We had the good fortune of connecting with Jennifer Rose and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jennifer, how do you think about risk?
For me risk is about evolving. I left my home, my family, my friends, my city and the comfort of knowing what is next. I started traveling while performing on tour with renowned dance companies which sparked my desire to learn the smaller corners of the world. I was living in New York City and had this ache to escape the modernity and mediocrity of city life. I spent extended periods of time in Indonesia, Mexico, Greece, Spain, meeting artists who are deeply connected to the music and stories of their home soil. I met flamenco dancers and guitarists, Balinese and Javanese actors, classical Indian storytellers, a Greek musicologist and so on. Each artist I connected with brought their rigor of expression and taught me the intelligence within the primitive. I was moved. Together we were wildly creative leading me to produce and choreograph large scale theatrical dance productions in ancient sites, historical and natural landmarks and cultural embassies in an unpredictable and almost irrational manner. It was a kind of spontaneous creation, a ferocity that is viscerally felt, emotionally understood but no one philosopher or intellect can explain.

Each project was a risk of being misread in foreign lands. I did not belong to the place where I was creating and simply did not belong anywhere. Never knowing how to answer the question, “where do you live?” There was no landing pad, no history of community or friends to find solace and all I knew was uncertainty of where I was going next. But I also knew that staying in my city and living a societal normalcy was an even greater risk of a stunted evolution. These creations were driven by an unspoken trust between my collaborators and I. Together we moved audiences by making something entirely new. We trusted the power of sense over the traps of intellect, finding beauty in the discomfort of transformation.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

I am a choreographer director, performer and educator. I make dance theatre productions both live and for film. I started as a young dancer in New York City performing on international stages and opera houses for dance companies such as Shen Wei Dance Arts, Merce Cunningham Trust and worked with Bill T. Jones. At one point I realized, I had enough information from these mad- geniuses I had worked with to say what I wanted to say; independently. I took the time needed to dive deep into my personal distinctiveness.

I’m always reaching for something that feels eternal. Fast trends have never been my strength. I look at myth and folklore. I see how culture teaches us that movement and music cannot exist without one another and together bridges the wisdom of story-telling and fantasy across time and across borders.

I use sensual and visceral movement to tell stories of unrest, desire, carnality and the thrill of self- expression. My most recent short film is a collaboration with famed Arabic Singer, Ghalia Benali and filmmaker Robbie Shaw which recently won a few awards at local film fests. I am currently working on a live production and film based in Greece with a brilliant filmmaker Maximilla Lukacs called MOVE MY BLOOD. Its a re-imagination of the Greek mythos CIRCE, sorceress of witchcraft, inspired by the novel written by Madeline Miller. Sometimes, I feel like I am riding a parallel journey of Odysseus or at least its modern day version. Venturing new territory on a ship crossing treacherous seas of unknown pitfalls both emotional and physical.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
The first place I take anyone is my house. I live in a small labyrinth of wild forest. A lush sanctuary of fruit trees, scarlet rose bushes, fan palms and olive trees growing right through my windows. I wine and dine friends with old world cooking in my intimate space saturated with weavings, lanterns, ceramics, stacks of books collected from years of travel stories. Here, there is no wait staff to push you out at 10:00pm, freedom to walk around shoeless, a steady fire to induce juicy, truth telling conversations. Its almost a private speakeasy.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

My mentor, Kun- Yang Lin, a choreographer and educator from Taiwan took me under his wing when I was about 20. He recognized the ferocity and passion in my dancing and harnessed my expression. He helped me grow up fast. I was living in New York City and he moved his dance company to Philadelphia which meant I was commuting and staying in his home about three days a week. We would wake up in the morning and have “mantra talks” at his kitchen table over strong coffee. We were searching to understand why dance is such a transformative act. And how can it emit something far beyond just the physical? He embedded a spiritual lens of art making that did not adhere to a prescribed philosophy. It was our own.

He pushed my physical and emotional limits because he knew I was capable of more than I allowed myself. He brought me to Taiwan, Korea and Singapore and introduced martial arts principals into my dancing and now my teaching. About 15 years later I am now deeper into martial arts practices and finding dance in my WuShu training. If I ever feel lost when making work I imagine being in the studio or drinking coffee with Kun-Yang. Somehow it connects me closer to my voice.

Website: https://www.jenniferrose-live.com/

Instagram: @jnnrose

Other: Choreography Reel: https://vimeo.com/530534286 The Edge of Mercy: https://filmfreeway.com/projects/2338686

Image Credits
Photos: Todd Weaver, Caro Siegl, Roberta Shaw

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.