We had the good fortune of connecting with Sammy Spriggs and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sammy, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
There has never been another option for me. No matter what professional route I eventually took, I knew that art, dance, and creativity would absolutely be a part of it somehow. My path to where I am now has been circuitous, for sure, but I am working in the fields I love most. Since college I’ve worked in Tech Theater, Bartended, Nannied, and a host of other odd jobs while working the grind of being a professional performing artist. Even during stretches of time in which I felt as though I was removed from dance, it was always a part of me, and I’ve always come back to it. Though I have multiple jobs, on top of being a mom to three little kids, I love the work I’m doing and have a lot of gratitude. I get to teach dance in the school community that nurtured my voice as a child, and where my oldest is now in first grade. I get to work alongside incredible educators, in an environment that affirms and uplifts our students, celebrating all of the facets of their identities.
I also teach dance within a studio community full of amazingly dedicated, talented and creative kids who are hungry for art, and so open to playing with new ideas and challenges. I get so much personal and artistic fulfillment teaching creative movement, modern technique and adult ballet. I also create multiple new choreographic works a year on our students, which keeps the artistic juices flowing! Even when I’m not in the process of making a new work in collaboration with professional dance artists, I’m still always making, and that is a gift.
Getting involved with DanceATL, first as a volunteer, and now as the Operations Manager, has been such a great ride. I have always wanted to run a non-profit dance organization, and still have a pipe-dream of starting my own program someday, which now feels way more attainable with the knowledge and experience I’ve gained in my current role. The work that we do at DanceATL in support of the Atlanta Dance Community is exactly what I want to be spending my time and energy on. I get to dream up programming and services in support of other artists. I get to help amplify the incredible work being done in our city. I get to collaborate and learn from other working artists. All of my professional roles require a lot of creativity and ingenuity. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
The creative work I do as an independent artist is always collaborative in nature. I call myself a “choreographic director” and “facilitator.” While I love creating movement vocabulary, and playing with my own movement phrasing, I also heavily source from the lived and embodied experiences of the artists I collaborate with. I curate and direct the process, but each work is very much specific and unique to the collaborators involved in the process. I don’t have repeatable repertory for that reason. Each work, lives and breathes along with the people involved in making it. Each of my professional works incorporates elements and sections of scored improvisations (structures of predetermined rules or landmarks for the improvisational portions of the work). It helps keep us present as performers, and allows the audience members and the energy they bring to the space have an impact on the work that they’re seeing.
My most recent self-produced work “…I Feel That,” which was performed in June 2023 at Dance Foundry, was the closest I’ve gotten so far to what I want live performance to be, and how I want my art to interact with audiences. We incorporated improvisation, guided movement facilitation for audience members to opt into participating in, spoken monologues and dialogue, dynamic movement phrases, and a shared meal with the audience afterwards. The work explored joy, in all its forms, and we found many entry points into sharing that with the audience. As I move forward and embark on new processes, I’m going to continue this pursuit of blurring that line between performer and viewer, challenging the “proscenium” as the standard for experiencing dance, and keep seeking out amazing collaborators like the dreamy folx I’ve been so lucky to collaborate and make things with so far.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I grew up very close to Buford Highway, which of course has the best food in the city. We could spend a week just eating the incredible variety of foods available there. Our family, and particularly my 6 year old, loves Purnima Bangladeshi Restaurant. Its our go-to takeout whenever we get together with my parents. A lot of my city exploring now involves kids, so I would hit up Fernbank, The High Museum, Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary. We’d get daily coffee from Banjo in Avondale or Waller’s in Decatur (both of which happen to be down the street from where In teach). Without the kiddos, I’d take them to see my partner perform in an Improv show at Whole World on a Saturday night. Check out a First Friday event at Underground Atlanta. And definitely see a dance show. There is so much dance happening here now. There’s always an opportunity to see something new and compelling.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I spent 8 of my formative professional artist years in Chicago, and connected very early on with Rachel Damon, of Synapse Arts. I volunteered as an usher/front-of-house helper at a show that Rachel was production managing and we hit it off. Over the rest of my time in school, Rachel gave me numerous opportunities to learn technical skills, stage manage for Synapse productions, and assist on productions she was running. Once I graduated, I was selected as one of the presenting artists for Synapse Art’s New Works program, in addition to joining Synapse as a Company Member. I had my work produced by an established dance non-profit, performed with their professional company, and continued working with Rachel and Synapse for the duration of my time in Chicago. I still get to contribute remotely to Synapse as a panelist for New Works applications, and on community input meetings. Maintaining that connection with my Chicago creative family from afar has been so wonderful. I absolutely credit Rachel with nurturing a lot of my early knowledge and confidence in the professional dance and arts world.

Website: www.samanthaspriggsdance.org

Instagram: @samanthaspriggsdance

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samanthaspriggsdance

Other: www.danceatl.org www.dancefoundry.com Join me Monday evenings 7-8pm for Adult Ballet at Dance Foundry

Image Credits
Images by Addison Rudicle, Walter C Apps, Mathew Gregory Hollis, Angela Harris and Dance Canvas

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