Naomi Tanner Creates Dance Theater to Feel Alive
Photograph by Megan Marshall
I’m waiting in a small cafe in Brooklyn, NY when Naomi Tanner, wearing a lilac purple top and jacket paired with hot pink shadow on her eyes and cheekbones, walks in to greet me. She looks like spring in this inconsistent winter weather. She is so incredibly gracious that when I offer to buy her any drink she wants, she declines before settling for a regular drip. The self described “gender rebellious” transdisciplinary artist who insisted on hearing what I’ve been up to before we began the interview, has been making solo work for some time now. I spoke to Naomi Tanner before she entered The Brick, a Brooklyn based theater where RETURN, her evening length solo show about virtual therapy, heartbreak, and breaking patterns was set to premiere.
Joy-Marie Thompson: I think it’s really brave that you do solo work. Correct me if I’m wrong but, RETURN, is your third solo show for the stage, right?
Naomi Tanner: Yes! That is true… that is true…
JT: I do my research.
NT: You got me there! [Laughs] That’s good to know actually.
Originally published for ThINKing Dance on March 14, 2023