Blog

August 2024: Natalia Martineau

Who is Natalia Martineau in a sentence?
I am an emerging dance artist, choreographer, and teacher currently interested in making work that appeals to the senses– exploring what processes of deep listening and attunement can reveal to us about ourselves and each other.

Tell us a bit about your work and practice.
I’m worried about missing out on sensation. About overlooking or forgetting the visceral, ooey-gooey, and fluid feelings that pass through my body and my environment on a daily basis. I want to feel, and I want to remember those feelings. This desire to capture and record my embodied perceptions is the foundation of my practice.

As a dancer, I work to expand the sensory bounds of my body; interested in invoking new movement pathways and expressive techniques into the self.

As a choreographer, I work in translation; mediating between internal and external experiences. I use movement as a tool to convert thoughts, feelings, texts, sounds, and images into dance.

My work as a dancer and as a choreographer are fundamental to one another. The techniques and works I’m exposed to as a dancer impact my choreographic interests, just as my choreography alters how I approach performance. Reflecting the constant shift and intermingling of the embodied sensations with which I work, my process is in constant flux.

How long have you been dancing?
I’ve been dancing my whole life!

How does dance fit into your life currently?
My relationship to dance has evolved a lot over the past year. I’ve had to learn how to invest in my artistic practice even though I’m no longer in a rigorous training program. A huge part of this has involved prioritizing joy in my dance experiences and trusting that as long as I continue to feel curious and creative, dance will always be a part of my life, even though it may take on new shapes.

How would you describe dance’s impact on your life?
It’s a little cheesy, but I’ve always described dance as the greatest love of my life. It has taught me how to listen deeply to myself and to others, to trust my feelings, and to take agency over my experiences. Dance has brought me incredible community and joy and it has been the driving force behind all of my major life decisions up until this point. I feel incredibly grateful to get to call something I love so much and find so fulfilling my job.

What three core values drive your engagement with dance?
Vulnerability, community, and exploration.

Do you have a particular practice that you carry out each day or have you implemented new practices over these last few years?
I think I’m still figuring out how to sustainably implement dance practices into my daily life. Learning how to balance freelancing and my day job has definitely been a challenge and I still struggle not to feel guilty on weeks I don’t make it into the studio. That said, even when I’m not in my dancing body, I try to tune in and be present with my sensations and my creativity whenever I can.

What would you say are the most significant benefits for you in being a Dance Centre member?
Being a Dance Centre member has provided me with resources that have been really helpful in my transition from student to emerging artist, as well as opportunities to research, develop, and present my own work.

Natalia Martineau’s Member Profile
Website
Instagram

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Interested in becoming a Dance Centre Member? Learn more here.
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Photos by Joseph Malbon and Paulina Vega Carrillo