Meet {Dd} Atlanta contributor Christen Weimer

Our community of dancers, dance makers, writers, and innovators continues to grow. In the spirit of this artistic expansion, I’m pleased to introduce Dd’s newest contributor, Atlanta-based choreographer, dance educator, and writer Christen Weimer. I’ve known Christen since we were teenaged bunheads at Atlanta Ballet Centre for Dance. She’s a creative, forward thinking individual, who has continued to pursue her passion for movement with an abundance of zeal and integrity. Christen holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Dance from New York City’s Barnard College (Columbia University) and an MFA in Dance from New York University’s Tisch School. She’s performed with Brooks & Company in Atlanta and Bodiography Contemporary Ballet in Pittsburgh, among others. Currently, she is a Professor of Contemporary Dance at Kennesaw State University in Atlanta.

1. ART: Performance or visual? What place does art have in your life?

CW: Both performance and visual art play vital roles in my life. Art is a reflection of humanity through the lens of a specific individual. When I choreograph, I am often drawn to a painting, piece of writing, lyrics or the rhythm of a song, photograph, structure of a building, or even facial expression or body gestures of a friend. I then allow my body to tell me where to go. Keeping an open mind and heart is the most important part of choreography.

2. CRAFT: Knit or Crochet or Other? What is your craftiest project to date?

CW: Good question. I don’t knit, crochet, or work on crafts per se, but I do write everyday. I’d like to
write a book or two before the time I’m 50…

3. DESIGN: Classical or modern? What designer or architect inspires you the most?

CW: Frank Llyod Wright

4. FOOD: Salty or sweet? Do you know how to make your favorite dish?

CW: Both. Dark chocolate with sea salt is one of my favorites. I also really like tomatoes, straight up with salt and olive oil.

5. THOUGHT: Fiction or Nonfiction? What form does the bulk of your own reading and/or writing take?

CW: Hmm well, at the moment I am reading a bit of prose, poetry, and a novel or two: Marcel Proust, Sylvia Plath, Thomas Merton, Jack Kerouac, and the Bible. My own writing is mostly free form or stream of consciousness.

6. FUN: Where in the world do you want to go or be stranded? What five things would be in your bag?

CW: I would like to be stranded on a beach in Australia or Fiji, or in a small village in the South of France. With regards to what would be in my bag: a record player and Otis Redding’s first album, a blank book so that I could record all that I experienced, a camera, a bottle of wine, and whatever book I was reading at the time.

Follow Christen on Twitter @Sweetpea_83 or at the KSU website.