LOR | Creative Process

A Year With Aeris Körper

When I was first introduced to Aeris Körper in 2019, I was thrilled to know a community like this existed. As an emerging artist, to be in rooms where people were creatively moving, expressing deeply, and dialoguing about their process, felt really special to me.

I would regularly attend their workshops, intensives and showcases, and eventually sat in some of their jury sessions. I didn’t fully know what I was stepping into, but I was inspired to hear how different minds think, how artists articulate their visions, and to be a part of critical yet compassionate conversations that shape opportunities. These experiences taught me as much about myself as they did about the artists in front of me. Sitting in those rooms expanded my way of thinking, inspired me to dream in new ways, and have the courage to advocate for my own strengths and beliefs.

And something big in me sparked.
I felt awakened to my creative desire.

I didn’t know where this journey would lead, I just knew I felt inspired, reflected, challenged (in a good way,)
and empowered to make my artistry my career, too.

Fast forward to the end of 2024, Mayumi invited me to be one of two Artistic Associates for their new year-long program, and it was a FULL BODY YES
for me! I knew this was where I was supposed to be, and the next step I needed for my professional development. I was craving mentorship, and a space to grow my artistic identity, and that’s exactly what I’ve walked through this year.

Working with Mayumi through 2025 has been grounding, clarifying, hilarious at times, and supportive in more ways than I could have imagined. She offers structure, guidance, empathy, celebration, and professional insight that has kept me accountable and empowered in my authentic expression. Our weekly/biweekly meetings have helped me clarify who I am as a dance artist, producer, and a creative care worker trying to make thoughtful and meaningful work in the world. 

The Artistic Associate program directly shaped how I approached grant writing, a process that initiated me to clearly articulate what I care about as an artist, such as community care, embodied remembrance, somatic storytelling, and movement as a place of belonging.

For the first time, I felt like I could confidently say:
This is my artistic voice.
This is what I value.
This is what I’m trying to build, and why it matters.
This is the community I stand with.

And to feel that clarity come through was new for me, a big relief, and a dream come true.

Unfortunately, none of my grants were successful. The rejection hurt a lot, and made me question what was next for me. Ultimately, it didn’t derail me.
It invited me to trust the detour as part of the process, and to take the clarity I found in writing as the celebration.

Then came the opportunities that felt like sudden bursts of momentum, and a path of accelerated growth. 

The annual Here&Now Festival rolled in, where I stepped in as Associate Producer and Artist Liaison. This role meant so much to me, especially because it is where my own professional dance career truly began. In 2023, I was a featured emerging choreographer within the Prospects Showcase, which is now a signature event at the Here&Now Festival. That performance was a catalyst for me as an artist. And to come back around this year, not as a performer, but as a supporting role for these new emerging artists, felt like a beautiful full-circle moment of my purpose and evolution. Holding pieces of the production side of the festival, and the artist care side in tandem, showed me how much capacity I actually have, and how much I love tending to the ecosystem that keeps artists nourished.

Then, another big full-circle moment happened for me. I was contracted to be the Producer of the hArt Dance Film Series (!!!!) Last year in 2024, I was one of the featured filmmakers, and that opportunity truly changed my life. The creation of my film, and the container of the program, helped me release a lot of insecurity around my personal healing and my artistry, and it initiated me to step deeper into my confidence and embodiment. So when I was asked to support the production of this year’s series, it felt like the universe was saying, “Ready to level up?!”

I was excited to envision how to make the year’s series even bigger and better; to integrate what we learned last year, and to add new pieces to enhance the experience creatively and structurally. We had a short timeline to work with, and we hit the floor full force.

And then, the part that we hope never comes, came.

We had to make a really difficult decision to cancel the program due to lack of funding. I’ve come to understand through this journey that this is a familiar reality in the arts world, that meaningful, community-rooted work is often held together by devotion, time and care, and isn’t met with the systemic support it deserves.

The disappointment was real.
Heart-shattering-sensation kind of real.

It took me a while to recover from this setback. But once I moved through the disappointment, I realized how important that experience was, disappointment included. It was confirmation. It showed me the work I want to produce, the stories I want to lift, what lights me up, what values I align with, and the artists I want to support.

I remind myself again,
Alignment isn’t always linear.
Nothing is lost.
Trust the detour.

Fast forward to October of this year, Skye, fellow Artistic Associate, and producer of the Neighbourhood Moves Community Dance Series, invited me to work alongside her as the Outreach Coordinator, and facilitator on the roster of 6 different dance artists in Hamilton. Each workshop has had greater attendance than the previous years, filled with diversity and so much embodied joy! Building bridges through the community has been really enriching, for both myself and the movers that gather for the workshops.

UNBOUND; Dance & Release (my workshop) was a HIT! Think: mindful movement meets community dance party. With a live DJ (shout out Dj Savage Good) creating an incredibly fun soundscape, and a room full of embodied adults engaged in their curiousity and playfulness. I had the best time ever, and I witnessed a true unbinding and transformation happen through the field. Before this, my inner critic was spiraling and my self-esteem was low. But with the support of the community, mentorship from Mayumi, encouragement from Skye, my collaboration with Katie (DJ Savage Good,) plus the room filled with familiar and friendly faces, I showed up feeling genuinely resourced and ready to grow past my edge. The workshop unfolded with authenticity and it felt quite magical.

Looking back at this whole year of highs and lows, achievements and set backs, it feels surreal! So many of these experiences were once just journal entries of hopes and goals to manifest, and now, I’m living it.

As I clearly share through this reflection, it wasn’t all ease and magic.

This path wasn’t always clear, and the year of work wasn’t always easy.

There were a lot of moments where my overwhelm spoke louder than my inspiration. And times where my burn out made my question my direction.
But even in those harder moments, I stayed open to the learning, practicing trust in timing, alignment, and myself. Every challenge gave me more clarity, discipline, creative direction, community, resilience, and a deeper understanding of my own potential.

And the best part?
My Artistic Associate contract has been extended for another year! Another year to grow, learn, collaborate, ask better questions, dream bigger, refine my artistic voice, and continue to contribute to a community that has truly shaped me.

Being mentored by Mayumi is one of the greatest gifts of 2025. Her dedication, generosity, vision, and the way she grounds the work of Aeris Körper in care… It's rare. I feel encouraged, challenged, and supported in a way that makes me want to rise and continue to uplift the community around us!

I am grateful.
I am growing.
And I am really proud of the artist I am, and continue to become through this process.

I am genuinely so excited for what comes next in Season Two of the AK Artistic Associate Program!

Photographs by Marlowe Porter