Artist Statement
I began choreographing dances in the late ‘70s, as a child in the woods of North Florida. It was then, perhaps influenced by my hippy artist parents, that I first focused my imagination on the constant tension between the man-made and the raw, the wild, the natural. That focus has stayed true for 25 years of making dances in NYC. My work eschews literal meaning and instead embraces the abstract—intentionally leaving space for the viewer's imagination to fill in and influence their interpretation of the work. These experimental dances integrate the moving, sounding body with music, visual design, place (whether in traditional theaters or site-specific to unexpected environments) and are created through deeply considered collaborations with other artists and institutions. My process involves recognizing the constellations of these elements and then connecting and collaging, to reveal a provocative world with both resonant familiarities and dream-like illogic. While my dances are very intentionally not “about” other things, I’m inspired by the world and invite daily life into the process, a process that can span multiple years. I’m constantly pushing to invite seemingly disparate influences to sit side-by-side—even merge—in a work. I’m searching for the inexplicable offshoots of their cross-pollination in an effort to draw allusions to the darker, complicated, beautiful, funny and tragic aspects of human existence.
Ivy Baldwin, Folds, Performance, 2022, Chocolate Factory Theater. Photo by Maria Baranova
Bio