancers to create their own order70 while I 

was trying to create an order using chance operations71. I was distracted as I heard excitement 

from them about listing all of the attempted compositions and material explorations we had 

worked with over the course of a year. I heard as they made intentional choices in organizing 

sections, and how one event would lead to another. This was an important day for me because it 

aligned with my intention to work co-creatively with my collaborators. This not only created the 

71 Chance operations, popularized by John Cage and Merce Cunningham, are artistic techniques designed to remove 
intentional choice-making from the creative process. These methods involve the use of randomness or 
unpredictability to generate art, allowing outcomes to emerge without the direct control of the artist.  

70 The dancers started by listing sixteen prompts that had been explored over the course of 1 year. They made 
groupings of sections that might work together, and highly considered transitions, “this section would look 
cool/make sense, after this section”. 

69 Tonkinwise, 6. 



45 

order that we kept for performance but it also allowed me to not overthink the ramifications of 

the decisions of the newly formed order of events, it invited me to be available. This moment in 

rehearsal echoes an interview with former Trisha Brown dancer, Laurel Jenkins, as she was 

answering what had stayed with her about Brown’s work “the Early Works within Line Up have 

a revolutionary intention—the genius role of the choreographer gives way to the intelligence of 

the group. I see the dancers as one thinking body—and the dance being the organizing 

principle.”72 Similarly, the genius role of my collaborators, the dancers; and accessing the 

intelligence of the group to organize a series of events. The dancers were so deeply involved in 

the research that they were also experts and not just replicators of a task. This event in and of 

itself produced the following reactions by Emily Adams and Alondra Torres Negrón.  

Emily: I felt like there was less down time/transition time … I felt like I was involved 
throughout this order.73 

 
Alondra: I felt like the energetic shifts were varied, more highs and lows, and still arrives 
at a build up that feels satisfying.74 

 
This feedback captures my approach to dance making as an invitation to see what emerges from 

the group, and leaning towards what feels organic, to follow the thread of creativity. This also 

does what American academic in performance studies Diana Taylor describes in The Archive and 

The Repertoire: “Humans do not simply adapt to systems. They shape them. How do we 

recognize elements such as choice, timing, and self-presentation except through the ways in 

which individuals and groups perform them?”75 

 
 
 

75 Taylor, 7. 
74 Alondra Torres Negrón, “Post-Performance Reflection”, unpublished manuscript, 2024. 
73 Emily Adams, “Post-Performance Reflection”, unpublished manuscript, 2024. 
72 Interview with Laurel Jenkins, Trisha Brown In The New Body Blog, 2015.  



46 

Order of Events: 
 

●​ Gold Solo 
●​ Nuggets/Burrito/Rock Improvisation/Vague (real) Flocking 
●​ Trio A76 + Trio E(xit) & E(entrance) 
●​ ToysRus 
●​ Opening Sequence - layered with vip, unison, glacial solo, fast solo, stretch trio, and gold 

tumbleweed 
●​ Remy Charlip77 Solo - derived from American artist and writer Remy Charlip’s Air Mail 

Dances78  
●​ Coolest Moves - A duet that came out of improvisation. I asked C to follow me. I may 

have only shown the first move, just so she knew what was happening first.  
●​ Ghost Duets + Rumba -  
●​ A series of layered endings - Procession + Portal + Finale Section - the 7th dancer 

(mylar), solos, unison, adorned shape 
 
Maximalism and the complexity of layering events 
 

By layering multiple events, the choreography disrupts conventional linear expectations 

of viewing dance. It was an invitation to viewers to seek new ways of viewing, to allow their 

attention to guide their experience. Creating in this nonlinear and multilayered way so that the 

dance itself demands attention, requiring an active form of engagement. The audience had to 

negotiate. They had to pick and choose what they watched in certain sections of the dance. I 

don’t have control over what an audience member is going to make sense of or walk away with, 

but I think it’s important to consider the audience regardless of the outcome.  

In structuring this dance, I came to the realization that I was using a similar structure to 

one used by Merce Cunningham79 “He took a modular approach to material i