DANCING WITH GLENN

( IMPROVISATIONS ON THE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS )

DANCING WITH GLENN

( IMPROVISATIONS ON THE GOLDBERG VARIATIONS )

The Goldberg Variations have fascinated me since childhood. They are a masterpiece that seems to speak to both the intellect and the soul, evoking a profound sense of order and beauty. For my entire life, I have returned to these notes—Bach’s perfect architecture, the exquisite symmetry of the aria and its thirty variations—seeking something intangible but deeply resonant.

Now, I feel called to embody this work through dance. Specifically, I want to create to Glenn Gould’s second recording—a performance that feels to me like a conversation between Bach’s genius and Gould’s own restless, searching spirit. What does it mean to dance this music? To give justice to a work so expansive, with a single body on stage? Can I, through movement, honor the sweeping grandeur and delicate intricacies of this masterpiece?

The Goldberg Variations invite us into an extraordinary world of harmony and invention. I am captivated by how Bach weaves complexity into simplicity, crafting beauty from patterns that are both mathematical and deeply human. Perhaps that’s why so many of us are drawn to them—the music offers a vision of perfection, an antidote to chaos. And yet, in the act of creation, I wonder: have we lost some collective sense of beauty in the world? What does it mean to celebrate beauty in an age that so often seems to devalue it?

This process is as much about learning as creating. What do I need to understand about Bach’s music, about myself, to make this piece? What does this music ask of me—physically, emotionally, intellectually? Can the dance I create reveal something new about the Goldberg Variations, something that exists between the notes, or between the spaces where music and movement meet?

To bring this vision to life, I will work to give Glenn Gould a presence on stage, as alive as possible. Through the use of projections, I want to evoke the sensation that he is at the piano, playing live with me. It will be a dialogue across time—a meeting of Bach’s timeless genius, Gould’s interpretive brilliance, and my own body in motion.

At its heart, this project is a dialogue—a meeting of music, memory, and movement. To dance the Goldberg Variations is to ask questions about beauty, about harmony, about what it means to express the inexpressible. It is a journey I take with reverence, curiosity, and an open heart.