Interview with Nelle Lee — a dance artist currently working towards her BFA at Simon Fraser University. By Athena Lewis

Photo by Laura Zeke

Q: Why do you do what you do?

A: I think that it’s a mixture of loving the physicality and enjoying the rigor and discipline that dance requires. I also like the performativity aspect and how it brings people together. Yes of course I like to express my emotions, but it’s more important that I connect with others and create communities where they possibly weren’t before.

Q: What themes do you pursue in your improvisation or in your choreography?

A: I’m currently interested in athleticism, technical virtuosity, and the tension resolution dynamic that exists in movement and in interpersonal connections.

Q: What inspires you to pursue these themes/ what inspires you generally when it comes to creating new works?

A: I’m really interested in curation and what it means to put things together while keeping the audience in mind. I strongly believe in inclusivity, in viewership as well as in participatory aspects of performance. Accessibility is something that is very important to me, and I want to create pieces that are consciously available to a variety of audiences.

Q: How do you think your choreographic practice has changed over time?

A: I feel that it used to be a lot more music dependent. I would have to find my starting point by attentively listening to the composition and going from there. Now I find myself often having a general consideration of the music, however, it isn’t where my entire creation process begins. I like experimenting with movement until I feel satisfied with how it feels and how it lends itself to achieving my visual goals.

Q: How do you see your choreographic goals developing in the future?

A: I really want to work on incorporating a wider variety of disciplines into my practice. I would love to expand my horizons by doing choreography for film, or by working with visual artists and musicians to put on live interdisciplinary performances. I feel that dance doesn’t necessarily need to be performed on a theatre stage, and I’d like to take my practice to different venues and have audiences experience my work in new ways.