Frances Pine-Rinella is an emerging artist based in New York City. Her focus is in contemporary dance and improvisational movement with roots in imagery and sensation.
“In the simplest sense, I am a storyteller and performer. I live to share my art, learn from others,and rebel. Art is life.”
KATIE: Do you feel like there is a place in your body that movement goes to first? Does a specific part of your body initiate momentum and why do you think that’s so?
FRANCES: Movement is everywhere. Even when you are still, your heart is pumping, your blood is traveling, and your atoms are shifting. I’m in a constant state of motion on a molecular level but when I’m dancing or curating movement I often pull from more tangible or external concepts. I am a visual creature that is easily influenced by my environment so when I’m cultivating improvisational movement I often begin absorbing my surroundings with my eyes and allow the information I’m receiving from my eyes to translate to the rest of my body. But there are also days when the world is too overwhelming so I look inward, close my eyes, and listen to what my body is telling me. As a dancer, sometimes your body screams at you to move in certain ways and there is often an active choice to hear your body or ignore it. There are millions upon millions and then even more millions of ways to generate movement or momentum. Personally, it is a complex question for me to answer because it changes daily, hourly, by the second, and sometimes at light speed. Sure, there are certain areas of my body that anatomically I rely on to initiate movement like my hips or my head but ultimately it’s a feeling or sensation that leads my body in an improvisational setting. But ask me again tomorrow and my answer will be different.
K: As a dancer and choreographer, who has inspired you?
F: Sharon Eyal and her Company LEV, Batsheva Dance Company, Pina Bausch, Anne Keersmaeker, Bobbi Jene Smith, Sofia Nappi, and Alexander McQueen.
K: “Drum Dance” is a piece you choreographed. Why a drum? How was this piece conceived?
F: “Drum Dance” pays homage to the short story, “Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe. It’s a solo body of work that I created in the Spring of 2024, exhibiting the depths of the mind. The piece travels through a range of emotions from mania to euphoria with the drum signifying the heart hidden beneath the floorboards. It is a representation of all my fears, hesitations,fascinations, curiosities, achievements and failures. The drum is theoretical but physicalized for aesthetic purposes because it was necessary during my choreographic process to have sonic inspiration. In short, “Drum Dance” was a reflection of my own paranoia and fear at that time. It
was necessary for me to share this vulnerability and express something that is ever-changing.
K: If you were to choreograph a site-specific work in New York, where would it be?
F: It would be exciting to create a performance experience on the Brooklyn Bridge. I envision it being at night with the whole bridge shut down for onlookers to share an immersive experience. Light, sound, movement, and connection all taking place on the iconic Brooklyn Bridge. The possibilities for art and performance are endless. It’s also my dream to perform on The Moon.
K: If you could dance with anyone dead or alive, who would it be?
F: Lady Gaga.
K: If you’re sitting down, do you ever daydream about what your body would be doing if it was dancing? When you listen to music or sounds in general, is your body’s first instinct to dance?
F: I am almost always in a state of dance day-dreaming. Each dancer is different but I have yet to meet a dancer who does not envision movements or imagery in their head. Dancers are fantastical thinkers and dreamers. A piece that is intentional or even unintentional must begin with a thought and most likely a visual image. When I feel inspired, and it could be by anything,I often experience fleeting images of figures moving through space. Sometimes I’m able totranslate the imagery into my body and other times the image is so fleeting it will remain in the vortex of my mind until a new flash of imagery occurs. When listening to music or sounds, yes, I often have a physical reaction. I would say it’s correct to assume when I hear a good song in the grocery store I will be bouncing my head and swaying back and forth. I can’t help it. But it’s something I’m usually unaware of since music/sound/dance are interconnected. There is a mutually beneficial relationship between dance, sound, and music. In order to be a dancer you must also share a love for music and sounds. They can exist separately but they can’t live without each other.
K: Other than you of course, which dancers/companies/choreographers should people be
following?
F: The dance world is evolving in very exciting ways. Sharon Eyal, Imre and Marne Opstal, Young Boy Dancing Group, and Candela Capitán are just a few of the many artists who are continuing to push the barriers of dance and performance art. They are forging new methods of expression and creating art that refuses to be categorized. I aspire to make work with the same philosophies and collaborate with other artists beyond dance. Collaboration is the key to art making and these are master collaborators.
K: Everyone should be dancing more, talk to me about why you think movement is so
powerful.
F: YES EVERYONE SHOULD BE DANCING.
Just like with anything, when it’s your job, that's a different story because what was once pleasure is now your lifeforce and income. So there is a weird dichotomy that exists within all jobs that require your body to be your source of income. However, when you’re dancing for pleasure it can be the most healing practice of all. And everyone has a different definition of dance. The way you describe dance will most likely not align with how I describe dance, so what is the common denominator? In its simplest form, dance is movement and movement is dance. I can make gestures with my hands and that’s dance or I can stick out my tongue and that’s dance. I believe as long as it’s bringing joy and feeding your soul, that’s dance. You don’t have to follow a strict form or technique to be dancing, you just have to be having fun and exploring.
There are moments that I call “flow state” that occur when I’m dancing and I enter an alternatestate of reality. Suddenly I become entranced with the movement and I momentarily leave my physical body to exist in a world that cannot be described with words. I would compare the feeling to what I would imagine flying feels like or the imagery of wind. It’s a feeling and state of being that I have only been able to access through dance which is why I believe everyone shouldbe dancing. Because when you are in “flow state” it is utter bliss. Daily anxieties vanish, pain disintegrates, and all of a sudden…euphoria. It can happen when dancing at the club, taking a ballet class, or just jamming in your room. It cannot be controlled or planned but when you experience it, it’s the best feeling in the world. I truly believe if everyone danced there would be world peace.