We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Damani Pompey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Damani, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Recalling the first time “risk” and I ever encountered was at 23 years of age (2014) and I was unsure what to do and how to do with the preliminary foundation of my career. I was dancing for 9 choreographers at that time with very little pay overall, whilst working a late night restaurant job. Although my goal was to be in a company full time, I was blessed with a few opportunities to choreograph. One major opportunity presented itself where I would present an evening length work in Shanghai, China. Unsure at first, I decided to take the risk and live in Asia for a month and a half, living and working and constructing this work. It was a thorough and amazing experience and it wasn’t until I returned to New York City that I realized how much work we had to do as a society, as Americans. I was grateful for that opportunity because it shifted my focus on what kind of artist I needed to be as I was becoming. I started to dance less and move, create, choreograph and teach more. That decision lead me to become a Director of Dance on a Peabody Award winning television show on HBO that was pivotal to the zeitgeist of American culture post 2020 and the supportive development of my artistry as a pioneer in design, direction, and vision.
Recalling the most recent time that I’ve had to befriend “risk,” was becoming a Full Time freelance artist working in movement, direction, creation, and collaboration. It was a necessary choice, almost cosmic, as I had been working both as a freelance artist and as an employee of the Food/ Beverage industries to maintain stability. It wasn’t until I experienced a moment that was detrimental to my humanity, did I risk being in the open world as my own provider. I sometimes question… had that incident not happen, would I still be working in that industry today? What opportunities would have been lost had my focus and energy continue to pour into industries who have no intention in pouring back into me. I am extremely grateful that this was a “blessing” in disguise that would ultimately help me recognize that my work can serve several types of communities from all walks of life. My work does not have to thrive in the confines of institutional limitation. It can be readily accessible for anyone who is willing to show up and for those who are called to need it for healing, expanding, and a tangible sense of self.
Damani, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a Caribbean-American, independent interdisciplinary artist invested in contemporary expression through Black Future. Native to Brooklyn, New York, I attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Dance, graduating with The Stefanie Silverman Award. I graduated Magna Cum Laude from SUNY Purchase’s Conservatory of Dance as an Adopt-a-Dancer in 2012, minoring in Arts Management paired with an Independent Study in Lighting Design. Currently, I serve the public as a visual artist, movement educator, lighting designer, movement artist, filmmaker, writer, director and choreographer based in New York City. My ability to balance numerous vessels through compositional offerings is specific to my life’s journey. I am not one facet of an artist, but a representation of perspective transmuted through sculpting space, spirit, and dimension. I am most proud of being able to see everyone as they are, and helping them discover their language of movement as it relates to their spiritual alignment and ancestry. The overall concept and construction of material manifests through the building of community, as opposed to job descriptions. I am committed to movement focus as it is a universal connection with all other forms of art, communication, and human existence. Recent credits include: Historic Judson Memorial Church, HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness (Peabody Award), BET’s Queen Collection by Queen Latifah, 92nd Street Y, Whitney Biennial 2022, MoMA PS1 x On, Sundance Film Festival, Prelude Festival 2021, and Telfar.TV for Telfar Global. I also serve as a consultant for independent films, experimental works, and private interdisciplinary projects.
MAGNUS WORKS seeks to investigate various languages of movement and expression through the cultivation of conceptual work and its relationship to the humanity of audiences and everyday living. Exploring the intent of movement, expression, and the vocabulary of anatomy, artist and audience consider the relativity of the physical, to that of reality. Using contemporary ideals and traditional devices, MW provokes the inquiry of modern day perspective and aims to unite generations of audiences and collaborators. Between constructing a family of movement artists, an eclectic collection of work, and interchangeable mediums from various artistic backgrounds, MW focuses on immersive presence amongst humanity sharing history through experience in natural and/or manufactured spaces.
Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
As someone who has been seeking true liberation once learning of the stories that were not mine to tell, nor included my experience, being a creative allows me the freedom to absorb the world and witness in real-time how anyone’s action and movement expands AND destroys the ways we choose to avoid the question- “why are we here?” Furthermore, “why aren’t systems, solutions?” You are able to see and explore the world as it always has intentionally existed for eons, as nature, as a collective… without us. Existing in a time where truths are continuously erased, it is imperative to do this work to maintain wonder and personal choice for continued liberation of the generations to come. It is imperative to do this work to honor the efforts of those who preceded us as well.
Contact Info:
- Website: magnusworks.org
- Instagram: magnus.works / pompeiusmagnus
- Facebook: Magnus Works / Damani Pompey
- Twitter: famekid
- Other: Vimeo: Magnus Works
Image Credits
Emily Farthing, Laura Fuchs, Conor McNamara, Austin Phelps, & Damani Pompey