Blog

March 2022: Giselle Liu

Who is Giselle Liu in a sentence?
A curious heart in wonder.

Tell us a bit about your work and practice.
My work explores our interconnections to others and the potentials of human sense-ability with an attention to sight, sound and felt sensation.

How long have you been dancing?
Since I was 3 years old.

How does dance fit into your life currently? 
Freely and always in conversation.

How would you describe dance’s impact on your life?
Dance is like a lifelong companion. You go through many phases and as you change so does the dance, they are infinitely entangled.

What three core values drive your engagement with dance? 
Compassion to ourselves and others (nature, environment, humans, non-humans)

Openness to the ever-shifting nature of reality (physical and energetic body, waves, visible and visibly hidden)

Self-awareness (Self-realization)

Do you have a particular practice that you carry out each day or have you implemented new practices as a way of adapting to the current climate?
I’ve definitely implemented new practices; this current climate has given me an opportunity to learn about my body’s experience of nature and technology. This time has allowed me to live into and witness the contrast and vast similarities between nature and technology in-between movement and stillness. It has given me a way to re-experience my perception of different sensorial realities and interconnections to space, time, and others.

What would you say are the most significant benefits for you in being a Dance Centre member?
Being a Dance Centre member has given me an opportunity to join the dance community and to research and experiment with practices that are evolving for me. I’m grateful for their openness to collaborations and different approaches to movement as a practice beyond the scope of typical or classical training.

How have you been spending your time during the COVID-19 pandemic, and what are you most looking forward to doing moving forward?
I’ve been spending this time integrating my inner and outer worlds, and continuing my research around interconnections, the energetic and physical body, and the harmony of our multi-dimensional experience of different sensorial realities.

This year, we are celebrating the 20^th anniversary of Scotiabank Dance Centre. What impact do you feel the building has had on the dance community, our city, and/or your own practice?
Although I’m a very new member, my collaborative research has been welcomed and encouraged to pursue with kindness and grace.  In my experience, The Dance Centre is an evolving platform with a grounded community that provides artists with opportunities to share and expand their approach to dance/movement and creation through non-typical ways – re-writing expectations and re-defining boundaries.

Giselle’s Member Directory Profile
giselleliu.com
Instagram: @oureyeswilladjust and @gisellekliu 
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Interested in becoming a Dance Centre Member? Learn more here
Photos: Benji Reid and Simon Richardson