Esmé Boyce Dance
BAC Open Fall 2023 Dance Residency
Photo by Whitney Browne
The humbling or chapter of mama: Part 1
During the BAC residency I am beginning a rambunctious, meticulously choreographed dance for four dancers including myself, that coexists in the same stage as my toddler and husband. If my son runs across the space, the dance will stop or swerve. If he needs me, I will carry him and continue the dance to the best of my ability. If he needs his diaper changed, that too will be part of the dance. The mundane tasks of parenthood will be enveloped into the work. It will be raucous at times; something to match the wild ball of tender chaos that is my sweet toddler. If a dancer is held up by child-tending, they will dance faster to catch up and junctures will have holding patterns as a choreographic safety net. The two forces will dive around each other pushing and pulling the work forward. Equal parts concept and practicality, this dance is a demand that I not be forced to choose between motherhood and an art career; that children and the messiness of young life be enfolded into artmaking. This dance offers a wild glimpse of a world that could be. One portrait of feminism as my life requires it.
Please Join Us: BAC Open House Studio Showing, November 16 at 4PM
Artist Bio
Esmé Julien Boyce (she/her) is a choreographer, dancer and mother who makes interdisciplinary dance worlds on stage. Boyce holds a BFA in dance from The Juilliard School and an MFA in dance from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she received a Distinguished Graduate Student Fellowship. Boyce has presented her work at 92nd Street Y, Dixon Place, Lincoln Center, The Dogwood Performing Arts Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Judson Church, Baryshnikov Arts Center, and Center for Performance Research. Boyce’s work was curated for the Judson Church performances of the Museum of Modern Art’s fall 2018 exhibition, Judson Dance Theater: The Work is Never Done. Boyce was a 2016-2017 New Direction Choreography Lab Fellow at The Ailey School and returned to The Ailey School to choreograph for the 2018 BFA Fall Concert. Boyce has been in residency at Kaatsbaan International Dance Center where she was a guest choreographer with Singaporean dance company, Maya Dance Theatre and “New Steps” residency program at Chen Dance Center.
Creative Team
Cody Boyce (he/him) music composer
Mac Twining (he/him) dancer
Matilda Sakamoto (she/hers) dancer
Cori Kresge (she/hers) dancer
Caroline Fermin (she/hers) dancer
Chat Travieso (he/him) husband
additional childcare by Sue Julien (she/her) and Kit Boyce (he/him) parents
Esmé Boyce (she/hers) choreographer, costume designer, set designer, dancer
Tahlo Travieso-Boyce (he/him) toddler/element of chaos
Learn more about BAC Open and view all Fall 2023 Open artists