Artist Bio
Jullianne Grace Lao is a Filipino dancer and choreographer from Queens, New York. She began her formal dance training in 2013 at Ballet Tech, where she developed a strong foundation in ballet and modern dance. She later joined the Hunter College Dance Department, broadening her movement vocabulary through studies in jazz, contemporary, Chinese folk, and Afro-diasporic forms.
Jullianne has performed at The Joyce Theater, The Kaye Playhouse, and La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, and has had the privilege of working with choreographers including Eliot Feld and Roderick George, among others.
Her choreographic work explores a Graham-inspired movement language while critically engaging with the form’s historical and cultural roots—acknowledging the influence of Asian bodies and philosophies in its development. Deeply committed to authenticity and cultural heritage, Jullianne creates bold, theatrical, and atmospheric works that invite audiences to reconsider the origins of movement and the narratives embodied through dance.
By Dannilynn King
Artist Statement
By Dannilynn King
The heart of my artistry is rooted in uplifting and recognising Asian heritage, showcasing the importance of diversity in my multiethnic ensemble choreography. Aiming to create work that is in conversation with reclaiming the origins of Asian movement, I shed light on history that holds back in crediting its sources.
Finding out the lack of acknowledgement in Graham, regarding that it is based on Asian philosophies or aesthetics, as well as its use of Indigenous history, opened my mind as a student of the world. I admire the technique’s movement, yet it is labeled as “heavily borrowing” from the aesthetic of people of color. Like my feelings about Graham techniques' history, my work narrates the complexities of our human relationships with bittersweet and opposing emotions.
In nurturing my artistic voice, I strive to showcase a cultural mosaic of intertwined forms. The authenticity that each individual brings to my ensembles of diverse dancers pays reverence tothe wealth that is growing up in the multiculturalism of New York. Cultural hybridity in movement is the medium I work in. My ensemble work is chameleonic—shifts fluidity between forms.
Through sharing heritage I build authentic worlds and stories that are true to my livedexperiences, and yet otherworldly. Our history jades the experience of human relationships, it makes them convoluted. I tell stories about blurred lines through harmoniously working with floorwork, partnering, and aerodynamic risk taking. With atmospherical work I explore the peculiarities of locomotion, utilizing sensuous, sensual qualities to slither through my creations.