Jasmine Hearn
Photo Credit: Lynn Lane
Jasmine Hearn is an interdisciplinary artist, director, award winning performer, choreographer, organizer, doula, and teacher.
4Ac: At your show, Salt and Spirit, you said something about not having made the work yourself but having had the chance to put it together. [I'm not getting that quote quite right, feel free to provide the actual wording if you know] Can you talk about this approach to making and creativity and memory?
JASMINE: AS AN ARTIST, CHOREOGRAPHER, AND DIRECTOR, I MAKE THE WAY I COOK – I USE WHAT I HAVE. WHEN CONSTRUCTING A GROUP PIECE, I UNDERSTAND THAT MY RESPONSIBILITY IS TO SHARE MY PRIORITIES AS A RECIPE. I OFFER THE RESEARCH I HAVE COLLECTED, PROVIDE A CONTAINER—OR A POT TO COOK IN, AND THEN REVIEW THE INGREDIENTS THAT WE HAVE GATHERED FROM OUR YEARS OF JOINT PRACTICE AND MEMORY. BECAUSE I TRUST THE DANCES THAT EACH COLLABORATOR ALREADY KNOWS AND HOLDS, I PRIORITIZE CONSTRUCTING RECIPES AND SCORES FOR ALL OF US TO EXPRESS IMPROVISED DANCES THAT ARE READY IN RESPONSE TO THE PRESENT MOMENT.
I HAVE HAD SO MANY INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITIES TO DANCE WITH PROFESSIONAL COMPANIES AND BE A PART OF COLLECTIVE ENSEMBLES AND CONSTELLATIONS. MANY TIMES I WAS ASKED TO NOT ONLY CONTRIBUTE CHOREOGRAPHY, BUT ALSO FILL IN LINES WHEN THE CHOREOGRAPHIC FORM DID NOT FULLY MEET THE STORY OR ARC OF THE PIECE. IN ORDER TO RESPECT MY PAST FRUSTRATIONS FOR NOT BEING CREDITED FOR ALL OF MY LABOR, I HAVE BEEN USING LANGUAGE THAT SPECIFICALLY DETAILS HOW I HAVE THE CHANCE TO DIRECT ARTISTS THAT SHARE THEIR EMBODIED WISDOM WITH THE PROJECT.
I ASK ALL THOSE WHO I COLLABORATE WITH TO SHARE THEIR DANCES THAT REFLECT THE INTERSECTIONS OF THEIR LINEAGES AND CIRCLES. I HOPE THAT HOW I HAVE GUIDED A CREATIVE PROCESS HAS HELD SPACE FOR MOMENTS TO WITNESS THE POWER WE HAVE COLLECTIVELY AND AS INDIVIDUALS.
4Ac: Most contemporary dance audiences are made up, primarily, of people within the field. Do you think it is important to expand the demographics of audiences? Why or why not? What is the value of dance outside of the dance community?
JASMINE: THE DANCES I MADE AS A YOUNG PERSON WERE FOR THE AUNTIES AT LUNCHEONS OR CHURCH PARISHIONERS AT THE SUNDAY MOTHER’S BREAKFAST. WHEN I STARTED TO RECEIVE INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT AND A PLATFORM TO CHOREOGRAPH, I MADE DANCES THAT WERE PERFORMED AT THE LOCAL BASKETBALL COURT, BOOKSTORE, AND CAFE IN PITTSBURGH, PA BEFORE MY WORK WAS PERFORMED IN “TRADITIONAL” PERFORMANCE VENUES. DANCE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A WAY FOR ME TO CELEBRATE AND BE IN RELATIONSHIP WITH A SPECTRUM OF PLACE AND PEOPLE.
THROUGHOUT MY PROFESSIONAL CREATIVE TRAJECTORY, I REALIZED THAT WHAT I DID WITH MY BODY WAS FOR THE LAND, WATER, STARS, AND PEOPLE THAT I CONNECTED WITH THROUGHOUT MY DAY. THIS INFORMATION GAVE ME CONFIDENCE TO NAME MY DURATIONAL WARM UP AS PART OF THE DANCE PIECE, BECAUSE THE WARM-UP PRACTICE PROVIDED ME SPACE AND TIME TO IMPROVISE TANGENTIALLY IN RESPONSE TO WHERE I WAS. THIS PRACTICE SUPPORTS ME AND SHOWS ME THE ITERATIVE DANCES THAT ALL SPACES HOLD. I CONTINUE DOING THIS AS I MAKE AND PERFORM. I AM ASKING, HOW CAN THE DANCES I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR BE IN RESPONSE TO THE PRESENT MOMENT? HOW CAN I PRIORITIZE WHAT IS AVAILABLE RATHER THAN ATTEMPTING TO DUPLICATE CHOREOGRAPHIC STEPS AND FORM? HOW CAN I LISTEN TO THE PRESENT RESONANCE?
FROM MY TIME WORKING WITH JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR, URBAN BUSH WOMEN, MARJANI FORTÉ-SAUNDERS, AND HOLLY BASS, I UNDERSTAND THAT DANCE IS PRESENT IN EVERY COMMUNITY AND CIRCLE. THAT THE DANCE FIELD HAS AND CONTINUES TO REFERENCE THE RITUALS AND DANCES OF NATIVE AND BLACK PEOPLE, SPECIFICALLY WOMB-HOLDERS AND FEMME FOLK FOR A VERY LONG TIME. DANCE HAS NEVER BEEN OUTSIDE OF THESE CIRCLES. THE “CONTEMPORARY” DANCE CIRCLES HAVE IN MY OPINION ISOLATED RESOURCES AND ATTENTION WITHIN THE FIELD AS AN ACT OF PRESERVATION IN RESPONSE TO FEAR OF SCARCITY. THE VALUE OF DANCE CAN BE WITNESSED IN ANY COMMUNITY IF YOU TAKE THE TIME TO WITNESS HOW OUR DANCES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN PRESENT AND THEY CONTINUE TO BE RESOURCED AND REFERENCED THROUGHOUT THE PROFESSIONAL DANCE FIELD AND THE WORLD.