…I proclaimed to myself in the fall of 2003. A fresh graduate of the dance department of the now-dissolved Newcomb College of Tulane University. Frustrated by the lack of cultural relevance of typical proscenium dance. Fascinated by the idea of turning filmmakers into dancers and including them in the choreography of a piece, following the action like they would in the latest blockbuster films. Paying cinematic homage to the true athleticism and rigor of the dancers by matching their energy and attention.

 

Enthralled and completely entranced by the mixtape culture of hip hop. The emerging internet revolution – ‘pirating’ music, ‘burning’ cds and turning musical journeys into love letters… the postcards of my starry-eyed optimism. I flipped and flopped, grappling with the question of how to create a mixtape of dance, a narrative journey that represents how messages of music and movement pulled me through life’s darkest moments into the light. I asked myself if I could create a piece of contemporary art that could stand the test of time.

 

Five days at Hangar1018 in January 2004, a warehouse venue long lost to the sands of gentrification in downtown Los Angeles, saw nine scrappy dancers, three cinematographers, one lighting director and one dj bring to life a vision that can only be described as urban jungle fae practicing for an intergalactic carnival parade. Excerpts from the production were featured at SPECTRUM Dance in LA #18, at the Ivar Theatre later that spring.

 

The original production was shot on 8mm film, lost in Hurricane Katrina, but not before it was copied to VHS and then extracted to digital format. The ephemeral, only evidence of an artistic career long abandoned from trauma. Until.

 

Companion pieces augmenting the choreography were shot in 360 format on greenscreen in 2017 at the Big Apple Studios in NYC, and the full experience was united in 2023 in Atlanta in another special place that no longer is, The Playlab.

 

Here for the first time on August 27, 2026 we present the complete 25 minute piece to you in its key forms, simultaneously, at the Creations Studio in Oakland, CA.

 

The future is truly now.