Getting to Know Kim Holman

by Sam Mullen

Photo by karen Krolak

We are so very excited to be working with our dear friend, Kim Holman, of Luminarium Dance this season! I had a quick conversation with her about all the incredible things she's been up to lately! While it's not talked about here she can also be found at Karen's I-ARE Residency show on April 13th!

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Sam Mullen: ​Since you received your MFA last year, you have been exploring the question of where dance can happen. Could you possibly speak about your quest up the East Coast and how it has influenced projects you are working on now?
Kim Holman: Sure! Truly I think dance can (and should) happen anywhere. My project Roadtrip Dances consisted of a 1500 mile drive up the entire East Coast, where I stopped in each state for some sort of site-inspired public performance. I think back often to a moment in Durham, NC. I didn't anticipate discovering that nearly no one in the South spends time outside during the day in the hot summer except for tourists and the homeless. I had a great impromptu performance for an audience consisting of exactly one elderly homeless man who cheered and laughed and voiced his delight, afterwards asking a few cautious questions. That moment sticks with me and keeps me conscious of the fact that my work is for everyone—patrons, skeptics, casual bystanders alike.

SM: In the last year you started boxing, how has it influenced your performing?
KH: Boxing has cemented my own personal philosophy of not performing (and therefore performing... confusing, I know). When I enter the dance space to participate in work in front of an audience, I do so to complete a series of tasks I've been assigned. I know this sounds unbelievably boring and far from the performances we seek out onstage, bear with me. I don't love performing work that requires me to pretend to be something I am not. I love work that requires rigorous inquiry, absolute authenticity in the present moment, and asks something of me as a performer that I can discover again and again, whether I'm digging to unearth an emotional reaction, or seeing what my body can do in a specific situation. Boxing does this. I enter a ring to fight and I'm there to use the skills I have to engage with another human. It asks me to work towards the same goal each time and uses the same structure, but it's completely new each time. It's exactly the same "piece", but each performance might look completely unique. I can be most present and most myself when I can navigate through choreography in this way. Even if there's set movement, I want to find my way through the work as genuinely as possible each time. 

SM: You are the co-director of Luminarium Dance Company. We are thrilled you could take time out of your very busy schedule to work with us this year!  While our companies are good friends and have a lot in common we also tackle things from a variety of perspectives. Is there a specific thing you can point to that is different about the two experiences for you? 
KH: I think the main difference is that I'm coming in as a guest performer, as opposed to my work with Luminarium as an Artistic Director! It's been interesting to be on the other side of things as a performer, though Monkeyhouse is delightfully democratic and the idea of leadership is far from one-sided. I love the trust amongst the group and the willingness to take risks and try everything. 

SM: Speaking of Luminarium, what is the company up to these days?
KH: Lots! We are preparing for several festivals and collaborations all over New England. You can catch us working alongside Verdant Vibes in Providence, RI in May, and with visual artist Adria Arch in Portsmouth, NH in June, and as part of many great events that are part of the vibrant festival season in the Boston area. We are in the early stages of building new work, likely for late 2019, where you might see me try to merge my physical work in boxing with contemporary dance (among many other things). One of the most exciting updates is that we are relaunching 24-Hr ChoreoFest this year—an event I hold dear to my heart, and that Monkeyhouse has supported over the years. Keep an eye on our site, luminariumdance.org and our social media for updates!

You can catch Kim at
re{ACT} re{BUILD} re{COLLECT}
on March 29-30th at the
Multicultural Arts Center in Cambridge, MA

Get your tickets today for
$5 off the door price!