ABOUT ME
ARTIST STATEMENT
For me, contemporary dance is a vessel for movement discovery and play where there is no right or wrong—no mold for it to fit to. I enjoy movement that fuses multiple styles and disciplines. I am drawn to movement that explores breath, weight, power, release, and risk; this then opens a dynamic range of textures, patterns, and meanings. I am interested in how this orchestrates together to create new worlds and stories. For this to happen, one must be open to qualitative research within movement…one must be open to process oriented work. The people we are and the world we are in today is not separate from previous events feeding into a process of change and growth, so why should our creative work be any different? Within dance, I love discovering new things within the framework of play and process. I love how this process brings a narrative and a world to the surface. I love being a part of these worlds and helping tell these stories. Within my own work, I am interested in pursuing experimental and intermedia performance as a unique practice to create more immersive experiences with these stories. How can we challenge the boundaries that have been made within dance and creative practices to allow for new creations to emerge?
BIOGRAPHY
Allison Smith (she/her) is a dance artist newly based in the Philadelphia area. She grew up training in a variety of styles, including ballet, pointe, lyrical, tap, and musical theater. She recently graduated with a BFA in dance at The Ohio State University, where she focused heavily on contemporary, West African dance, and the fusion between the two. She worked closely with and received heavy influences from faculty members Momar Ndiaye, Eddie Taketa, and Abby Zbikowski, honing her movement interests in breath, weight, power, release, rhythm, and risk. Her current creative and artistic pursuits revolve around storytelling, organic expression, multifaceted conversations, and in distorting perceived boundaries within the current concert dance world. Now in the Philadelphia area, while continuing her contemporary dance training, she is focusing heavily on street and club dance styles and how their respective culture and techniques can be acknowledged and highlighted in traditional Westernized dance spaces.
RESUME
EDUCATION
The Ohio State University Department of Dance 2023
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Dance, focus on Intermedia Production
Minor, General Psychology
PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE
Tatiana Desardouin, Path to P[e]ace 2023
Allison Smith, Joy is… 2023
Katie O’Loughlin, Kaleidoscope Instincts 2023
Abby Zbikowski, CANNONBALL 2022-23
Kara Komarnitsky, Social Entropy 2022
Alon Karniel, Vexations 2022
Kara Komarnitsky and dancers, Interconnect 2022
Momar Ndaiye and dancers, Daabo 2021-22
Susan Petry, Every Breath: A Covid Dance 2021
Dave Covey, 8 People Participating in a Particular Process 2019
Jamal Story, The Evidence of Things Not Seen 2018
TRAINING
Contemporary Dance | Alon Karniel, Momar Ndaiye, Crystal Perkins, Susan Petry, Eddie Taketa, Mollie Wolf (Floor work, Improvisation), Abby Zbikowski
African Diaspora Dance | Donald Isom (Krump, House), Suzan Bradford-Kounta (Traditional West African), Tatiana Desardouin (Hiphop, House), Vince Johnson (House), Momar Ndiaye (Traditional West African)
Ballet | Harmony Bench, Jimmy Orrante, Valarie Williams
Intermedia | Norah Zuniga-Shaw, Alex Oliszewski, Oded Huberman
SUMMER INTENSIVES AND CONFERENCES
American Dance Festival, Summer Dance Intensive 2023-24
American College Dance Association, National 2023
David Dorfman Dance Winter Intensive 2023
Bates Dance Festival, Professional Training Program 2022
Afrodiasporic Art and the Archive 2022
American College Dance Association, Regional 2022-23
West Virginia Dance Festival 2013-19
SKILLS
Digital/Technology | Final Cut Pro, iMovie, Premier Pro, Canva, Isadora, Makey Makey, Q Lab, GarageBand, setting up/running A/V, coding overlapping systems, troubleshooting past and current problems
Leadership | Time management, collaboration, planning and facilitating rehearsals, flexibility in plans, posing questions, leading discussions, delegating, sending reminders and follow ups, sticking to deadlines, keeping energyup in the room, calm amidst chaos, clear and flexible communication, thinking on the spot, working with kids and families
Allison Smith 