The Skin you Live in

Contemporary dance fascinates me.

Often the term is a catch-all phrase used fairly indiscriminately, meaning many things to different dance communities across a wide range of cultures. Its a paradox of set technique, combined with the freedom to say “to hell with that”.

People often ask what contemporary dance is and to be honest I'm not sure that's a question I can even answer. Not one set of descriptions can fit every avenue contemporary dance takes. So I've stopped trying to define it, and just enjoy the fact that it quite literally is what you make of it.

When movement and imagination are intertwined there is absolutely no limit to what dance can do for you. That's something that is so unique and I view it as such a privilege to work in a discipline where I get to create my own limits (or lack there of).

There is also something very special about being able to work intimately with the body. It's the skin you live in every single day created for very functional and efficient purposes. Yet when you dance, your body completely transforms and one gets to discover a whole other faculty. What's exciting is that you’ve always possessed this movement, you just had yet to uncover it.

Dance is the most accessible art form in the world, every single one of us is blessed with the tools we need as a birthright.

Dance is an integral thread of life and I hope everyone, at some point in their life, gets the chance to discover that for themselves.

By Kestrel Paton

Kestrel Paton is a dance artist in the Catalyst Mentorship Program and a BFA student at Simon Fraser University.  See Kestrel in CHIAROSCURO March 10 & 11, 2017 in Vancouver.  Learn more here>>>  Read more about Kestrel here >>>

PHOTO: DAVID COOPER | DANCER: KESTREL PATON