Though trained in jazz and modern dance, choreographer and dance instructor Ryan Heffington works with a declared blindness to any formal boundaries, merging music, fashion design and popular culture in his stated mission to expose contemporary dance to as many people as he can. For MOCA's Engagement Party residency during the fall of 2010, Heffington conceived of and staged multi-media environments which transformed the role of a visitor from spectator to participant and dancer, as he continues to do in museums, runways, dive bars and dance studios throughout Los Angeles. Here he shares three videos in which a performer's emotion is revealed through physical expression: vintage Miriam Makeba, a classic Cyndi Lauper performance, and English dance company DV8.

 

Interview filmed by Stephen Pagano and edited by Tom Salvaggio.

 

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