Nyoka Wotorson
'You have to learn to rise above your own impostor syndrome'
“My mother says that as a three-year-old I was always on my toes. And I got stuck with it.” This is how down-to-earth and prosaic American Nyoka Wotorson - daughter of a Liberian-American father and British-Jamaican mother - describes the reason she wanted to dance as a child. “Dance was like second nature to me. It makes me the person I am. It was then and it still is.” No wonder, then, that Nyoka ended up at a performing arts school as a teenager, LaGuardia High School in New York, best known to us for the movie Fame. “Not that I took dancing very seriously right then, that didn't really come until my third year. And I also knew right then that one day I wanted to go to Europe, away from New York.”
Curriculum Vitae
Born
2003, New York, United States
Education
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, New York
The Juilliard School, New York
At Scapino since
2024
Fellowships, nominations and awards
Various fellowships and scholarships from The Juilliard School - 2020-2024
Meringoff Family Foundation Scholarship - 2020
National Young Arts Foundation Winner in the modern/contemporary category - 2019
Previously worked with
Crystal Pite, Ebony Williams, Hofesh Shechter, Ohad Naharin
In the right place at the right time
Her strengths, she says, include her flexibility. “I like to use my extremities ,” she says. She is also, she says, very expressive, although she says that is certainly not always an advantage. “I sometimes say more with my body than is intended, and all that 'busyness' can be quite distracting.” She actually knew nothing about Scapino before coming to the Netherlands, she admits ruefully. “I had applied for several auditions in Europe and Scapino was the first to offer me a contract. But Nanine Linning inspired me, she really gave me a reason to want to move to Rotterdam. The fact that the company is starting a new phase and that I can be part of it also appeals to me enormously. I feel that I am in the right place at the right time.” As this interview takes place, though, she has yet to get used to the city. “At first glance, I find it a somewhat strange city. Compared to New York, downtown doesn't seem very big. However, the people are very nice and helpful, there is a lot of culture and you can see that people really take time for each other in their spare time. But,” she says firmly, ”I don't like the food!”
'I want to be a role model'
At The Juilliard School, Nyoka was also active in the Black Student Union and as a ‘Diversity Advocate’. Her own generation inspires her, she says, to continue working for equality and opportunity for black people, and for black dancers in particular. “Even at Scapino, at the moment I am the only black dancer, and that can feel lonely at times. But there always has to be a first, so I'd rather be the only one, than have none. I want to be an example for other black children and young people who have a passion for dance. To show them that there is a place for them in this world.”
Text: Astrid van Leeuwen
This season featuring in
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Origin
An absurdist satire and search for hope in dark times. Origin is created by three emerging avant-garde dance makers with a socially critical perspective in their work.