Cleo Carol Knopf -

MOVEMENT ARTIST

   I am here to create dances that speak from my heart. My mission can be expressed through my names.  My chosen name, Cleo, means the glory of the soul.  In Ancient Greek epic poetry, Cleo is the quality, poets and warriors strive for and can be achieved by risking all for a noble cause, whether that risk be on the battlefield (of life), or for a poem or dance. It represents the all-encompassing giving of the self for an honorable goal, humanitarian ideals, truth and beauty. Through this name I commit to dancing for universal truth.  

    The name, Carol, means "A dance of joy," and is the most ancient of dances known to have been danced in the geographical region that is now western Europe. It was danced by a people known as "The Fairies," the original inhabitants of the area, who danced The Carol holding hands, around a tree in the forest.  The Carol is a dance of equality of all people, world unity, and worship of nature.  Thus, my dances strive to relate to the issues of our times: expressing compassion for our planet, our water, our wild life, and all our people wherever they are from. 

   My dances are expressive and therefore I will dance for my whole life, since I do not rely solely on physical athleticism but on the spiritual/emotional content of the story I am telling. 

   In my future dances, I will strive for more and more connection to my fellow human beings, and nature.  I continually ask myself the questions: is my movement true?  Does it come out of me?  If it is a movement I have learned somewhere, how can I use it to say something that feels necessary, and most importantly, does this movement, this dance, feel alive?