About the project
For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been very compassionate about helping people. So I decided I wanted my senior project to be impactful in some way. I started to think about how we live in a society that tends to shove many issues under the rug and disregard them. This is something that has always bothered me immensely. When I was thinking about this, domestic abuse came to my mind immediately. Domestic abuse and domestic violence are issues that affect millions of men and women in America, and all over the world, but we don’t talk about it very much. Knowing that people very dear to me have been victims of domestic abuse, I not only wanted to do something, but I felt I needed too. It’s important that we start talking about what’s going on and start bringing awareness to this important issue. That’s what this project is all about.
After realizing I wanted to do something to bring awareness to domestic abuse, I had to figure out how I could turn this into my senior project. In the end, the way I decided to create a short dance film was extremely random. I was listening to the song “9 Crimes” by Damien Rice and I began thinking about how brilliant the song is. Then I started to think about how a dance choreographed to this song would be really interesting. Then, it hit me. I could incorporate dance and film while bringing awareness to domestic abuse and it would become my senior project. And that’s when everything started to come together.
The process of creating this project has continuously blown me away. One thing after the other has just fallen into place, and I could not be more thankful for that. I first met Nichole, the choreographer, through a course that we were both in. I remember sharing this little idea I had with the class and she came up to me afterwards and told me she wanted to help. I was so excited; finding a choreographer and dancers was the thing that made me the most anxious. From the minute Nichole had coffee with me for the first time, she has been an absolute treasure. She has put so much of her time, heart, and love into creating such wonderful, and compelling choreography. She's also the reason we were fortunate enough to have such incredible dancers. Nichole reached out to Taimy Miranda and Joan Rodriguez Hernandez and they quickly became a part of this project. Words cannot express how thankful I am for the hard work, patience, and pure talent that Taimy and Joan have put into this project. They have been an absolute joy to work with and I'm constantly blown away by their talents and efforts. I cannot thank them enough for their hard work.
I'm also very glad I was able to work with a dear friend, and inspiration of mine, Raina Bowers. Raina has not only been a great friend through this process, but a great producer as well. I have been constantly bombarding her with questions (and I still am), and asking her to do this, that and the other for me. She has answered every question and done every task with such an incredible attitude and I'm so thankful that she was a part of this project. I also want to thank my best friend, Elisa Walker, for composing such a brilliant and chilling piece for the dance. I'm so very thankful that she took time out of her busy schedule to be a part of this project. I could go on and on about every single person that worked on this project. Everyone has put so much effort into this, been so patient with me, and had such an amazing attitude through this whole process and I am so thankful for that. I could not have done it without this incredible team.
I’ve spent the last few months putting a lot of thought, research, and pure love into this project. Like I mentioned, I have an amazing team that has been helping me throughout the whole process. Everyone has put so much effort into making this project become something I'm very proud of. I cannot express how thankful I am for all of the people that have supported this project and made it all possible. We could not have done this without you! I have put my heart and soul into this project and I'm so excited to share this with you all.
A million times, I thank you.
With love,
Michaela Emerson
After realizing I wanted to do something to bring awareness to domestic abuse, I had to figure out how I could turn this into my senior project. In the end, the way I decided to create a short dance film was extremely random. I was listening to the song “9 Crimes” by Damien Rice and I began thinking about how brilliant the song is. Then I started to think about how a dance choreographed to this song would be really interesting. Then, it hit me. I could incorporate dance and film while bringing awareness to domestic abuse and it would become my senior project. And that’s when everything started to come together.
The process of creating this project has continuously blown me away. One thing after the other has just fallen into place, and I could not be more thankful for that. I first met Nichole, the choreographer, through a course that we were both in. I remember sharing this little idea I had with the class and she came up to me afterwards and told me she wanted to help. I was so excited; finding a choreographer and dancers was the thing that made me the most anxious. From the minute Nichole had coffee with me for the first time, she has been an absolute treasure. She has put so much of her time, heart, and love into creating such wonderful, and compelling choreography. She's also the reason we were fortunate enough to have such incredible dancers. Nichole reached out to Taimy Miranda and Joan Rodriguez Hernandez and they quickly became a part of this project. Words cannot express how thankful I am for the hard work, patience, and pure talent that Taimy and Joan have put into this project. They have been an absolute joy to work with and I'm constantly blown away by their talents and efforts. I cannot thank them enough for their hard work.
I'm also very glad I was able to work with a dear friend, and inspiration of mine, Raina Bowers. Raina has not only been a great friend through this process, but a great producer as well. I have been constantly bombarding her with questions (and I still am), and asking her to do this, that and the other for me. She has answered every question and done every task with such an incredible attitude and I'm so thankful that she was a part of this project. I also want to thank my best friend, Elisa Walker, for composing such a brilliant and chilling piece for the dance. I'm so very thankful that she took time out of her busy schedule to be a part of this project. I could go on and on about every single person that worked on this project. Everyone has put so much effort into this, been so patient with me, and had such an amazing attitude through this whole process and I am so thankful for that. I could not have done it without this incredible team.
I’ve spent the last few months putting a lot of thought, research, and pure love into this project. Like I mentioned, I have an amazing team that has been helping me throughout the whole process. Everyone has put so much effort into making this project become something I'm very proud of. I cannot express how thankful I am for all of the people that have supported this project and made it all possible. We could not have done this without you! I have put my heart and soul into this project and I'm so excited to share this with you all.
A million times, I thank you.
With love,
Michaela Emerson