Year: 2021-2022
DanceForce Member: D. Chase Angier
Artists: Cameron McKinney, Cayla Mae Simpson
Community Partners: Alfred University Dance Department; Alfred University Expanded Media Department; Alfred University Institute for Cultural Unity; Alfred University Institute of Electronic Arts; Fosdick Nelson Art Gallery; Marlin Miller Dance Residency Program
Audience: 672
County: Allegany

TOKIMEKI BLUE
Multimedia dance installation in the Fosdick-Nelson Gallery at Alfred University
Created by Cameron McKinney + Cayla Mae Simpson
Curated by D. Chase Angier
Sept 10 – Oct 11, 2021

This project worked in partnership with NYSCA/DanceForce, the Fosdick- Nelson Gallery, The Alfred University School of Art and Design + The Performing Arts Division, The Marlin Miller Dance Residency Program, The Institute for Cultural Unity, and the Institute for Electronic Arts.

The Fosdick Nelson Gallery was open to the public daily. Arts curriculum was designed around the month long exhibition of Tokimeki Blue, serving students in both Alfred University’s School of Art and Design, and The Performing Arts Division.

TOKIMEKI BLUE is a multimedia dance installation that integrates contemporary dance and film. Inspired in part by the Japanese onomatopoeia tokimeki, which describes the sound a fluttering heart makes as it discovers love, the work offers onlookers an escape from the overbearance of their individual realities by inviting them into an alternate, colorless world. Through choreographer Cameron McKinney’s idiosyncratic mix of contemporary floorwork, streetdance-influenced movements, and vibrant visuals by filmmaker Cayla Simpson, the protagonist’s unexpected journey of self-discovery becomes a catalyst for vivid distortions that leave his world forever changed.

Performances by Cameron McKinney, Cayla Mae Simpson, Nico Gonzales, Jovick Pavajeau-Orostegui, Alex Schmidt, Rebecca Sandin, Kimiko Tanabe

Music created by Cameron McKinney

Filming/Editing by Cayla Mae Simpson

Mckinney and Simpson also engaged with the public through the following events:

Lecture Presentation by Cayla May Simpson
Exploring Creative Process for the Interdisciplinary Artist
Open to the general public
Holmes Auditorium Wed Sept 8, 9:30 – 10:30 am

Nagare Dance Technique Class by McKinney
Contemporary floorwork-based class combining the grace of modern with the speed and fluidity of streetdance, capoeira, and house dance. Taught to AU Dance Students.
Miller Performing Arts Center Wed Sept 8, 11:20 – 12:35 pm

Discussion with Exhibition Design Students–Simpson and McKinney
Fosdick Nelson Gallery – Wed Sept 8, 2:30 – 3:10pm

Artists Speakers Series – General Public
McKinney + Mae Simpson discussed the making of TOKIMEKI BLUE.
Moderated by curator, D. Chase Angier
Sept 22, 7pm Holmes Auditorium. Live audience + live streamed to virtual audience.

This project served close to 700 audience members.