"For me, partner dancing is a radical extension of the psyche. It requires stripping away the armor and letting the physical form become entirely vulnerable to another person's weight and momentum. In ‘del amor y el mar’, we aren't just manipulating gravity together; we are allowing our physical dialogue to mirror the turbulent, untamed depths of human connection. The body doesn't lie about how it loves, resists, or surrenders—it rides the waves exactly as they come."
Ashley Mae Johnston
del amor y el mar (of love and the sea)
Ashley Mae Johnston and Samuel Samways view the human body not just as an instrument for technique, but as a vessel for power, liberation, and an authentic connection to the psyche. In ‘del amor y el mar,’ witness a poetic meditation on intimacy, harnessing the ocean as a metaphor for the unpredictable nature of eroticism.
In this work-in-progress duet, Ashley Mae Johnson and Samuel Samways fuse their distinct partnering backgrounds to create an emotionally raw physical dialogue. Blending Samway’s expertise in Contact Improvisation, Tango, and Brazilian Zouk with Johnston’s fluid somatic contemporary movement, their partner work becomes a living embodiment of the tides of intimacy. Moving beyond traditional choreography, Johnson and Samways manipulate axis, weight, and momentum to mirror the ocean's fluid dynamics.
Their partnership shifts seamlessly from buoyant, effortless suspension to heavy, tumultuous entanglement, capturing the volatile highs and deep undercurrents of human connection.
Moving beyond traditional choreography, this duet was created in collaboration with a certified Intimacy Director to show a more explicit, and perhaps more honest, depiction of a romantic and erotic relationship.
Content Notes: 18+
- Presence of: Nudity
- Depictions of: Sexual relationship, simulated sex
- Themes of: intimacy, vulnerability, sexuality and human connection.
Note: This duet was created in collaboration with a Certified Intimacy Director using established consent and boundary protocols
"Our collaboration is rooted entirely in the raw dialogue of partner dancing. We treat our connection as an unpredictable ecosystem, exploring the intense physical high stakes of a shared bond. We want the audience to feel the immediate physical tension, vulnerability, and resilience required to survive the tides of intimacy."
Samuel Samways
Credits
- Performers: Ashley Mae Johnston & Samuel Samways
- Concept by Ashley Mae Johnston and choreographed by Ashley Mae Johnston in collaboration with Samuel Samways
- Intimacy Director: Anastasia St. Amand
- Somatic Facilitator: Kyra Newton
- Outside Eyes: Barbara England, Rufi Oswaldo, Michèle Moss
Special thanks to Dancers' Studio West for supporting preliminary research through consultations with Intimacy Coordinator Anisa Tejpar. Supported by the DJD Dance Center Creative Residency.