Joy-Marie Thompson  (they/she) is a dancer, performing artist, writer and dance workers’ advocate from Pittsburgh, PA. Joy- Marie recieved her BFA in Dance at The Conservatory of Dance at the State University of New York at Purchase College. Joy-Marie has performed work by Sidra Bell, Shamel Pitts, Staycee Pearl, and Maxine Doyle. Her writing has been published by Imagining: A Gibney Journal and Thinking Dance. Joy-Marie’s own work is rooted in the curiosity, spirit, wellness and advocacy of Black and neurodivergent LGBTQ bodies. Thompson is currently based in New York, NY where they are a resident at Punchdrunk/Emursive's McKittrick Hotel.

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 Artist Statement

As a Black queer woman who was born via the roots of spirit, legacy, trauma, and lost stories, I am interested in the following question: How can I practice a life that embodies the Spirit of Liberation? I use dance improvisation, meditation, somatic and psychology methodologies, African Diasporic history, awareness of trauma, and Black aesthetics to get me to that answer. 

 

These practices bring me to constantly acknowledge and uplift the Black forerunners (some of who are my ancestors) who paved the way for me to create the work that I do today. They passed the torch of Liberation to me. 

 

The least I could do is get the torch prepared, to light it in a blissful fire, and one day pass it on.