Two Shot Improvisation (2021)
Description
Improvisation in nude underwear, black bodystocking, black frame set to “Full of Shit” by Saul Williams feat. Lippie. Filmed in two shots on iPhone.
LINKt (2020)
Description
A film about the relationship between a Black woman and a white woman.
Creative Direction, Choreography, Performance: Joy-Marie Thompson & Sherah Shipman
Film Director: Casey Brooks
Cinematography: Victoria Sendra
Assistant Director: Desmond Confoy
Gaffer: John Frisbie
Stylist: Sherah Shipman
Location Scout/Additional Costume Design: Jill Thompson
Executive Producer: Joy-Marie Thompson
Special thanks to Sherrie Nickol, Alonzo Blanco, and Rosemarie Albanese
Funding for LINKt was provided by the Investing in Professional Artists Grants Program, a partnership of The Pittsburgh Foundation and The Heinz Endowments, and many many loving donors through crowdfunding.
Issa Dance Look (2018)
Description
An Instagram account archiving what dancers where inside and outside the studio founded by Joy-Marie Thompson in 2018 while a graduating student in the Conservatory of Dance at State University of New York at Purchase College. Issa Dance Look is currently curated by Dava Huesca.
Press
Five Instagram Accounts You Should Follow
“Founded in 2018 by the freelance dance artist Joy-Marie Thompson, Issa Dance Look (@issadancelook) chronicles what dancers wear in and out of the studio, a source of fashion inspiration whether you dance or not.”
-Siobhan Burke, The New York Times, Sept 10 2019
#FollowFriday: @issadancelook Is the Dance Fashion Account You're About to Be Obsessed With
“Our story begins on January 3, 2018, when an account called @issadancelook suddenly appeared on the Insta-horizon. Almost immediately, the page was chock-full of artsy shots of SUNY Purchase dancers in their quirkiest, most stylish classwear and rehearsal wear. Barely half a year later, the page has an intensely engaged base of followers and plans to highlight looks from dancers around the world.
-Helen Hope, dancespirit.com, Jul 20 2018
LIBERATION [in progress] (2018)
Description
The effort that this particular alienated and beastly body must overcome to reclaim it's space in in an unfamiliar place is observed through an accumulation of contoured positions, repetitive gestures, and quick shifts through space, and the articulation of the spine to highlight the feeling of discomfort.
Choreography: Sidra Bell (made in collaboration with Joy-Marie Thompson)
Lighting: Sidra Bell & Victor Catano
Costume (skirt and glove): Carly Heywood
Music: "Milkweed / It Hangs Heavy" by Pharmakon, "Meson" by Sleeparchive", & "The Blue Danub" by Slepynin Yermola Germanovich
Video: Arvid Tomayko
Press
On Stage: PearlArts Festival
“Joy Marie Thompson’s Liberation [in progress], grabbing us like a modern-day Josephine Baker.”
-Jane Vranish, Dance Currents, Aug 20 2019
Interpretations (2017)
Artist Statement
Interpretations features Joy-Marie Thompson emulating prominent African-American dancers and choreographers. The artists selected sparked her interest because of their leadership, dedication, and contributions to the dance world.
Co-creator, Jill Thompson, also designed and created some of the costumes. New York based photographer, Rachel Neville partnered with the mother-daughter duo to make these photos come to life. These three collaborators worked for six months to research, identify the dancers, and selected the original images recreated in the series. Ultimately, the unifying theme was to honor key dance artists who left an indelible footprint on American dance history.
Press
City Spotlight: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
“A dancer in that work [race and inequality] and burgeoning artist themselves is Joy-Marie Thompson, who trained at Pittsburgh’s CAPA arts school and held her first exhibition at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center while completing undergrad at SUNY Purchase’s Dance Conservatory.”
-slowdanger (Anna Thompson & Taylor Knight), Dancegeist Magazine, Feb 2021 Edition
Rochester Dancer featured in August Wilson Center Exhibit
“The photography exhibit, ‘Interpretations,’ includes Thompson’s stretching, sweeping articulations of artists like Jazz Age singer-dancer Josephine Baker, Broadway star-turned-TV’s “Catwoman” Eartha Kitt, and Tony Award-winning choreographer and Kennedy Center Honors recipient Bill T. Jones.”
-Scott Tady, Beaver County Times, Jan 13 2017
CAPA grad pays homage to African American dancers
“Joy-Marie Thompson, a Rochester, N.Y., native and a junior at Purchase College, State University of New York, is the star of ‘Interpretations,’ an exhibition on display through Feb. 26 at the Downtown venue.”
-Jane Vranish, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Feb 15 2017
This Student Reenacted Classic Photos of African-American Dancers, and the Results Are Stunning
“Dance history can sometimes be a hard sell, since part of what makes dance so thrilling is that it's all about being in the moment. But Joy-Marie Thompson, a junior dance major at SUNY Purchase College, has found a beautiful, compelling way to bring dance's past into the present: In a new exhibit called Interpretations, she reenacts classic photos of her African-American forerunners, from Katherine Dunham to Carmen de Lavallade to Desmond Richardson.”
-Margaret Fuher, Dance Spirit Magazine, Mar 23 2017