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“If you build it they will come…”
 

The aim of Tamara Thomas Dance is to create honest work that directly engages the community.  From an African perspective, dance and other such cultural outpourings, inherently embody “form” and “function”…as the dance does not exist merely to satisfy itself, but to fulfill some larger purpose.  I do not believe the world will change in totality as a result of my choreographies, but I hope to plant good seeds that flourish great crop. 
 

As the circle is the underlying form that Tamara Thomas Dance is based on, I endeavor to encourage dancers, dance lovers, and related artisans the opportunity to centralize the development of the community in the creation of the works and in their reflections.  Each one…teach one…and we cannot lose if we strive for love, and honesty in the building of something great.

Artistic Statement:


The body is a vessel, and I use the sights, smells and sounds to speak through dance, about that which is most pressing in my purview.     As a choreographer, I use the experiences and techniques to enhance the nuances of my choreography.  My artistic lens is unique.  I stand in a world with one foot in a more traditional conservative grounding with the other placed in a world plagued with a renegade spirit.  It is in my work that I reconcile these two realities.  I believe that all dance has a message, and should engage its performers, advocates and audiences to think differently about life and take action. Whether it is researching a new topic or taking time for self-reflection.  My movement is not necessarily about showing beauty, as it is about speaking to honesty.  I seek freedom in my work, as I create movement vocabulary that fits the energy, pace and emotional needs of this contemporary world.

 

As a choreographic guide, I employ certain principles in my movement experiences:
 

Love your mission…Be honest...Feel the truth in the body…Seek peace
 

Grounded in the movement and ideology of neo-traditional and contemporary African dance forms, I blend hip-hop, Guinea dance, Sabar, Jamaican folk and Umfundalai into a rich tapestry of social and emotional movement experiences.  While engaging the body through variations of speeds, levels and directions, in the midst of precise cues and quick directional changes, I work to make room for the mover and the observer to make personal connections to the theme.
 

I am enamored by the pure joy that comes through dance, and work to share these gifts with those who are also moved to receive it.  It is through my constant engagement with the moving text that I create an opportunity to heal and incite change.

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