1. When do you feel at your most attractive?

When I’m dancing.

2. Do you notice women on the street? If so, what sort of women do you tend to notice or admire?

No. I notice transfemmes. I admire risk and melodrama and playfulness.

3. What are some things you admire about how other women present themselves?

I admire how a woman who is comfortable in her body moves.

4. Was there a moment in your life when something “clicked” for you about fashion or dressing or make-up or hair? What? Why did it happen then, do you think?

In my twenties it clicked that if I focused on texture and form, but kept everything in my wardrobe to only two colors, I would spend MUCH less time shopping for clothes and getting dressed. It would give me more time and attention for the things I prefer to give my time and attention to. In my forties it clicked that when i wear red lipstick to a meeting, I am shown more warmth and respect.

5. What are some shopping rules you wouldn’t necessarily recommend to others but which you follow?

I pick one color and only look for items in that color.

6. What are some rules about dressing you follow, but you wouldn't necessarily recommend to others?

Can you dance in it? If you are chased, can you run?

9. Are there any clothing (or related) items that you have in multiple? Why do you think you keep buying this thing?

I buy in multiples: the cashmere sweaters I love, the basic t-shirts I finally found that fit me perfectly, black skirts . . . I like a uniform I can quickly mix and match with something one-of-a-kind or symbolic. It must travel well and never require ironing.

10. Have you ever successfully given someone a present of jewelry or clothing that you continue to feel good about?

Yes.

11. Is there any fashion trend you’ve refused to participate in and why? 

I refuse to participate in fashion trends. Why follow fashion trends?

12. Can you say a bit about how your mother’s body and style has been passed down to you, or not?

My mother’s style has not been passed down to me.

13. Have you stolen, borrowed or adapted any dressing ideas or actual items from friends or family?

In high school I liked to wear the tuxedo shirt and cuff links my father was married in. I wore my grandfather’s silk cravats and cardigans.

15. Is there anything political about the way you dress?

Yes.
I have been gender fluid in my dressing since 1983.

16. Please describe your body.

I was a professional dancer. Someone once said to me: “When you’re dancing sometimes I can’t tell if you are male, female, plant or animal.” I loved that, because although I have the curves and breasts of a traditional hourglass that’s exactly how I FEEL.

I love my body. From age ten to twenty-four I struggled to love it. Then I truly owned that this body is mine and we can do incredible things and go to wild, transformative places.

17. Please describe your mind.

I’m grateful for my mind. It has given me my greatest advantages in life.

The whole body is mind.

My mind is a shapeshifter. Sometimes conceiving architectures of thought; sometimes deep inside the perceiving, blooded thought; sometimes my nerves are frayed on the edge of understanding; then I find clear attention with intention; sometimes just chatter - my own voice or the voices of mediums trying to capture my attention.

My mind does not always think through language. It swoons, hears music, dreams.

18. Please describe your emotions.

I am not my emotions.
But I enjoy the taste and textures of them.
You can choose your attachments.
Only love and frustration have overwhelmed me.

19. What are you wearing on your body and face, and how is your hair done, right at this moment?

A soft gray blanket.
Loose hair just past my shoulders, with bangs.
Plum lip balm.
Eyeliner and mascara.

20. In what way is this stuff important, if at all?

Soft blankets are a sensual pleasure and keep me warm in winter and when I read in my hammock in the spring and fall. I always have plum lip balm in my pocket. Pockets are important to me.

22. How do institutions affect the way you dress?

When I was a curator my clothes represented the institution.

23. Do you think you have taste or style? Which one is more important? What do these words mean to you?

I have both.
Taste is discerning.
Style is expression.
I have built a second career around peoples interest in my taste.

26. Do you have style in any areas of your life aside from fashion?

Yes. My movement has its own distinct signature.

27. Can you recall some times when you have dressed a particular way to calm yourself or gain a sense of control over a situation that scared you?

I have a black silk jumper that I slip into. No bra. No nothing. I feel free in my movement, comfortable, covered, beautiful.

What’s your birth date? 
Where were you born and where do you live now?

1968.
The Avalon Penninsula, Canada
The Olympic Penninsula, USA

What kind of work do you do?

Three decades in the field of contemporary performance: as a performer, maker, dramaturg, curator, creative producer, thought-partner, “choreographer whisperer”.

Are you single, married, do you have kids, etc.?

Married. No kids.

How do you feel after filling out this survey?

Grateful I overcame an eating disorder in my early twenties, and stopped worrying about how I looked to others.