Blog
Mud is such an iconic play of abstract, theatrical, modern work. It was my pleasure to create the intimacy and violence for this inaugural performance of the new Latiné Theater Lab in South Florida!
Check out our review here.
A few production photos are also up on my Work Samples page!
I have an interview up with VoyageMIA talking about choreography. It’s one of the “Hidden Gems” on their website.
I had the honor and collaborative joy of serving as intimacy director and movement director for Lovesong at Thinking Cap Theatre in their new space in Hollywood.
South Florida Theatre Magazine review
This week I have production meetings for 3 shows in organizations 24-25 theatre seasons, so it seems like a good time to wrap 23-24!
-3 shows as an ID (one was both dance and intimacy) that played out of state
-15 professional productions creating dance, intimacy, and/or violence
- 6 shows in educational settings with intimacy or dance by me
And 24-25 is off to a strong start!
2023 was a really creatively fulfilling year. I got to do so much in dance, intimacy, and movement direction, and I am so grateful to have had these opportunities.
TL;DR:
I did a lot of fun stuff with awesome people.
I work with students, who then become professional colleagues.
I work with director colleagues who value me, not just as box to check, but as movement artist who makes story better/more interesting/clearer.
Theatre improves your Spanish!
I interact with incredible artists, at the top of their craft. But my 2023 award for star collaborator goes to Morgan Parker.
Photos of all of these moments are on my Dance and Intimacy Choreography works sample pages.
January: I actually performed again, as well as choreographed for the 2nd "KINesphere", funded by the Broward County Cultural Division. I was also back at Theatre Lab ID'ing "Last Night in Inwood" by Alix Sobler, directed by Matt Stabile, featuring Aubrey Elson and Javon Jacobs.
February: I ID'd 3 shows: "Good People" at The Maltz Jupiter Theatre, "Chicken and Biscuits" with the incredible Bianca LaVerne Jones at Asolo Rep, and "Company" at NWSA.
March: I got to movement direct and choreograph as part of TheatreLab's New Play Festival. I also ID'd a Miami story, "Defacing Michael Jackson" at Miami New Drama.
I was also honored to be a speaker at the 40th annual Miami Film Festival, on Intimacy Coordination. I got to be with a wonderful creative and conversation partner, Chris Molina.
April: I had the honor of working on the Rolling World Premier of the incredible Spanish/English play-with-music, "Refuge" with friends and colleagues.
I also ventured into violence, as well as intimacy, for “Marisol” at NWSA.
May was a rest, which was great, because I needed to plan for my VAP position at FAU Department of Theatre & Dance, before jumping into rehearsals.
June: I had a blast with my second Summer Shorts at City Theatre. Extra bonus was working with Melissa Almaguer, Alex Alvarez, and Maha McCain on these.
A film I worked on the year before, "Jagged Mind" premiered in Miami at the American Black Film Festival, and then dropped on Hulu. It later makes Decidr's Top 10 List of Movie Sex Scenes for 2023! Masie Richardson-Sellars stars, with direction by Kelley Kali.
July: I met one of my new favorite humans and collaborators, Christopher Michaels! I did intimacy and violence for "Thrill Me", which he directed, starring Dylan Goike and Kevin Veloz. They were accompanied by Eric Alsford, and honestly, he and the 2 actors did NOT get enough love and notice this theatre season. They were perfection.
August: I got to work with Miami's hottest new theatre company, Lakehouseranchdotpng, on the world premier of "XOXO, Lola" starring Noelle Nichols and Samuel Krogh. Lauren Witte captured some of our rehearsals for the Miami Herald.
September: Was all about "Love! Valour! Compassion!". I worked my tail off on this one. Re-staging the "Little Swans" variation from "Swan Lake", creating a modern dance solo for Robert Koutras (who was flipping amazing at it), and collaborating with the legendary Michael Leeds on the intimate and violent moments. All of these actors were amazing and they ripped my heart out.
October: I FINALLY got to ID "Spring Awakening". It and "Romeo and Juliet" are like THE shows for IDs, and I've done R&J twice, so, it was time. This was for the BUTC at FAU. My favorite moment was actually the fantasy about the piano teacher. I am appreciative of the students' clear communication, bravery, and joy in the process.
A film I worked on the year before, "Pain Hustlers", also came to Netflix. I was the Miami unit IC.
November: At the end of October, I got to rejoin Bianca LaVerne Jones, this time in Philadelphia at the Lantern. I was so excited to come "home" to create the dance and intimacy for the powerful, beautiful "Crumbs from the Table of Joy".
I also did dance and intimacy for fun musical "9 to 5", at FAU. The dance captains, Sarah Sun Park and Marissa Spurr were invaluable, and working with Ted deChatelet and Caryl Ginsburg Fantel was a dream.
I also got to go back to the Lab, this time as the movement director for "The Berlin Diaries" as the forces that are Niki Fridh and Avi Hoffman tackled 14 characters in 85 minutes.
December: Was a month of joy as I watched Ballet 2 of FAU be more beautiful than I hoped in the fall dance concert. And right before the holidays, we closed "La Gringa" at City Theatre. This play exemplified the magic of theatre, for me. But also, the magic of the work I get to do.
Clock-time is a colonial construct, followed to support capitalism. We know that is only a construct, and that time is much more spiraling than linear. And yet, we have agreed to live in society following this guideline.
As a teacher or leader, I can’t create more time, but I can shift how we feel about time.
Read MoreFinally, after a long road of graduate exploration beginning in 2016, I am excited to share I officially hold a Master (hate it) of Fine Arts degree in Interdisciplinary Arts with concentrations in both Decolonial Arts Praxis and Performance Creation Concentrations from Goddard College.
This wasn’t a journey I took alone. The following is my acknowledgements page from my thesis, Working Consent: Ethical Engagement with Collaborators, Audiences, and the Land in Dance and Theatre Pedagogy and Practice.
Read More2022 was a big year of work for me. Here’s my year in review!
Read MoreYesterday, I reposted an article from Dance Magazine on my Facebook feed, speaking to the use of “my” in dance class, aka, “my dancers”, “my dance”, etc. It caused some good discussion there, so I thought I’d share what I’ve already explored on this topic. The following is an excerpt from my thesis on the ways I am examining language in dance class.
Read MoreI came to Intimacy Direction and Intimacy Coordination because of my work in theatre. I came to work in theatre as a choreographer and a dancer. Dance has always shaped the journeys of who I am and what I do. Since I started learning Intimacy Direction in 2018, and particularly once I met Sarah Lozoff, I had a goal of bringing Intimacy Direction to concert dance- especially ballet and modern. And now, we’re one step closer,
IntimacyDirectionInDance.com
Sarah and I, with the fantastic Renee Redding-Jones are excited to launch Intimacy Direction in Dance! We are here to let dance companies know that Intimacy Direction is available to them! And that there are professionals specifically trained in both dance and intimacy. The power dynamics, vocabulary, and performance demands of dance are all slightly different than those of theatre of film. So we want dance companies to work with folks who are well-versed in the dance performance, creation, and teaching worlds, so that the application of Intimacy Direction to dance performances is beneficial to dancers, choreographers, and audiences.
We are excited to get to work!
Nicole LaBonde- Transformation Coaching of Mind and Body, Pilates, Nutritional Cleansing
CABARRET- Barre and Dance Fitness
Public Persona- Professional Image Coaching for Public Speaking and/or Online Branding for Fitness Instructors, Life Coaches, Healers and other Heart-Centered Entrepreneurs.
, Fort Lauderdale, FL