Choreographers Note with Kiera Amison

It’s a busy time of year in the LU Department of Theatre & Dance as we gear up for final exams and our final production of the season, The Faculty Dance Concert: Dance Unleashed (April 28-29). Amidst all the excitement, we took a moment to sit down with guest choreographer Kiera Amison, Artistic Director of Muscle Memory Dance Theatre, and ask her a few questions.

Hi Kiera, we are thrilled to have you here and working with the Theatre & Dance students at Lamar University.

Kiera Amison: Thank You!

Can you give a little background to your personal dance journey or choreographic process and how that influenced the work we will see in Dance Unleashed this semester? 

KA: ​It was such a gift to be invited to set work at LUTD with wonderfully talented performers and I'm extremely grateful.  As a choreographer I am often interested in the human experience and how that reflects in our relationships, as that will then affect the world in which we live. I appreciate that dance can be a force that brings empathy and understanding as we share lived experiences. 

Can you speak on the vision for the work and what you would like for the audience to take away from the experience? 

KA: ​My vision for the work was/is to show that even as WE are on our own paths, WE intersect,connect and reconnect, and those interactions reverberate and stay with us as we continue on our paths/journeys. Who we are is shaped by others and our interactions with them.  

As a guest artist, what has been the most challenging aspect(s) of this process for you?

KA: ​It is always a unique experience to work with dancers that one has just met with a short amount of time to express an idea/concept/thought etc. I'm an artist and educator, so it is important that I express my artistry, and also important that the students can learn different ideas, methods, and processes that they can take with them as they develop as creators in the dance world. 

Kiera, thank you for taking the time to speak with us and get a closer look behind the curtain. The last word is yours. Is there anything you wish to say to interested parties, the cast and crew, the Lamar community, etc...? 

KA: ​To the dancers: Thank you for wholeheartedly joining me in exploring our paths in the world. To LUTD, thank you again for allowing me to share my work with your students and community. I'm certain Dance Unleashed will be an excellent concert. Merde!

Thanks again Kiera! Performances of Dance Unleashed are TWO DAYS ONLY on April 28 at 7:30 pm and April 29 at 2pm and 7:30pm in the University Theatre between the Dishman Art Museum and the Jimmy Simmons Music Building on the campus of Lamar University. Tickets start at $7 and are available at lamar.edu/lutdtix and at the door one hour before curtain. See you there!