Hello everyone! We hope you are as thrilled as we are about the arrival of Spring!
We are delighted to share some insights into the world of Monica Mordaunt, one of the stunning dancers in our company. Her journey with BodyStories began in early 2013 when she joined as an intern. In October 2013, she began dancing with us as a Guest Artist and also continues working with us administratively as our Development Associate. Please enjoy Monica’s reflections below.
Growing up in Southern California, I trained in Jazz, Contemporary, Lyrical, Tap, and Ballet at multiple nationally ranked dance studios before continuing my studies at Chapman University in Orange, California. Here, I fell in love with contemporary and modern dance forms and knew pursuing a performance career was only fitting. I enjoyed being a freelance artist in Los Angeles following graduation and after a year I decided to expand my opportunities and relocate to New York City. It has been a wild ride in NYC so far and I have been appreciative of all those I have met and enjoyed the opportunities I’ve had to work with several artists. I love working both administratively and as a guest artist with Teresa!
To me, dance is a connection; a connection to the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual elements of myself as well as the community which it encompasses. Dance connects people from all backgrounds- movers, non-movers, lovers of moves, and supporters of movers. This connection is why I love dance and why it continues to fascinate me.
I find myself gravitating more towards expansive movement that flows and is also grounding. I love exploring new movement pathways and energetic connections. Being attentive to spatial elements and dynamic choices in movement sequences interests me as well. I prefer to move in ways that encompass whole body awareness and finding ways of moving with ease in challenging movement.
A memorable experience working with Teresa was during our four day residency at Dragon’s Egg in Connecticut. Here I was able to understand and connect to our recent work by having the time to dissect the movement and experiment with what I could personally offer to it. An experience such as this is one of the reasons why I enjoy being a part of Teresa’s process.