The seeds for this project were planted within the city limits of Lima, Ohio, my hometown and origin of my dancing career, during the month of May in 2019. This was a time for research, development and laying a foundation for a piece I have been slowly building over the past year and a half. The work is not about Lima, or Ohio but it is from and of these places and other small places in the Midwest. I invited four dancers based in NYC, but born and raised in the Midwest, to join me for the final week of May and a free open showing in Lima held on May 30th, 2019.
These dancers are Toni Carlson, of Viola, Minnesota, Avery Anthony, of Columbus, Ohio, Laurel Atwell of Bainbridge, Ohio, and Charles Gowin of Hallsville, Missouri. These dancers are from and of the Midwest as much as the piece will be itself. After originally spending time in dance studios in NYC and elsewhere I realized that the only way I could make strides with this work was to be in Ohio, tap into what it feels like to be there, discover ways to continue growing, re-imagine the cultural environment and splinter the reality of the place into something more than what I remember.
The title, Break-Up Tunnel Vision Infinity, comes from two sources. One is the ubiquitous hunting camouflage pattern, trademarked by Realtree, named �Break-Up Infinity� and the other from the imperceptible condition of �tunnel vision,� also referred to as a filter bubble or narrowcasting, imposed on users of social media by targeted content and advertisement. Combined, it conveys a desire to break out of my own internet-fueled tunnel vision when approaching this work and to pop into the view of others who may be stuck in their own version of curated reality.
