"Bold, daring and the best kind of dangerous."
~ Michael Theodore, Director, ATLAS Center for Media, Arts and Performance
"As if to unfold the mysteries and implications of ephemeral flesh, and nascent global consciousness, her dance is deeply instinctual, interdependent and exposes vulnerability coupled with an imperative to survive. Creating visceral statements in the moment – dancers react and respond, collide and give the work an urgent flavor of experiential discovery. Olson’s process is that of a deconstructionist, dissecting in layers to reach the core of an idea, saving the scraps and using them to rebuild an experience with a uniquely intuitive eye and intention. Meeting tremendous challenges in space and motion, the dancers invest physical stamina and prowess with cunning and skill. The result is an aesthetic imbued with a depth and intensity and inner knowing like one who has emerged from a dream fully awake." ~ P. Hutman
statement
“My work revolves around visions and ideas of how we identify, express, engage, protect, merge, destruct, empathize and disregard self and what we define as other. In situations, emotionally driven and void, I’m drawn to the nuance of intention, initiation and response and all that remains unsaid. I want to expose a visceral essence that fuels and defines our relationships.
“My creative process is usually sparked by daily experiences that embody our most basic will to survive and be understood. I’m humbled and inspired by the irony and absurdity of our interactions - the relentless journey for balance and purpose in a world in which we believe that we define that which is true, important and real.
“I’m inherently drawn to the unanswerable and the sensuous nature of creation out of destruction, beauty within chaos. I begin work by posing impossible conceptual / physical tasks for the dancers and we then build movement material which elicits genuine response/reaction, engaging instincts and critical thinking. Reversing, disintegrating and dissecting the idea and the movement which grows from it, we peel the layers to find that which drives us and is most raw, and essential in our spirit.” ~ Olson
funders
Founded in 2001, sweet edge is a 501(c)3 non-profit and currently receives funding from the following agencies as well as generous private donors.
photo: Doug Gulick from Butter Colored Hum | costumes: Paula Hutman