ARTIST LETTER NO. 23
What I Found in the Desert
A few days in Arizona, and what happened when I found an empty studio.
I was off traveling for a few days at the end of the summer.
The destination: Arizona. Tucson, specifically.
It was 112 degrees when I landed.
But I didn't choose it by accident.
I went to attend composer Steve Roach's Soundquest Festival — three days of immersive ambient music in the desert, surrounded by people who understand that sound can be a portal.
I first encountered Steve's work when I was a teenager. A budding choreographer, hungry for music that matched what I was feeling but couldn't yet name.
His album Structures from Silence did something to me. Celestial drones. Shamanic echoes. Music that didn't just fill space — it opened it.
Since then, his work has lived on my wish list as an artist.
Four years ago, I was introduced to him at a series of concerts near his homebase in Arizona. That meeting has since become real — his music is now featured in my current project, Mapping the Heart.
This November, I'll be performing a reimagined version of the opening solo, "Broken," at the Artists in Motion concert at the Ailey Citigroup Theater in New York City.
More on that soon.
But what I want to share today is something smaller. And maybe more important.
One of the places I stayed on this trip had a studio tucked away past the gym.
I had gone there to get in a workout. But when I saw the space — wood floors, natural light, empty — I knew.
It was the most obvious thing to do.
Enter the space. Stretch. Move.
No agenda. No choreography. No audience.
Just me and whatever wanted to come through.
And it was glorious.
There's something about carving out space to dance while traveling — away from the familiar studio, the familiar mirrors, the familiar roles.
You remember why you do this.
Not for the performance. Not for the project. Not for the career.
Because moving is how you meet yourself.
I came back from Arizona a little sunburned, a little quieter, and somehow more sure.
Of what, I'm not entirely certain yet.
But I trust the body knows.
More about the festival, Steve's revelatory performances, and my upcoming November show in next week's letter.
For now — I'm curious:
When was the last time you moved just because the space invited you to?
With love,
Kristen
The Dance Alchemist