About the facilitators

Matthew Williams (they/them/theirs) is a Baltimore-based dancer, somatic facilitator, and lifelong student of the body. Their performance practice is inspired by the human body as a site for choice, liberation, and a means to be in relationship with place and community across differences. Matthew is engaged with Western Somatics, choreographic and improvisational movement arts, voice work, and the study of functional anatomy. They are currently a student of Somatic Experiencing and the Axis Syllabus. They are a longtime member and organizer of Move Move Collaborative, an annual movement intensive where artists gather in Baltimore to make a performance by consensus. Matthew has taught in various universities and organized community-based educational opportunities. Their performance work has been supported by Labbodies Performance Art Review, Transmodern Festival, Baltimore Independent Dance Artists, Move Move Collaborative, and Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts. Matthew holds a BA in Cultural Studies from Bates College and MFA in Theatre Arts from Towson University.

Ashley Shey (she/her/hers) is a body linguist. She is a first generation Cameroonian American artist born in Washington, DC who carries on her cultural traditions of dance and storytelling as a means for remembrance and self-knowledge. Drawing on a past of performing in choreography based companies and competitive dance teams, her work has transitioned in the past five years to a more contemplative practice, focused on an experimental and meditative approach to the study of movement. Through improvisational dance and experimental performance, she engages the potential for alchemical transformation in each moment through use of meditative movement.

Emmett Wilson (they/them/theirs) is also called ‘Ew! the dancer’ amongst other titles that are all connected to particular stories they tell with their body. They sprouted in Houston, grew a lot in Salt Lake City, where they made so, so, so many performances and worked as the community garden coordinator of The City Library; they are now forming new roots in Philadelphia and Baltimore. Their practice hinges upon embodying distinct sides of themselves and collaborating with others including the vast environment in which they move.