GLITCH is a “culturally responsive educational artistic practice” that fuses dance technique, composition labs, and community dialogue to support dancers to be artists. Originally staged in NYC (Feb 2024), it toured as a collegiate residency, where Karley lead workshops on movement, gender identity, and  improvisation rooted in participants lived experiences. Dancers weren’t simply taught steps—they interrogated why each gesture mattered, channeling personal and political  stakes into every phrase. 
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Using specific action-word prompts— “rise,” “fracture,” “pulse,” “ground”—I invited each  dancer to translate the verb into movement that honored their cultural identities and histories. Through somatic warm-ups (attuning to breath and body memory), repertory  exploration (drawing on participants’ cultural vocabularies), and peer-led composition  labs, ensembles crafted unique sequences that addressed collective trauma and  resilience. Community dialogues, framed by culturally responsive pedagogy, wove in discussions on dance as activism and socio-political agency, ensuring each motion was  both intentional and transformative.

NYC Premier: May 7th, 2023
Dancers: Nick Alselmo, Demetrius Burns, Europa Carvalho, Lydia Perakis, Karley Wasaff, & Kareem Woods

This work is created from one 16-count dance phrase & movement manipulation tools to create 7 different phrases. The original-phrase is recreated onto participants through action-words only, giving the participant freedom of execution and highlighting individuality within the same movement score.  The facilitator guides participants through manipulating the phrase into seven sections, whilst cultivating dancers creative voice. For-example, group-constructive-criticism exercises are utilized to build confidence in the solo, and the collective, with framing feedback questions like ‘what was one aspect that you loved and/or want to see more of.’ Near the end of the process, an improvisational score utilizing 'flocking' highlights dancers favorite move that they originally created to uplift individual choices within community.

Eye-contact rehearsal

Rehearsal footage from April 5th, 2023
​Dancers: ​Nick Alselmo, Demetrius Burns, Europa Carvalho, Lydia Perakis, Karley Wasaff, & Kareem Woods

​A wave-motif signifies when/if a dancer chooses to interact with another – potential of interaction becomes the game of chance. For-example, a dancer not waved at must complete that section by repeating the wave motif. If waved at, they must complete the section together whilst keeping eye contact. If a dancer chooses to not wave at anyone, they complete section as their solo of choice. Each improvisational score concludes via community decision, signified by building a unified rhythmic score before moving on to the next wave-motif.

Action-Word Prompts Rehearsal

Rehearsal footage from March 24th, 2023
​Dancers: ​Nick Alselmo, Demetrius Burns, Europa Carvalho, Lydia Perakis, Karley Wasaff, & Kareem Woods

Choreographed-sections are intermingled with compositional-improvisational-scores to portray the constant work on oneself (choreographed-sections) to building a positive community (compositional-improvisational-scores). Each section encompasses specific community building improvisational scores. For example, to frame how audience members experiences community, at the beginning of the performance the dancers make's eye-contact with someone for a short period of time, closes their eyes, and then perceives that person through movement without judgement.

History & Research

Informal Residency Showing

Informal Showing: August 31st 2022
Dancers: Brynne Billingsley, Savannah Jade Dobbs, Catherine Murcek, Taylor Schmuelgen

GLITCH’s first iteration is a form of transformative-assembly through my queer-communal-longing of inclusivity through the performance project structure. Choreographed-sections as constant work on oneself is intermingle with compositional-improvisation to portray building a positive community. This was executed on two separate groups of free-lance artists based in NYC: first in residency with The FLOOR in Brooklyn New York, showing on August 31st, 2022, and premiered in residency with GreenSpace, Queens New York, showing on May 7th, 2023 (exampled above).​

​The next research iteration responded to how movement practices as healing have become a privilege, and Karley's impact on the community is to shift that privilege to accessibility for all. To grow as a community, we must recognize that we are not our wounds to avoid projecting trauma on others. We must empower ourselves as a form of resistance to re-imagine and re-shape a stronger community, together. I built a guided meditative movement workshop from the performance project that is accessible for those who do not wish to participate in a performance to deepen their expanding awareness, self-healing, and community practices. Karley taught this workshop, "The Better Human Workshop" throughout NYC at LGBTQIA+ community centers, lap dance clubs, and gyms in 2023.

​The third iteration of research has combined this into an intensive that Karley offers to collegiate dance programs that encourages all artistic disciplines/programs to participate. This began in February 2024 at the University of Southern Mississippi and educated collegiate students and educators on culturally responsive educational practice for the self and communal artistic practices. This process disrupted gaps in this specific higher-ed program by opening crucial constructive discussions within the department.