WORKSHOP WITH JUSTINE CHAMBERS

Who doesn’t love being upside down and kicking ass to MIA? I know I do, and there was quite honestly no better way to start my day than with Justine Chambers and her bold attitude towards dance. Even at 9:15am, an ungodly hour for dancing, she convinced all of us that we were bad ass movers. We were captivated and possessed by her proclamations and I decided to do nothing less than live up to her affirmations... I am bad ass.

Justine Chambers is the queen of throwing her weight around even though her tiny frame doesn’t have much weight to use. She effortlessly rolls, shifts and whips her body around the space with a focused and intentional fluidity that few can imitate. We moved our way through a warm up that concentrated on momentum and flow. Skin, muscle and bone all spilling into the floor in sequence allowing for graceful transitions in and out of the ground.

I threw myself around the studio and chased the fluid power that reads so clearly in Justine’s body. There was inversion work, momentum and a rally between all of us in the room to push forward. I could have danced for her all day and hope I will again soon, but until then I’ll “keep moving with my badass self,” as Justine instructed me to do.

Ainsley Hillyard is an Edmonton based performer, choreographer, and educator who works in contemporary dance and theatre. She is a collective artist with the Good Women Dance Collective.