Photo by Jana Carson
About
Louisiana Based Artist
Creative. Performer. Dance Educator. Choreographer. Costume Designer.
Costume Design
I’m always eager to create and express my thoughts and emotions through movement and costume design. The collaboration between the two is necessary. Movement breathes life into the costume. The costume, in turn, adds another exciting layer to the movement...A lil sumpin’ sumpin’. Well, Actually ALOTTA SUMPIN’ SUMPIN’!
“The movement of fabric- with the extraordinary movement of the human body- creates an image that can give the eye a rare delight”
Choreography
My movement vocabulary is a gumbo of my lived experiences and my dance training. In my most recent research/creative activities, I’ve explored ways to fuse my modern ( primarily the Lester Horton technique) training and West African and African Diaspora dance training. My choreographic process varies for project to project. However, I’ve found that when I used an improvisational approach to find my groove when piecing together movement phrases alone but also during the rehearsal process with the dancers, more honest movement is birth.
I Dream of Greenwood
I Dream of Greenwood is a dance film inspired by the personal accounts of survivors of the Tulsa Massacre of 1921, as told to historian and activist Eddie Faye Gates and featured in her book Riot on Greenwood. The dance will move through the dreamscapes of the children who inherited both the rich legacy of a thriving community and the trauma of one of the worst single acts of racial violence in American history. Through their eyes, we hope to relive, remember, and restore.
This piece was originally commissioned by World Literature Today at The University of Oklahoma with support from The OU School of Dance for OU’s Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Symposium.
PUBLICATIONS:
ARTICLES:
https://www.oklahomatoday.com/online-exclusive/editors-blog/dream-state
Photo Stills Courtesy of Scissortail Media
Creative Direction: Marie Casimir
Choreography- Marie Casimir and J'aime Griffith
Dramaturgy-Leslie Kraus.
Composition and Audio Production- Ioannis Andriotis
Costumes-J'aime Griffith
Cinematography- Sissortail Media
Orchesis Dance Company & World Famed Tiger Marching Band
Halftime field show Crazy in love choreographed by J’aime A Griffith
Halftime Field show Word up choreographed by J’aime A Griffith
Stand routine lola bunny choreographed by J’aime A Griffith
Modernist Adventures in Music and Dance
Modernist Adventues in Music and Dance was produced by an OU Phd music student, Katie Ostrosky in collaboration with the OU School of Dance Graduate Students.
Musician, Katie Ostrosky’s notes:
Our Spring Will Come, John Cage (1912-1992) This piece, composed for prepared piano, was written for the choreographer, dancer, and anthropologist, Pearl Primus (1919-1994). Primus dedicated her career to elevating African dance as a serious artform. Her choreography featured bent knees, the isolation and articulation of body parts, and rhythmically percussive movement. Our rendition of this piece underscores these characteristics, and portrays the exuberant optimism often seen in Primusʼ work. John Cage composed extensively for dance, and worked closely with many choreographers including Pearl Primus, Hanya Holm (1893-1992), Martha Graham, Paul Taylor (1930-2018), and especially his long-time partner, Merce Cunningham (1919-2009). This piece uses both prepared and unprepared piano sounds, and uses bamboo strips and screws to create the unique sound palette. Due to logistical reasons, we pre-recorded the music for this piece.
Five Pieces for Dance, Norman Lloyd (1909-1980),This collection of dances by Norman Lloyd features works that were written between 1935 and 1939 in collaboration with, and inscribed for, several pillars of the modern dance scene.
Pianist, Katie Ostrosky’s notes:
Our interpretation of Piping Tune diverges from the written score significantly, in that the opening and closing sections are originally composed based on the musical elements found in the main piece. The sense of improvisation and exploration of sound and space are essential to this genre, and we honor that by working to create a unique vision of this piece
Pianist, Katie Ostrosky’s notes:
Blues was written for Louis Horst, and is a modernist take on the vernacular art-form. Opening with the dissonance of an Eb6 b10 chord, Lloyd blurs the line between major and minor mode, where his emphasis on the “blue notes” becomes prominent to the point of mannerism. The choreography mirrors the musicʼs dichotomy of formal vs. vernacular style, through the blending of jazz and classical form.
The Daily Paper: A Ballet in Five Scenes, Freda D. Miller (1911-1960)
Pianist, Katie Ostrosky’s notes:
The Daily Paper is a cheeky take on what one might expect to find in the newspaper of the day in 1945. Light-hearted and fun, this piece does not take itself too seriously, and our interpretation preserves that aesthetic. The music was composed by Freda D. Miller, modern dance composer and accompanist for dance and Broadway. As a student at the Bennington School of the Dance, Miller studied composition with both Louis Horst and Norman Lloyd. It is possible to hear both of their influences in Millerʼs work, in particular with “wrong-note” writing present in both Lloydʼs Blues and Millerʼs Comic Strip as well as quintal and quartal harmonies found in both Bargain Sale and Advice to the Lovelorn, which are reminiscent of Horstʼs harmonic language. Millerʼs style is much more theatrical, however, and it is possible to hear the strong influence of Broadway in her writing. From the humorous take on Rosie the Riveter in Comic Strip to the representation of North American trade policy in Foreign Affairs, and to the “Love in a pandemic” rendition of Advice to the Lovelorn, our presentation of The Daily Paper nods at the 1940ʼs while bringing this ballet into the present.
Headlines (Prisoner Escapes)
Photos by Jana Carson
Costumes by J’aime A. Griffith
Dancers/Models; Hanna Golden, Lexie Conley, Camryn Fry, Corrine White
Pianist; Katie Ostrosky
Video: Tessa Fungo
Choreography & Costumes: J’aime A. Griffith
Pianist; Katie Ostrosky
Photos: Jana Carson
Video: Tessa Fungo
Dancers: Rosie Granito, Sarah Rutherford
Choreography: J’aime Griffith, Mary Ann Mayer
Pianist; Katie Ostrosky
Video: Tessa Fungo
Choreography: J’aime A. Griffith, Greta Nunez
Pianist: Katie Ostrosky
Video: Tessa Fungo
Dancers: Grace Evans, Candy Yuan, Joy Douglas, Emily Geffre
Pianist: Katie Ostrosky
Choreographer:J'aime A. Griffith in collaboration with dancers
Costumes: J'aime Anastasia Griffith
Video: Tessa Fungo
Society’s Cage 8 minute 46 Seconds
Society’s Cage is a timely interpretive installation born in the aftermath of the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor as our society reckons with institutional racism and white supremacy. The installation features a bold interpretive pavilion sculpted to symbolize the historic forces of racialized state violence. The experience educates visitors and functions as a sanctuary to reflect, record and share personal thoughts. It is conceived in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement as a mechanism for building empathy and healing. Society’s Cage is currently on the grounds of the historic Vernon A.M.E. Church in Tulsa, Ok. We move and breathe in the space for 8 min 46 secs.
Choreography by Marie Casimir & J’aime Griffith
Costumes by J’aime Griffith
Young Choreography Showcase
Am I There Yet? was set on a group of the University of Oklahoma undergraduate dance majors and performed at the Young Choreographers Showcase.
Disposition piece was set on a group of the University of Oklahoma undergraduate dance majors and performed at the Young Choreographers Showcase.
Choreographer; J’aime A. Griffith
Costumes: J’aime A. Griffith
Lighting Designer: Cassi Crain
Dancers; Maggie Schoenfeld, McKinlea Kear, Anna Huffman, Stephanie Eggers, Michaela Hillman
Photos by Sarah Cermak
Choreography: J'aime A. Griffith
Costumes: J’aime A. Griffith
Dancers: Kimber Harlan, Leslie Castillo
We Remember, We Restore
A dance film filmed against the lush backdrop of the Crystal Bridge Conservatory, we find promise in the seed, resilience in the bend, and power in the break.
Making it’s debut as part of Still Here: The Cosmology of Black Resilience Interdisciplinary Art Exhibit, our film was also selected and screened at DOSAbama, Cascadia, Austin Dance Festival, and Killeen Black Art and Film Festival!
Choreographed and Envisioned by Marie Casimir & J'aime Griffith
Directed by Marie Casimir & Mat Miller
Produced by Djaspora Productions, Afrikantion Artists, 1984 Studios
Costumes designed by J'aime Griffith
Music - "Inner Peace" - by Beautiful Chorus
Behind the sceen photos by Ebony Iman Dallas
Alpha and Omega
A dance film in Collaboration with the OU Gospel Choir and OU Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Choreography and Creative Vision by J’aime Griffith
Hallsville Highschool Bobcat Belles Drillteam
“Meet the Belles” Choreographed by J’aime A Griffith
Teaching
Currently I am a graduate assistant at the University of Oklahoma, in which I have been the instructor of record : Danc 1312 Modern dance level 1 (Spring 2020, Fall 2020), Danc 2312 Modern dance level 2 (Fall 2019, Spring 2021), Danc 1411 Stage Makeup for the Dancer (Fall 2019)
Teaching Assistant : Danc 1713 Understanding Dance ( Spring 2020), Danc 3753 Dance History Three Centuries of Development (Spring 2021), and Danc 1813 Intro to Non Western Dance (Fall 2020).
As a free lance teaching artist, I have taught Horton, Afro Contemporary, Jazz, Street Jazz, Tap, Leaps and Turns, Improvisation, Composition and more..
University of Oklahoma Danc 2312 Modern 2 Spring 2021:
· Final Assignment:
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Midterm Assignment:
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Across the floor:
Group Compositon Exercise :
Oklahoma City Ballet Summer Intensive 2021
Afro Contemporary:
Lester Horton Technique:
Freelance Teaching
Freedom Dance Studio Modern:
Hallsville Highschool Street Jazz:
Contact me:
Email: JAGdanse@gmail.com
Instagram: @jagdanse
