“migrate border line” is a physical exploration of how mass movement, interpersonal relationships, and self-constructed barriers can alter the viewpoints of an unconsciously performative audience. Structured as a triptych, the three sections of the work gradually bring together those experiencing it. Grounded in an (ongoing) experience of grief on a transnational scale, the work has evolved into a personal reflection—boundaries, both real and imagined, physically and emotionally impacted my familial relationships.

“migrate border line” was originally structured through a framework of three improvisatory tasks I defined as research, recovery, and re-shift. Each task involved the dancers, audience, and a physical element. During the course of the evening, the physical elements used altered the space in which the performance occurred. Soil was strewn across the floor as five dancers physicalized their sense of place. Chalk lined the room to create both real and suggested borders for a volatile duet. Finally, tape was three-dimensionally stretched across the space, encouraging the audience members to be present in the space and interact with those around them. Presented in an DIY art gallery in north Florida, the work was performed in a single evening to friends, family, and the greater Tallahassee art community.

I purposefully allowed the work to live on after the performance through conversation, personal reflection, and my continued movement practice. A digital and physical archive was also created during this time and contains photographs of the performance, images found during development, written text from myself as the creator and other contributors, and various videos of the process and performance.