Meet Clara Auguste Mohagen | Multidisciplinary Artist, Choreographer, Mother, Data Enthusiast

We had the good fortune of connecting with Clara Auguste Mohagen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Clara, how do you think about risk?
I’ve taken numerous risks in my life, but I don’t know if I would be considered a “risk-taker”. As a Virgo, I believe most of my risks, at least, now, as a more mature adult, have been calculated and have contributed to a more peaceful mental state of being.

I was born in a small town called La Victoire in the Nord Department in Haiti. I was seven years old when my family moved to Miami in 2000. More specifically, we moved to Little Haiti, and here lived, and probably still does, the largest Haitian community outside of Haiti itself. As first-generation immigrants, my parents left their lives and professions as teachers at a local Catholic School behind and traded them for factory and back-of-the-house restaurant and hotel jobs to support my upbringing and well-being, as well as my two brothers’. To put it bluntly, my parents were the original risk-takers.

It was a risk for me to move out of my parent’s home in Miami to New York immediately upon graduating high school at 18. At the time, I’d already gotten the chance to study with the Dance Theatre of Harlem in New York City thanks to one of the Summer programs that Thomas Armour Ballet offered. During the span of a Summer, I saw the potential that the city had to expand my knowledge on dance as an art form, I knew that this grand, exciting place was ideal for a young artist like myself. It was tough in the beginning. I was working overnight shifts at the Ihop on Union Square and commuting back to Long Island while also attending Baruch College full-time as a Freshman. Even thinking about this now makes me lose my breath! Life progressively got easier year after year. The energy of the city, my endless motivation to better my future, my peers, and my family were my driving force.

I transferred to Hunter College by Sophomore year and majored in dance. At Hunter College, I was exposed to new styles which excited my interest in movement even more, despite all the years that I’d been dancing. Here, I was given the freedom to experiment and I fell in love with the process of creating. I was exposed to and trained in Post-Modern Dance, improvisation, West African Dance, and outside of these classes, I developed a deep interest in Haitian Folk Dance. I began to draw the connections of dance and the process of making to the everyday world, and I gained a new perception of the “imperfect” as being the new “perfect”. It was here that I began to see dance as less of a competition, less about who has the best turnout or can do the most pirouettes, but more as a creative process in which emotions exist and can metamorphose from one transition to another. Throughout all of the pieces that I’ve created, I’ve noticed the following components to be present, and these include inspiration, research and exploration, and a deep yearning to share. Each piece I’ve created has contributed to self-discovery and the process often helps in translating the human experience as it is through my eyes onto the stage.

In 2019, after 7 years of living and studying in New York City, I took the leap of faith to move to Los Angeles, California. I’d always dreamed of living in Los Angeles, and it took a couple of trying personal events to drive me forward onto this next stage of my life. I took the leap and shipped all of my belongings from Brooklyn, back to my parent’s home in Miami, while I moved to Los Angeles. I applied for UCLA’s MFA Program, auditioned, and got in. Covid happened a year later and I was able to expand my creative skills, as many performing artists did, into film and Dance for Camera. At first, I truly battled with the shift because video editing takes time and a ton of practice to master, and I saw myself as a “Dancer/Choreographer”, but for any new skill, once I’m able to advance past the voice that wants to stay in the comfort zone, I can grow and I did just that. At the end of the MFA, I was able to create something I was proud of, a piece entitled “Seremoni a”.

“Seremoni a” is a dance-for-camera piece that includes a mixture of original and pre-existing sounds and texts in a combined effort to examine the theme of modern-day rituals and ceremonies. With a particular focus on the Gede Pantheon of Haitian Vodou the piece shares the stories of six women as they race to the crossroads of the California deserts, the trees of South Miami, the cemeteries of Brooklyn, and in encircled sacred spaces. These women serve as a reminder that past ancestors continue to live with and through us, even in our present lives. Seremoni a was presented by the UCLA Department of World Arts & Culture/Dance and premiered online on Friday, April 23, 2021 at 6:30 PM.

After completing this project, I wanted to revise and work through some of the concepts, I felt like there was still much to uncover and discover. This yearning for rediscovery led to the creation of “Between Tunneled Skies”, a dance film I created, choreographed and directed, it was edited by Garie Anderson Jr., and the music was created by Seaming To. The piece explores a threshold between two worlds. It magnifies the liminality of the living condition and stands as a curious metaphorical depiction between life, death, and the in-betweenness of it all. The main dancers in this piece includes Madeline Nobida, Camille Cruz, and myself. This piece can be accessed here: https://vimeo.com/716111899/5a89242807?share=copy.

I think risks are necessary sometimes. You never know what truly lies ahead until you take the necessary steps that feel right for your wishes and future trajectory. In my work especially, this is a key component that I admire about choreography, and I’ll continue to take risks that surprise even myself with future artistic works, because after the risk, sometimes comes delight.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
5 years ago, if you would have asked me why I am interested in pursuing a career in the arts, I would have said the following:
Within the last 25 years of living, speaking has been the easiest when the words and emotions have spilled out of my bones rather than from my lips. I am an artist and a creator because I too, am a storyteller. I value the experiences of my ancestors, I stand to share those experiences of the past fused with those of the present to one day be able to impact the future. I am a creator because I am not afraid to show others my truth and from that to elicit different emotions within one space. The pieces of choreography that I create allow me to do what every human inevitably wants to do on this Earth, and that is to connect; my artistry allows me to connect with others the best way I know how, through movement, music, sounds, songs, and rhythms. I see movement in a child gently, then forcefully, then gently again peeling his truck from tape found on the ground. I feel movement within the two-hour long improvisation sessions I lead in empty studios, the places where I let my thoughts subside while my body transverses through the weight of air, and my bones indulge in its textures. I hear rhythms and through my mind’s eye, there is a movement that correlates with the dangling of keys, the sudden drop of a pen, or even a long sigh. The wonderful wind brings golden and green leaves to spin about before separating them to find their separate paths which forms intricate patterns to play with in any studio. Every encounter, every conversation, any new information contributes movement to a piece of work that I am creating. I am an artist because I choose to translate life’s experiences through dance and movement.

The arts and creativity have always been a part of my life and I try to support art and other artists whenever I can. I hold a BA in Dance from Hunter College, City University of New York and an MFA from UCLA’s World Arts and Cultures/Dance Department. In Fall 2016, I established Aeternus Dance Company as a means to collaborate with dancers and share creative works with audiences. As a choreographer, I have shown works at several venues and festivals including the United Kingdom’s Fringe Arts Bath,We Create Festival by Danza Organica, Black Lives Rising Live|Virtual Dance Film Festival, Junior High Los Angeles, Greenspace, Judson Church/Movement Research, BAAD Bronx, Danspace Project, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Triskelion Arts, The Actor’s Fund Art’s Center Theatre, and Hunter College’s Kaye Playhouse and Blackbox Theater, and many more.

My work is reflective of an ongoing conversation between the cosmic and the corporeal, between the present and intimate worlds of today, whether it be physical, emotional, or spiritual; and lands distant in terms of both space and memory. Through choreography, text, and sound I examine how new and preexisting paradigms can manifest into reimagined states of abstraction. Embedded in the work is also both a reflective and intimate form of syncretism between past and present lands.

I value the power of human imagination and its ability to shift and transcend through our current realities. It is through this imagination that I often contemplate questions pertaining to the healing of present and past traumas as well as existing in a present where the future is both unknown and unforeseeable. Through this reimagination of worlds and possibilities unknown, I aim for my work to serve as a base for nuanced and innovative reflections of daily life and the infinite possibilities and changes that can transpire.

It was not easy getting to where I am today, but I would not change it for the world. I would say I got to where I am professionally through hard work, diligence, commitment, support from my peers and elders, and a deep belief in my abilities and what I can offer in the movement space. One important lesson I’ve learned along the way is to persevere, be kind to myself and others, even during the tough times, and as cliche as it is, trust the process. I believe in a higher power and everything that is meant to be will be. 

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friend was visiting the area, I would make sure to visit some of the following places:

For a day of adventure and hiking, I would include the following spaces:
1. Malibu Creek State
2. Victory Trailhead/Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve
3. Topanga State Park
3. Lily’s Malibu – best burritos ever!

For a beach day, I would make sure we go to:
1. Topanga Beach
2. Cholada Thai Beach Cuisine – for Thai food by the beach

For adventures that are close by, we would go to:
1. Bart’s Books in Ojai – an open/outdoor library!
2. Lake Isabella – for camping, fishing, and boating
3. Catalina Island

For Theme Parks:
1. Universal Studios Hollywood
2. Knotsberry Farm

Farmer’s Market:
1. Woodland Hills Farmer’s Market
2. Marina Del Rey’s Farmer’s Market

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
First off, Armour Youth Ballet, formerly known as Thomas Armour Youth Ballet. If it was not for this nonprofit and leaders like Ruth Weisen, Natalie Wright, and Afua Hall, I would not have had the access and opportunities I had growing up when it comes to my dance education, and I would not have made some of the amazing life-long friendships that I have today. Secondly, I have to give credit to all of the artists, musicians, dancers, professors, and collaborators who have contributed their time to make my artistic visions and explorations come true. I operate on a highly collaborative format and without these individuals, none of the works that I have created would have been whole. I’d like to give a special shout-out to Asia Dessert, Solange Buon, Patrick Adams, and Alexandra Jean Joseph. Asia Dessert is a dancer and performance artist based in Los Angeles, Solange Buon is a Performance and Visual artist based in New York, Patrick Adams (www.patrickadamsmusic.com), is an American trumpeter, composer, and educator, Alexandra Jean-Joseph is a dancer, educator, choreographer and founder of Imamou Lele, an ensemble of dancers, drummers, and vocalists sewn together in the spirit of Haiti. These artists have been supportive in many of the projects I have completed and I am grateful for their support, contributions, and eagerness to help bring each project to fruition while also providing their artistic expertise.

Website: https://www.aeternusdance.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aeternusdancecompany/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clara-mohagen

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AeternusDance/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC44vVDSWlZ7GI5dexx4RgJQ

Other: https://www.vimeo.com/aeternusdance

Image Credits
Videography credit: Allison Chao, Garie Andeson Jr., Jay Louis
First Photo: Chase Collum