NIKKI LEE
sharing life through movement
My current artistic research is located at the intersection of contemporary dance techniques, improvisation, choreography, contemplative practices, and multi media performance including video and photography. In collaboration, this work centers on the relationships themselves: between dancers, choreographers, cameras, and screens. My approach to this partnering work is through tuning the perceptual agency of the participants--the audience, the performer, the photographer. I am concerned with the issues of consent and communication that permeate discussions in contemporary dance, searching for the places where we can find ourselves vulnerable and explore intimacy without feeling exploited or ashamed.
Above: excerpt from dance video, treehugger, May 2018.
Below: still image from you are not here: forever present tense, May 2018.
ARTIST BIO
nikki lee is a dance artist, photographer, videographer, and educator. Their most recent creative projects--collaborating with student and professional choreographers to produce dance video works--have been a rewarding amalgamation of these varied paths through the dance field. As a Graduate Teaching Fellow and MFA Candidate at Smith College (2017-19), nikki formalized their query into choreographic methods that utilize contemplation, improvisation, and multi-media performance techniques. nikki's heart and mind have been shaped generously by the work and teachings of many, with humble credit especially to Bette Ann Rossi, Melody Ruffin Ward, Daniel McCusker, Heidi Henderson, Shonach Mirk Robles, Elaine Colaneri, Angie Hauser, Chris Aiken, Mike Vargas, and Nancy Stark Smith. They have created dance works in Rhode Island and Massachusetts for Andary Dance, DoubleShift Dance Theatre, Island Moving Company, AS220, Modern Jazz Dance Company, Frazier Festival, Perishable Theatre, Providence College, Ziterion Theatre, and The Dance Complex. nikki has been a creative collaborator and performer in the works of Melody Ruffin Ward, Deb Meunier, Vincent Mantsoe, Daniel McCusker, and Nathan Andary, and has performed works by Bebe Miller, Dr. Henry LeTang, and Donna Jewel. nikki has been privileged to study dance in academia, earning a bachelors and masters degree from Rhode Island College and Smith College, respectively. They have received awards, grants and fellowships from Smith College, Rhode Island State Council for the Arts, the Murdock-Thompson Center for Teachers, the RI Association for Physical Education Health Recreation and Dance, the Bates Dance Festival and Rhode Island College Alumni Association. nikki’s photos of dancers have appeared in Contact Quarterly, Andrea Olsen’s book, The Place of Dance, and countless newsletters and marketing materials in print and online. nikki loves making and performing dances with Elm City Dance Collective under the direction of Kellie Ann Lynch, and has been a member of the company since 2013. They currently live and dance upon land taken by European settlers from the Wampanoag and Narragansett people through violence and deceit, now known as Pawtucket, Rhode Island, USA.
I consider all the work of organizing and producing dance performances, making dances, and teaching, to be social justice work. I am interested in developing relationships with collaborators, and for elements to unfold out of trust and sharing of our humanity. Transparency, generosity, and a willingness to face the unknown characterize my creative and pedagogical approach.