Omari “Motion” Carter, who comes to UW–Madison from London, England, is a new assistant professor in the School of Education’s Dance Department. He started his role in Jan. 2024 and teaches the dances of hip-hop culture, body percussion, and screendance practice.
Recently, the School of Education communications team asked Carter to answer some questions to introduce him to our campus and School of Education communities. Here are his responses.
What brought you to UW–Madison?
The first time I came to Madison was for an International Visiting Artist Residency in 2022, which coincided with the International Symposium for Screendance curated by Professor Douglas Rosenberg.
This visit allowed me to see the beauty of Madison as well as the wonderful opportunities and resources available to both students and faculty for research. It excited me to think about the possibilities for my work within such a vibrant campus. I wrote this in my final evaluation of the experience:
The support of the professors and the openness of students,
Made my time impeccable; artistic practice prudent.
I returned to the U.K. with an energy that’s kinetic,
So internationally passion-fueled, my words flow out poetic.
I hoped that the residency’s end was only the beginning
of connections affecting the like-minded imprinting
of practice with slackness that gives time for me,
to thrive with the makers that I hope to be.
— Carter, 2022
Tell us about your background.
I actually started off as a child actor in London at the famous Anna Scher Theatre, now known as The Young Actors Theatre Islington. From the age of 14 I began studying and teaching dances of hip-hop culture, participating in the practice through jams, classes, music videos, and adverts up until the age of 21.
My undergraduate degree was in Performing Arts at London Metropolitan University, where I became engulfed in contemporary dance practices, live-art, and German expressionism. After that I became a performer for seven years in the West End and international touring productions of “Stomp.” During this time, I produced, choreographed, directed, and danced in a varied range of screendance productions with Motion Dance Collective, my dance-film production company, which I founded in 2011. In 2020 I graduated from the trailblazing master’s degree program in Screendance at London Contemporary Dance School.
How did you become a dancer?
Dance has always been a very deep part of my upbringing, and there are some standard millennial icons that piqued my interest at a very young age — predominantly Michael Jackson and MC Hammer. Yet I can’t confirm or deny that the house parties in my British-Jamaican household did not have something to do with my love of dance and music. I was spinning, moonwalking, hammer-timing, whining, and new-jack-swinging much earlier than most of my peers. Having these influences around me, I became a sponge to a range of different styles and movement qualities, most of which had a deep connection to particular genres of music and their rhythmic structures.
What is most rewarding about your work?
I am a dancer who sees myself in a constant state of becoming, and this is highlighted through my love of hybrid art forms: dance and screen, music and movement, hip-hop and higher education, to name a few. Each new collaboration requires you to strip apart learnt ways of working in order to find common ground with other creative languages, before sculpting that common ground for the specific needs of each project. It fills me with joy to find ways in which dance can interconnect with other art forms and industries. This has always helped to keep my mind, body, and soul fulfilled.
The most rewarding thing for me is to inspire others to delve into some of the underground and interdisciplinary art practices that I inhabit — hence why I love teaching so much. I find I learn just as much from my students as I hope they do from me, and this gives my pedagogical practice equal importance in my research journey.
Any hobbies you’d like to share?
My hobbies include: piano/keyboard and bass guitar, juggling (balls and fire-staff), music making and listening (neo soul and hip-hop/jazz fusions predominantly), poetry writing, long walks, good talks, and Afro-Caribbean cooking.