Jodi Melnick

Artist’s Statement

I believe strongly in the importance of corporeal expression and the profundity of movement.   I am truly in love with movement.  I am also acutely aware of stillness and how a narrative may unfold from either place. My investigation is of nuance and gesture, and the emotion and drama inherent in the physical form.  I am interested in probing the boundaries of the dance medium without losing what is essential to its nature. As I trust my intuition,  I am drawn into a world dislocated from something I know. My desire is to find what is inherently necessary to the work, to meticulously extract, to choose fiercely, to use necessity as a driving force. The experience of performing is crucial to the work. Each time I want to find anew the spontaneity and immediacy as if I am discovering the piece for the first time—to transform the work by the phenomenon of dancing.

Jodi Melnick is a New York City–based choreographer, dancer, and teacher.