life - breath - soul
KATHERINEÂ AXNESS
Dancer & Choreographer in Soul
Creativity Team Logistics and Production Book Management
Katherine Axness is a senior BFA Dance Performance & Choreography major pursuing a Leadership Studies minor, a Chemistry Minor, and the Pre-Medicine track at Elon University. She has studied under Renay Aumiller, Melanie Berson, Moran Dekel, Saar Harari, Gerri Houlihan, Jen Guy Metcalf, Mate Moray, and Justin Tornow. Katherine performed choreography by Jason Aryeh, Christian von Howard, Roni Koresh, Elvira Pervova, Melissa Rector, Summation Dance Company, and Noa Zuk. In Spring 2020, she took artistic and technical training courses from previous Batsheva Dance Company and Vertigo Dance Company members at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance in Israel.
A Note from the Artist:
I see the world through the eyes of an artist. The collection of lines, shadows, shapes, patterns, and movements that I navigate in my daily life compels me to express myself in the most creative ways. Anything from seemingly mundane sights to majestic views holds the potential to inspire my future creations. This raw material fuels my desire to create as a painter, dancer, and choreographer.
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I am a quiet admirer of the interactions of those around me. The visual intricacies of humans in dialogue and physical contact draw my eye and foster a need to make sense of what I am witnessing through creative expression. The primary drive behind my artistic inquiry is to uncover the rawness of human relationships and identity. By presenting a story in which anyone can see themselves or someone they know as the main character, I hope to inspire my viewers to think deeply about their lived experiences and to question what they believe they know or understand.
My choreographic process relies on both my visual and performing arts training. I like to begin each piece by drawing specific moments that I want to capture on scraps of paper. After covering the walls of my apartment with these drawings, I rearrange them until I can find order in the chaos of my scattered thoughts. From formations and movement sequences to interactions and identities of the dancers, my drawings help me visualize the end product, determine the piece’s purpose, and experiment with how I want to accomplish my goals before even stepping foot into the studio. These drawings are then brought to life and fruition through collaboration with dancers.