Full Circle Artistic Director Donna L. Jacobs's new work "From the Source of Our Power" is the result of an extraordinary collaboration. Acclaimed Baltimore indigo artist Kibibi Ajanku is creating original costumes for the work, and it features an original score by performing artist Jasmin "Jazzo" Walters. Both Ajanku and Walters are multidisciplinary artists with strong ties to Baltimore whose practice includes dance, music, and visual elements. A conversation among the three artists about the roots of creativity, the profound importance of art, and the specific history of indigo informed the development of Jacobs's choreography. The Baltimore Dance Bulletin asked Jacobs about the new work, which will premiere November 3 at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Q. What do you hope audiences will experience when they watch your piece "From the Source of Our Power"?
I hope they will be moved by the intentions of the dancers, as we ponder the origins and power of our individual and collective creativity. Where does this creativity originate? Does it arise from the depths of our ancestry? How does it manifest? Why are we entrusted with these gifts and charged to share them with the universe? And, despite the way we revel in our art, why do we so often question our capabilities, and how do we power through?
Q. What was your experience like working with this particular cast of dancers, all members of Full Circle Dance Company? Can you tell us a bit about the way their dancing has impacted you?
This cast is a choreographer’s dream. They can do anything! They can read my mind, interpret my thoughts, and execute in a meaningful, powerful way. They make the choreographic process simple and easy. Each one of them has a unique skill beyond their beautiful technique that they bring to the studio. That helps to propel the process along.
Q.This piece has an original score. What has working with a composer been like for you as an artist.
This was a first, a daunting first, and it took me out of my comfort zone. Ordinarily, I would completely conceive the work from start to finish; that would include selecting the music. Typically, it would be music reflective of the movement I see in my head (while asleep, at the stoplight, on the highway--you get the picture). Instead, Jasmine, Kibibi, and I had a concept discussion. From that Jasmine wrote this astoundingly beautiful score. It is different from what I might have selected on my own, which made me re-craft my movement vocabulary. Bingo! I had been wanting to pursue a new movement approach as a personal goal of late. Without Jasmin’s “musical push”, I am uncertain that I would have made the leap.
Q. Your own daughter is in the cast. Does that affect the work itself? the creative process?
Blessedly, I have danced and worked with Morgan for a long time. She is an artist in her own right and a confidence builder for the cast and choreographer. She also always adds levity to the rehearsal process. When the feeling is tense, she comes through, every time, with a joke out of nowhere to lighten the mood. You can also count on her to remember every step and every iteration of every step.
Q. Where does your dance vocabulary come from? What influences you as an artist?
My dance vocabulary comes from years of dancing in many genres. But what I choose to use comes from the story or images I want to portray coupled with how the music makes me feel and how I would want to dance.
Performance Details:
November 3, 2024
At The Baltimore Museum of Art
2:30 pm & 6:30 pm
Photo Credits: Brion McCarthy Photography, Aisha Butler of Jazzy Photography Studio
[Ticket link here
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