Artist Interview: Lauren Woods

Artist Statement

“Circle dances have been a part of human culture for thousands of years. Performed as rites of passage, an invocation of change, or as a mode of community ritual, the circle embodies aspects of connection, unity, and cycles of transformation.

I have been using dance as a method of grounding during this time of social distancing and isolation in my home for weeks completely alone.

Whether I am dancing around the house, my overgrown yard, or taking virtual ballet classes from a friend that lives hundreds of miles away, dance has been a way to feel connected to rituals of my past, providing comfort during extreme anxiety.

This video is a sketch, playing with the idea of how technology has provided opportunities for interaction while we are separated physically. I began with improvisational movement in my yard, and then had my sister send me a video of her children performing their own “circle dance.”

I would like to collect more videos of both myself and others moving as a method to process uncertainty and fear. Dancing is a way to bond and communicate, expressing elemental and ineffable aspects at the root of our being.”