We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cristina Camacho a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Cristina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I like to describe my work as a scrapbook of my self-discovery; each piece I create is a direct product of a life occurrence, a current event, feelings that I can’t shake. I have been very fortunate to have had this outlet to turn to in times of adversity, and felt extremely blessed just recently when I was awarded a residency with Dance Lab NY – a program dedicated to promoting and advancing the art of choreography for NY artists. I was granted this residency during the time I was (and currently am) coping with the loss of my mother to cancer.

Through the residency I created my latest work, “Good Grief,” a means of trying to feel SOMETHING during a time where I otherwise felt numb. The opportunity was so timely, as I had “left” dance & my dance community in NY in the months prior to return home and help support my family. Going from being a caretaker to being an individual expected to create felt so overwhelming that I wasn’t sure I was going to produce anything “productive” – that spiral that most artists feel when we begin a project. But with the support of Dance Lab, the PACE University Students I was working with, and my friends, the juices started flowing & the work poured out of me. While I’ve been so proud of my work and voice over the past two years, this hands down became my favorite work, my best work, my most meaningful work.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a creative producer. An artist. An educator. An arts advocate. You know us creatives, it’s hard to put us in a box and ask us to label it.

I got into the dance industry by way of my parents and community organizations. My parents were dancers so I grew up watching them blaze the floor with ballroom and partner dances. My mom, seeing how infatuated I was with music videos running on MTV, bought me tutorial DVDs (before the days of YouTube!) with instructions by the iconic Tina Landon, teaching her routines to hits by Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Samantha Mumba, etc. I eventually expressed an interest in wanting to take dance more seriously my senior year of high school and then even more so in college at the University of Maryland, where I really honed in on the craft. I attained a Bachelor’s in Dance, earning a full-tuition scholarship through the department, and was President of Dynamic Dance Team, a Hip Hop company on campus. Upon graduation I joined Culture Shock DC, a professional Hip Hop company in the DC area, and KickRocks Crew, an all female crew, both offering a peek into the realities of the dance industry – information that became very valuable while I was working in NY as a commercial dancer.

While training and working as a performer, I discovered a love of teaching and began my journey in education. I’ve been teaching professionally for 10 years, focusing on an understanding of music, community, and self in classrooms in the DMV, NY, North Carolina, Canada, Barcelona, and more. With that experience, I developed a passion for choreography and creating work – a lane that I have been more focused on over the past two years. I’ve had the privilege of creating so many works in such a short amount of time, on some of the most talented dancers – watch out for them! – and try to use my position as a leader in these spaces to create an environment that feels like a safe incubator of creativity and expression.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I have a friend/previous Director (Victor Adebusola!) that once said in a rehearsal, “Do what you love in service of those who love what you do,” which has served as a driving force for so much of my effort in creativity. Let’s not kid ourselves, this shit is hard. Whether it’s something you’re pursuing professionally or just for personal expression, being an artist is a cycle of self-doubt and wonder. You squeeze together hours of trial-and-error, highs & lows, sacrifice, and discovery, to produce something that you MIGHT share with someone in hopes that you’re seen or understood.

Especially in a medium like dance where you can’t hold the thing that you make, it can be extremely draining to create. BUT THEN, when you find the courage to share the thing and someone tells you how the work you made touched them, the class you taught changed the way they think about something, the dance you performed really stuck with them – that makes all the difference. That’s the payout. That’s the motivation to go through the process again. But the best part is when that “someone” is yourself.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I’m very much in a space currently of “coming back to creativity” – focusing on creating for creativity sake.

In the arts/entertainment space, and in a time where everyone’s business is plastered on social media, it’s very easy to fall victim to comparison culture. I spent so much of my time in my 20’s doubting my abilities, overly caring about how my art was perceived, trying to fit the molds of an industry that doesn’t always know what it wants, just playing scared to be honest. Because putting yourself out there to no avail is scary!

But with age and experience comes wisdom, and let me tell youuuu, being on this side is way better. Now I create what I want, when I want, how I want. I set the rules and the pace, even when there’s no solid “product.” I create when I’m happy, sad, inspired, angry, and sometimes I do it scared.

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.cristina-camacho.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_Cmacho/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@cristinacmacho

Image Credits
TMR PICZ Christian Whan