Halfway to Something

Currently on view at the Frank-Ratchye Project Space

Root Division Gallery, San Francisco, CA

Curated by Vanessa Perez Winder

Halfway to Something marks the early stages of a portrait series of professional dancers photographed within large urban architectural spaces, captured in moments of guided improvisational movement. Roberts began this collaborative endeavor during the course of her year-long fellowship not with an overdetermined plan, but with a sober recognition of her own need to move—out of personal overwhelm and political grief, and into something tactile, relational, and embodied.

Behind the camera, Roberts—who also works professionally as a dancer—draws on her dual fluency in movement and documentation in order to conjure an interior realm of creative agency, mutual trust, and transparency with her collaborators. Rather than staging or manipulating their movements, Roberts favors an open-ended and playful—albeit intentional—process shaped by improvisation, discovery, and a shared respect for one another’s expressive instincts. 

As she explains, “I decided a long time ago that I wanted to work with dancers who do not fit into a mold. This means taking the time to understand their unique abilities and talents. Similar to a first date, if it goes really well, these shoots end up being a delicious conversation whose path is charted by vulnerable offerings and curious listening.” 

Written by Vanessa Perez Winder