We were lucky to catch up with Erin Morris recently and have shared our conversation below.
Erin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?
Jazz dance is a confused art form at this time. Much of what is taught in studios and in academies, and what is performed commercially, is a form of dance that has been hybridized and white washed since the 1950s. I started my dance journey with social jazz dance, which is a Black American art form from the 1930s and 40s. After decades teaching and performing swing jazz, I started to move into bebop and later evolutions of jazz, which required more avant garde movement techniques as the music grew more challenging. I now exist somewhere between a swing dance teacher and a postmodern rebel and art maker. While my movement and aesthetics are very rooted in Black social dance, I am currently trying to find as expansive a tool kit as possible to respond and improvise to all genres of jazz music, especially those that are more free and complex.
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 have always taught anything that I do: teaching dance, tutoring Latin, training horses and riders. I love the communication and emotional intelligence of pedagogy. So while I personally have very nuanced and sophisticated objectives for my own art and performance, I am still thrilled to teach swing dance basic steps to adults who have never danced before. It doesn’t matter if I’m giving someone their introduction to biomechanics and music theory or if I’m helping an advanced dancer with their approach to composition. I thrive in spaces of connection and meaning-making.
Last year I completed my MFA in dance at Washington University. I wanted to take the years in grad school to research my own dance identity, and I wanted the degree to become more fluid in the spaces that I could professionally enter. To that end, I now teach private dance lessons of all levels and genres, I teach community swing dance lessons, I’m an adjunct professor of jazz dance at Washington University, and I choreograph and teach as a guest artist for different organizations and institutions around the country. I like to think that anyone who wants to learn from me or dance with me has access to me through these various channels.
In my performing art, this year I’m beginning a new project called Jazz Shift with my fiancé Steve Davis, who is an acclaimed jazz drummer. We aim to curate and present performances of jazz musicians and dancers together, in order to “shift” the public consciousness around what jazz is, what it sounds like, what it looks like.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
I think we need to continue to remove obstacles that exist for artists wanting to share their art in their communities. For dancers and musicians, venues are often a stumbling block. Some dance companies have started hosting evenings to showcase local choreographers, for example MADCO’s “Dare to Dance” and Resilience’s “Seen”. On an even smaller scale, a dance equivalent of the “open mic” format would be an incredible asset to the community.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My mission is to honor my strengths and find my own way forward. There are many models of being a dance academic, being a professional Lindy hopper (swing dancer), and running a dance company. I have found that none of the existing models work quite right for me, and that I have to envision new possibilities in order to occupy these spaces in a way that prioritizes health, happiness, and growth.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.erinmorrisjazz.com
- Instagram: @erinmorrisjazz
- Youtube: @aileenmerin