In Conversation with Chris
Biography of Chris Emile
Chris Emile is a multidisciplinary artist, choreographer, and performer whose work explores identity, spirituality, and collective memory through movement and visual storytelling. A graduate of the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program, Emile has created and performed works for the Getty Museum, Broad Stage, and USC’s Kaufman School of Dance. As co-founder of the movement collective No)one. Art House, he has built space for experimental performance that redefines how audiences engage with dance. His choreography seamlessly blends emotional precision with spiritual depth, utilizing the body as both an archive and a vessel. Through his evolving practice, Emile continues to craft immersive works that honor history while imagining liberated futures for Black and marginalized communities.
Transcription of Interview
Q: What keeps coming back to create? And how has your “why” somewhat evolved over time?
A: Right now, I think I'm in a place of what’s needed; what’s needed in the arts, what is needed in the human realm, what’s needed overall. We see a lot everyday on the internet, it’s something every millisecond so if someone is sharing something at all times, what do i need to say, what’s important for me to say right now when there’s a million things to look at. So yeah, I've just been really delving into that. A friend of mine recently was like you know it's not about what people want to see, it's about what you want to say. And I agree and I disagree, cause if I really want to make art just for myself, I could do it in my bedroom i dont need anyone to see it. Its not important for me - im really needing to express myself, it's not important for anyone else to see that, i could do it in my car but if it is something that is going to be shared, i do think there is an importance to give viewers, there has to be a reciprocity, there has to be an exchange that we have, and I don't believe in just in being redundant. If there's something that's already been said or if there's a surplus of this information, then I don't feel it's necessary for me to be another person saying the same thing as someone else. So the “why” is evolving and I'm not quite sure right now why it's necessary to share art at this time especially in this country. That might sound a little depressing but it's where I'm at. I think it's important for people to know why they like their art, why you need to watch a movie, why you need to watch a tv show, why you need to listen to this music. If you’re just doing it because that’s what you do when you get in the car, where you just press play, that’s mindless. You know I think that's an important question to ask ourselves these days, why are we consuming art, what are we using it for.
Q: What does it feel like when you're in a creative flow state?
A: It feels good; I guess I'm thinking about “HBNY” now, I remember when I thought of the story in my head it was taking me a second to figure out cause ive never really made anything that was like narrative like that so it was kind of like an “ah ha” or like an “ohh” moment like this is what these pieces need to come together and it just felt like an invisible connection that you’ve been waiting for and once it does happen its like oh yeah its been there the whole time but my eyes finally registered that’s what the thing is. I think that’s kind of my thing with everything that I make. It always existed, it was just finally my time to bring it into this dimension maybe.
Q: Going back to something you said, that “ah ha” moment when you're creating something and how it all connects; would that be an extension of confidence, within that creative process? What does confidence look like in your creative process?
A: I think I've always felt confident in myself and my work just because i know that i put a lot of work at least in my dance training and my research around training - that’s also another thing that about “it” (referencing HBNY) I don't know if you've ever been to the Getty Museum, no one really goes there to see the art its more of just a beautiful place to be because the building is so nice, i didn't want to make anything so cerebral, i wanted it to feel like a music video, and I was obsessed with Alvin Ailey growing up so I kind of wanted it to be a reference to all things that made me interested in art which were music videos, Alvin Ailey, so yeah I wanted it to feel like this Hype Williams, Alvin Ailey music video. Like I've never really made anything like that before but I was confident because I watched a lot of videos in my life and I found this really cool location that I knew we could make look like 3 different places. Going back to the understanding of why we consume art – I watch a lot of TV but I've never been like brain turned off, I’m really interested in cinematography and how everything not just the dialogue tells the story, “goes back to reference HBNY” even there costumes change throughout the thing, layer and unlayer, yeah im just always trying to learn from what im watching and that gives me confidence because im putting in the good nutrients, the good information so I can spit back out something that makes sense and something that i feel is worthy of being watched, even if you don't like it.
Q: What mental space do you feel like you need to protect in order to stay imaginative and expansive within your work?
A: All of it, all of the mental. I think lately I've also not been going to shows and things like that because for a while i think i was going to critique in the sense of like why was this piece chosen to be on this stage or on this platform and then comparing that to myself so ive learned to – if i really want to see something it cant be for that reason, its because i really want to go and experience the art. Because that is a mental game that takes a toll. That's more of like a business answer - we both laugh* i dont know, I think it's hard because we all create things based on different times that our mental state is in. I think the last time I made something, I wasn't in the best mental space but it ended up being a real catharsis for me and people really enjoyed it so its like yeah i wasnt in the best mental space but I made something that resonated with some people. I don't know, that's a hard one, that’s a hard thing to understand especially in these times and as we get older our brains – i feel like my brain is changing all the time. I think it just takes a lot of work to understand our individual processes and to know what is okay to allow ourselves to be a part of. I spend a lot of time alone and if I'm with people for an extended period of time, I need that same amount of time to be alone to like come back – I always make sure I give myself that.
(Follow-up Q): Do you feel as if the different times you've created, have there been any form of consistency of what’s necessary for your mental state for you to create?
A: No, I think – I'm sure you know the rigor of dance and the level that you have to perform at, at all times, I think I've just been trained. It doesn't matter what you’re going through, which is not healthy but it's real. We made HBNY during the height of the pandemic in LA, especially when cases were really high. It was hard navigating how everyone was feeling, being around other people and going into rooms to rehearse, but this is the time we have so let's do it and if you don't want to be a part of this then you know. Sadly I do feel a bit desensitized and maybe that's what I'm working on now and trying to sensitize a bit more, because it's not healthy but I think it is a reality and especially in this climate as jobs are not abundant you gotta go what you gotta do.
Q: Can you share a moment within your early journey when you realized that your voice or your perspective was missing in the spaces you were moving through?
A: I think I've always felt it, I think I always knew I wanted to be a choreographer. I would love to create and think more about how we could bridge technology, farming, ancient ways of being with the ways that people are making art and doing things today.
(Follow-up Q): Do you experience pressure in almost wanting to orchestrate these ideas, whether it comes from yourself or others?
A: Pressure um, i think ive recently have done a lot of work to eliminate the time component in this because things happen very slow for me quite recently so a way for me to keep my sanity I've been reframing my way of thinking. A mentor of mine would always say “life is long”. I think we as younger people always feel like we need to hurry up and do things. I've definitely had that but I feel like now I believe in a God, in spirit, I believe you can work really hard and if it's not your time, it's not your time. You know ive just heard that voice of like its not your time right now – good ideas stay, good ideas can be executed whenever they need to be, I don't believe in the pressure of it has to be in this year, in this month, in day, but i have thought this way at one time. Things come in seasons and you can see it with people that we look to. People aren't producing all the time and if they are, it's probably not good. Take some time, go away. Do something in your life that makes you want to create again. Even though it feels like I need to be producing, I need to be doing something, there's a reason for that when people can't sit still with themselves. I’m more on that of like you have to sit still so what are you going to do with that stillness when it's time to execute and in our capitalistic society that is a scary thing where jobs are getting eliminated and it can be scary to be an artist but we’ve always been okay, so we probably will be okay.
Shared piece of advice:
I think it’s important to know what you’re good at and what you’re not good at. Knowing what your weaknesses are and not being ashamed of them.
