For me it always starts with the music.  It’s everything really, not just with dance but in all aspects of my life. It’s my muse. I think I started dancing in the first place because of my love for music (but only through being with DJD the past 7 years have I come to truly believe and realise this).  One of my most favourite things to do is to sit alone in my living room with my iPod and headphones on, crank up the volume and escape.  It’s during these times that I dream up choreography and think of stories to share and tell through movement.  I never listen to a piece of music with a preconceived idea of something I want to create.  I let the music tell me what the music wants to do.

Now, I’m a rock n roller at heart!  I always have been.  I remember when I was a young kid picking up my mother’s antique handheld mirror, magically turning it into a guitar and singing and dancing around with it.  The long handle connected to the mirror became the neck of my guitar, and the circular mirror the body. These days however, I seem to only play with my real guitars.

Moving on, I can tell you that one of my first ideas while considering music for Borderland, was to use a piece composed by artist Rubim de Toledo from his new album, The Bridge.  I find the playing on this album to be both beautiful and also carry a sense of sadness (something that always speaks to me).  The DJD Company is so fortunate to work with him on a regular basis.  Check out a song called “Autumn Celeste” from Rubim de Toledo’s latest release The Bridge.

It’s so hard to choose just one piece of music to make a short piece of work to.  Ideas and intent change in every rehearsal and while dealing with these interruptions, you always have to honour the music you have chosen.  You can’t fight music.  You have to jump on board and just commit to what it is your hearing and feeling even if it strays from your original idea.  As it has turned out, I have chosen to use the stunning music of Terence Blanchard, an American Jazz composer and trumpeter.  His music is full-bodied and intense.  My imagination runs wild while listening to his work.  Check out a song called “Double Happiness” by Terence Blanchard and I’m sure you will agree with me.

My favourite band may be Everclear (has been since I was 13), but I can tell you that some of my favorite artists/bands that I turn to for inspiration on all levels are: Matthew Good, Queens of the Stone Age, Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, Jack White and of course the one and only Michael Jackson.

So, no matter what genre of music you listen to, it can and will inspire you (even when you are unaware of it doing so).   I think Vicki Adams Willis has said it best, “Each piece of music offers a world to be entered.”  I look forward to meeting you all in the world that is Borderland.

Listen to Shayne’s playlist:
Rubim de Toledo – Autumn Celeste
Terence Blanchard – Double Happiness
Matthew Good – While We Were Hunting Rabbits
Queens of the Stone Age – Tangled Up In Plaid
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – A Familiar Taste
Jack White – High Ball Stepper