To the editors:
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I would like to start by thanking the Reader for covering the Chicago dance scene so well and contributing to the vitality of our art form. And then I would like to respond to a review of my choreography that was in the November 27 edition of the Reader. In the article my work was criticized because my dances do not have “beginnings, middles, and ends” and “conflict/resolution,” with implications that these are things I should learn to do. These are perfectly valid ways to construct dances, but there are also other non-drama/story-based dances and my work fits into the latter category.
One of the beauties of dance is that it can bypass the thinking mind and go directly into the body through the kinesthetic sense. I do not mind if Ms. Troester does not think that I do what I am trying to do well. I would, however, appreciate it if she would be open to additional ways of making dances.
