Cuban-born Miami-based dance artist and filmmaker Osmani, who danced with companies like Danza Abierta and Rajatabla, had long used improvisation to unlock personal expression. Lisa, an award-winning Japanese multidisciplinary artist with expertise in choreography and screendance, had been eager to create a duet that defied expectations for men and women on stage. “When you see a biological man and woman bodies on stage, there are pre-assumptions about what might happen,” she explains. She wanted to play with and break those assumptions. When she met Osmani during another production, she knew she had found the right collaborator. “I’m more like Wangechi Mutu, Osmani is Jackson Pollock, and together we create something #%”^*+?!”
In the early stages, they spent time together outside the studio—visiting museums and absorbing their surroundings. “The first part was getting to know each other,” Osmani shares. This shared exploration laid the foundation for PINKY PROMISES, which delves into themes of expectations, hope, and disappointment in relationships.
Improvisation became central to their process. “Improvisation is the best way to learn about myself, my own patterns and energy,” Osmani reflects. Lisa describes it as “moving poetry,” allowing the body to speak without restriction. This approach captures real moments and raw emotions, shifting and evolving with each performance.
The piece defies easy categorization. It’s not just a duet—it invites audiences to engage in unconventional ways. Props evoke familiarity while leaving room for interpretation. “The audience might feel alienated watching dance that doesn’t have verbal dialogue,” Lisa notes. To counter this, they use symbols to offer clues, guiding viewers without dictating their experience.
In the end, PINKY PROMISES becomes a reflection of Osmani and Lisa’s shared journey—playful, vulnerable, and deeply human. “It’s us—our experiences, memories, feelings, dreams, and illusions,” Osmani says. They hope the audience walks away with their own interpretations, reminded that human connection is far more layered than imagined.
