CHOREOGRAPHY
SCREENDANCE WORKS
My creative practice lives at the intersection of film and movement, where I craft works that explore themes of conflict, queerness, and the human condition. Through a blend of cinematic technique and collaborative movement generation, Screendance becomes a space for investigating how the body shapes our understanding of self. These works often emerge from a place of inquiry into identity, memory, and the politics of presence, where movement becomes both language and lens. By embracing the ephemeral and the embodied, I aim to create visual experiences that resonate beyond the screen.
01
lim | I | nal
lim | I | nal is a meditation on identity, loss, and becoming, rooted in the lived experience of navigating in-between spaces of selfhood. Inspired by Gloria Anzaldúa’s writing on liminality and Judith Butler’s theory of gender as performative, the film explores how repetition, vulnerability, and collaboration shape the body as a site of transformation. Created in response to a personal rupture after recovering from a stroke that left me unable to dance, the work reimagines choreography as a shared process, grounded in the lived experiences of others. Through layered sound, unstable editing, and evolving gesture, lim | I | nal invites viewers to sit with discomfort and witness the radical act of existing in transition.
02
L’être et la Néant
L’être et la Néant, Being and Nothingness, is a site-specific Screendance work that explores being and belonging in both the body and physical space. First developed as an MFA Screendance piece, this work explores how a variety of artistic mediums and practices can provide a space for people to explore their sense of self to find a sense of belonging.
03
lament.
This reimagining of Martha Graham’s Lamentation explores grief through the lens of trans embodiment. Originally choreographed in 1930, Graham’s solo used fabric and seated movement to express the physicality of mourning. Drawing from archival footage and inspired by the Lamentation Variations Project, this version retains key elements such as gesture, fabric, and stillness while reframing them through a trans perspective. Featuring music by Zoltán Kodály and transgender composer Sara Davis Buechner, the work interrogates how grief manifests across different identities and invites reflection on who has historically been granted space to express it.
04
No Choir
Originally a competition dance work, this choreography by Soph Cardinal was adapted to a screendance. This blends filming techniques with choreographed movement that explores the nuanced and complex relationship of growth, change, and evolution.
05
Blessed Be The Fruit
This choreographic work by Soph Cardinal is based on Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. It illustrates the detrimental effect that limiting access to affordable reproductive healthcare has on women and society as a whole. Limiting a woman’s right to reproductive health care ultimately takes away her right to her own body, causing danger to her physical, mental, and emotional health. This piece uses contemporary/hip-hop movement to shed light on how our society is gradually stripping women of these essential rights and the imminent issues that we will face if further progress is made.
This piece was presented in the 2021 Earl Mosely Diversity of Dance Dance is Activism Film Festival.
06
No Justice, No Peace
I created this piece in response to the ongoing impact of white silence in the face of racial injustice. From the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd to the Capitol riot, recent events have exposed the deep roots of systemic racism in our country. I was shocked by how many white people around me stayed silent. As a white person, I know I’ll never fully understand the pain people of color endure, but I’m committed to using my privilege to listen, learn, and act.
This work is a call to other white people: educate yourselves, speak out, and get involved—whether by donating, protesting, contacting legislators, or simply refusing to stay silent. White silence is not neutral. It’s part of the problem.
