M O V E M E N T - F O C U S
NEWS
Canvas Rebel dives deep into the mind of Damani and his works.
Hey there, I’m Damani Pompey. I’m an independent interdisciplinary artist native to Brooklyn, NY. My crests include filmmaking, direction, choreography, education, and lighting design.
Before committing to the dance craft, I studied Shotokan karate, a martial arts form that signifies the “empty hand.” We were taught to engage with space, sit with ourselves, and discover purpose. Purpose, a word that has not held meaning until my young adult life. It had become apparent to me through my education, that dance lacked a sense of self and individuality. What could you do with what you were given? We are conditioned to isolate our outside experiences in order to channel all energies into the execution of performance and dance steps. A “how to” approach as opposed to a “why is this important?,” commands us to remain diligent in achieving unattainable beauty partnered with the sensation of growth and an unrealistic, polished sense of presentation.
Movement as a module for survival, registering the intake of information, and an exchange of energy with yourself and the space that encompasses our thoughts. I invite you to distinguish the moral relativity of you, revolving around the everyday person- our bodies weaving in and out of several physical structures throughout our day. We endure anxiety and pressure to move through mostly quadrilateral designs in pursuit of “destination.” Isn’t it striking that we, as modern humans, go months or even years without placing our feet on natural Earth? That we deal exclusively with solid figures that we construct against nature and its fractal? We have lost connection with understanding that movement as survival, has the potential to connect humans with each other while also connecting the moving body to universal knowledge. These considerations propel me into an inquiry about how we maneuver around and through other human beings, based on the choices we make. We are rigid in form but organic by nature, and yet we are constantly moving through structural designs with our physical and social vessels.
“Man’s hand gives and gives itself, gives and is given, like thought or like what gives itself to be thought and what we do not yet think. The organ has no access to the essence of being as such.”
-Derrida, “Geschlecht”
My experience has brought me to understand that our vessels are to be preserved for life as opposed to an unrealistic expectation of the stage. Performance and a release of energy to an audience relies on the consistency of the product as opposed to the process. Consider the amount of energy we give towards a social gathering versus crossing the street and making it to the other side. Movement within a dance practice is an ongoing reach to obtain a desire and look of the body, under scrutiny from the public eye. How are we to convey art, identity, and the reflection of a changing society in these 2-dimensional, limiting spaces? Our bodies were built to expand and relish in resilience. We are as complex as the systems that are created through the rotation of Earth. An isolation of these ideas convolute our navigations moving the world as it pertains to everyday living. An instance affects a previous choice and the succeeding future. My approach to movement focus requires releasing performative energies to rationalize internal identities, opinions, and ideals based on micro-momentous experiences. The transmutation of the institutional ideals of dance to reflect task-based living and a multi-dimensional, malleable, body.