hi there and welcome . . .
I’m Jordan. I’m a visitor on Tongva land in so-called California. I’m a movement artist, a fiber artist, a student of plants, and a space-holder. I love the act of creating— knitting, choreography, weaving, medicine-making — all practices that help me to feel empowered in my body.
It started with dance. Being raised in my mother’s dance studio, movement became the most familiar means for expression and though I tried many things growing up, dancing is what stuck. So I studied dance in college at CalArts, followed immediately by a complete immersion into performing and creating work. Between rigorous rehearsals and touring, my physical and emotional health needed healing. This is what led me down my plant path.
Folk medicine captured my whole attention, and started informing everything I’d do. I relished every piece of information I could find, enrolled in herbalism school, began making medicine at home, and eventually started volunteer work at an urban farm. It was only after this deep dive that my family gave me stories of my bisabuela Amalia. Amalia healed her family and neighbors with her curandera magic in the small town of Portland, Colorado all those years ago. It was an honoring moment to learn that the work I’m doing is connected and perhaps an extension of her.
The slow ways of plants, much like fiber arts and folk medicine, have informed the way that I dance and teach dance. Dance, or really any movement practice for that matter, is in essence, folk medicine. I’m learning a wholly new kind of patience. Indulgence in practice—be it art-making, medicine-making, knitting, weaving, or just observing the way things grow—is where I find bliss. Connecting to the ritualistic, meditative rhythms around me, and transmuting that energy into everything I touch is what I’m here for. Thank you for being here with me.
photos by marissa mooney