♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ My name is Taylor Stanley, and I'm a dancer with New York City Ballet.

When the Pillow offered me this project, it's sort of a solo program that's being curated and developed, but they also offered to bring on other artists who had interest in, and that really charged me and excited me.

I thought of dancers who I was interested in working with or had some sort of relationship with already.

You know, either from a distance or had known for years, just these artists just popped into my head.

And I went with that instinct to invite them and ask if they were interested in joining.

And everyone is from a different background of dance, and from a different sector of the dance world, and that's so unique on its own, but there's also so much crossover and connection between our experiences being performers, and getting to work with various choreographers during our times as professional dancers.

And I think that's also really exciting.

So we're meeting -- we've all met for the first time... Hi.

[ Laughs ] ...at the feed store.

There's the feed store.

[ Laughter ] ♪♪ And we're going to get on our way.

Okay.

I remember meeting Jodi at a Danspace performance.

I was just blown away by her whole being and her performance.

And later on, I got the chance to work with her.

I felt, like, this anticipation to really channel everything that I saw that she was in that performance, I really wanted to make sure I was keeping that in my -- in my system when I first worked with her, and I loved and I still love everything she talks about in relation to the body and the physicality of the body and the anatomy with which we move and direct our limbs and our organs and our skeletal system.

And that all made so much sense to me when I first started working with her and getting to perform.

In that way, with those ideas in mind, I felt really safe and secure with that knowledge.

[ Jazz music plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ For the last couple years, I've had a very consistent but sporadic working relationship with Taylor, whether it was in a studio or it was on Zoom.

So we've had this kind of unraveling thread of this material I'm really interested in.

So when he asked me if I would expand those ideas of this solo and duet work into a larger group, I just gathered different sets of images and thoughts.

I expanded maybe our duet solo development process and imagined putting people, bringing people into it.

As a choreographer, I accept that I don't always know what I want to make.

And now here's a perfect opportunity to be influenced by people I don't know.

I don't even know if I'm interested in how they move with my movement.

I don't know any of this.

I also want the dancer, the person to keep embodying the musicality, the rhythm, the direction of the movement we're working on.

And then the other thing with that is that I'm working with dancers, a lot of them that I've never met before, that are completely different than me.

And I have zero interest in getting them to dance and move the way I move.

That's lust.

And then I want to really get to the deepness in that.

And that's when they come to me.

They come to me but then I want to go to them, I want to go to them, and that's starting now.

So that's really exciting for me.

So, it's like that, okay?

And then...

I can't even imagine not wanting everything that you are in a studio with me.

I mean, obviously in life as a friend or going out or hanging out, but in the studio in a working situation, I can't ever imagine that you would have to leave any part of yourself, like, over there to spend the four hours with me.

I'm just wondering do you feel a shift in dance?

Did you feel that, say, at New York City Ballet, or have you felt that?

Taylor: I think more unconsciously, I may have felt that prior to working with you and working with Kyle and people I just felt being in a studio with, I didn't have to change anything because my surroundings felt safe instinctually.

Right.

And I think we're addressing these things in the ballet world, where we can make the environments more safe, more instinctually safe for people in that way.

Right.

But yeah, I think I entered into the company or into the ballet world at a time where I was also not fully aware of who I was, and therefore felt a need to assimilate to a certain male aesthetic in order to be in a rehearsal room or be on stage, and -- And would you say that has changed your dancing?

Yes and no.

I feel like I've always had this fluidity in my dancing, not in how I identify my gender or my sexuality.

Not until it was brought to my attention that people felt that from me that I became aware of that fluidity in my artistry.

♪♪ ♪♪ I just can't imagine wanting to work with anybody who could not be exactly who they are, because it's selfishly then, you're not giving me enough, you're not giving me every possibility.

Mm.

And I love every possibility.

♪♪♪♪ I kind of knew going into this was going to go, like, six of us were going to go on a week-long blind date somewhere.

And that was the first part of that deep dive free fall, and knowing and trusting Taylor and him knowing me and trusting me was a big part of that.

I feel like rarely are you with a group of dancers where everyone is from a really different background and kind of works.

There's someone from Graham and New York City Ballet and Ailey, and there's such different languages that they work in.

[ Dramatic music playing ] ♪♪ Lloyd: This process has been very challenging in a great way.

I come from the Graham background, but I have trained in other techniques, but each of us bring our own flavor to the pot, and Jodi welcomes it.

And obviously we're learning from her, and she's very skilled with so much information.

Ned: It has, which we've talked about as a group, felt like such a gift, such a golden opportunity that we've been given.

So there's, like, "Okay, I haven't interacted with people in months."

Just base level interaction with people in months.

And then dancing and physically trusting my body to someone else and them trusting theirs with me, that hasn't happened for most of us in even longer.

I feel like I've learned so much throughout this process, but something that I feel like I will definitely take with me back to Ailey is this idea that movement is all well-rounded and it's multi-faceted and it doesn't have to be one thing or the other thing.

Like, it can be both improvisational and impulsive but also structured and thoughtful.

And I think before, previously, especially doing a lot of revival works, you have an idea of what it was and trying to recreate that experience and maybe bring that into current time.

But I'm realizing now that I don't have to try to do one thing or the other thing.

I can honor my own impulses and bring myself into the work authentically while still having it be a part of a wider structure and a greater experience.

And also, I think relationship to other people in the room and recognizing that differences are really, really beautiful and that our different pathways are really grand.

And when they combine, that's really when the beauty happens, is when everyone is their most authentic self and then kind of shares their background into the work and then how we relate to each other in this space.

♪♪ It's me, it's you, and it's the work.

And then there's the work.

I love that they each have their slot, their place, and I love that, like, stepping in and over and meshing and braiding.

[ Pop music plays ] ♪♪ I have never laughed this much.

From the minute we get up until when we go to bed, it's nonstop laughter.

[ Upbeat music plays ] Allysen: It was like fast friends, you know?

I think Taylor did such an amazing job of bringing people together who all have such warmth and generosity.

So it made it very easy to be together.

♪♪ Taylor: What's been the most important for me throughout this process is just releasing the pressure to have to feel a certain way at any given moment.

♪ Though nothing will keep us together ♪ ♪ We will be there ♪ ♪ Forever and ever ♪ ♪ We will be heroes ♪ ♪ Just for one day ♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪ I ♪ ♪ I will be king ♪ ♪ And you ♪ ♪ You will be queen ♪ ♪ Though nothing ♪ ♪ Will drive them away ♪ ♪ We can be heroes ♪ ♪ Just for one day ♪ ♪ We can be us ♪ ♪ Just for one day ♪ I believe that when I come into a studio, I'm doing what feels really truthful and honest, and want to share that with people, and going back to what's really important to me, which is nature and relationships.

And I don't know if you see it in the work, I don't even care.

But that's how I go into the project.

♪♪ I think a big part of what this is to me is also sharing my experience of Jodi, which is very much our experience, and there's a sacredness to that.

♪♪ And I find when I'm really charged by something, it's something I want to spread or impart on others, if they're willing to embrace and accept that.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Latin music plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Music stops ] Woman: Whoo!

[ Applause ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Hey!

[ Laughter ] ♪♪ ♪♪ I'm Grace Baez and I'm from New York.

I come from Puerto Rican parents, second generation, that's been born and raised here.

My name is Eduardo Torres.

So, I come from a Puerto Rican background, both mother and father, both born and raised in the Bronx in New York city.

So we're considered to be new Nuyoricans.

And my mother is Nélida -- Nélida Tirado -- who is a flamenco dancer.

My name is Laura Peralta, or [Dominican accent] Laura Peralta, depending on how you prefer to say it.

I'm from New York, born and raised.

My family is mostly from the Dominican Republic.

My parents immigrated here before I was born.

I'm Adriana Olivares and I am Venezuelan, born and raised.

My name is Dorren Mowgli Smith, and I'm from New York.

My heritage is Boricua and Aniyunwiya, which is the indigenous name for Cherokee nation.

My name is Nélida Tirado.

I am from New York.

I was born in New York City.

My family is from Puerto Rico, and I was born in New York City.

Dime Quién Soy is my lived and personal experience as a traditional flamenco artist.

It's me moving unapologetically, fully embodying all the layers that make me who I am.

These layers, though they're separate, are intertwined and intersecting all of our bodies, the music, and in history, and they serve as fuel and inspiration for us.

The dancers and myself represent diverse dance and cultural traditions that inform our approach to flamenco.

Flamenco and all of the forms referenced in the work are specific and have been created due to globalization, colonization, and the mixing of cultures.

I felt it was really important to amplify this.

Interactions with family, experiences at home, the street, politics, et cetera, all informed what flamenco culture is.

Disappears in the dance and is literally referenced in the music.

[ Feet stamping rapidly ] ♪♪ I would hope that when people see Dime Quién Soy, firstly, I hope that they feel a sense of love, a sense of community, that they see how connected we all are, how being authentic and bringing your true forth into your art is necessary.

I'm grateful for all of the experiences that I had, both in my neighborhood and in my history, my racial history.

If it wasn't for those textures, I think that my flamenco would probably be a little bit different.

[ Rapid stomping continues ] [ Stomping, clapping rhythmically ] [ Laughter ] Come on!

[ Grunting ] ♪♪ Eduardo: Flamenco to me is what really opened my eyes when it comes to the arte, the art.

I remember just watching my mother and many other shows where they just stand there and they project this huge, powerful energy.

And I couldn't explain what that was, but that itself really drew me in to want to learn about dance period.

So flamenco really opened up my eyes as far as wanting to dance.

We all, again, we have the same root without even realizing it.

We take things from other dances and other cultures and blend it into this project, which is, again, why I love it.

This is not limited to, I would say, a particular dance.

You know, this is very limitless.

It's all about the story of human suffering, all into happiness and joy and how we can find that with each other, so... My teacher, Siudy Quintero, said that Latin woman is to prepare to dance Flamenco.

Yeah, always is born to do it, because have it in their DNA, I don't know.

It's something that we have.

Like, we bring more, something different to that.

Flamenco has helped me find my flamenca in me.

I'm able to have my own personal style with it.

Being here has really made me embrace the nature inside of me and in my dancing.

I always go back to comforting, but that's just what it is.

It's so comforting to be able to feel free.

I'm taking more risks, which I think is the first steps into feeling more grounded in flamenco.

So hopefully in a few more years, I will really feel that sense of being grounded in flamenco, which is so essential to the art form.

Look at me at Jacob's Pillow with Néli.

Who would've thought?

[ Laughs ] Dorren: Everything that I'm learning from Néli is allowing me to harness more of what comes through me.

Sometimes I just do a movement because I feel like it has to be done.

And then I learn about the meaning later, and it's more of a confirmation of what I already felt internally.

And I noticed it throughout the world and I noticed the relations and connections of different cultures and groups.

Nélida: This actually was an idea that I had from years ago.

Before I ran it with, by anyone, I ran it by my son and I ran it by the composer.

His name is Gonzalo Grau, and he's Venezuelan like Adriana.

And he totally got me, he understood.

We were on a Zoom call the other day with the guitarist as well, and the guitarist is Andres Vadin.

Again, when I explained the vision behind this and he heard some of the music that was done, he totally got it because he is also a really amazing flamenco guitarist, but he also has all of these other textures that he just kind of, like, can go with because of who he is, because of the same reasons.

He's Cuban.

And it's been a really amazing collaboration with the both of them.

[ Stomping and clapping rhythmically ] [ Latin music plays ] ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Speaks Spanish ] The rhythms that we hear constantly are rhythms that you would probably hear around the way anyway.

There's games that are literally incorporated into the show and that were games that we played on the streets in the city that are all rhythm and all clapping.

And if we look back into history and we start to really, "Where did this stuff come from?

Where did these things come from?"

There's such -- it goes back so far.

Like, I was just reading something on "Patting Juba" and how they use these movements, the movements of slaves.

It's a lot of research that should be done, but we are so deeply, deeply, deeply connected to one another and we carry all of those experiences, without us realizing it, into our art, and all we can be and all we should be is authentic, because through that authenticity, you bring so much of your personal essence and color.

And everyone has that in this group.

I'm really excited and honored to have all of them.

Why?

To uphold and honor with the utmost respect.

To give permission to be.

To remind and to liberate us from the limitations and stereotypes placed upon us continually.

[ Latin music plays ] ♪♪ [ Stomping and clapping rhythmically ] ♪♪ [ Laughter ] Come on!

[ Grunting ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Hey!

♪♪ Three.

Four.

Five.

[ Shouting ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Laughter ] Jodi: Let's go back to that.

That's called... [ Laughter ] ♪♪ [ Laughter ] ♪♪ [ Laughter ] ♪♪ Woman: Oh, foxy!

[ Laughter ] ♪♪ [ Indistinct conversation ] ♪♪ ♪♪ Nélida: [ Shouting ] [ Laughter ] ♪♪ Man: Oh!

♪♪