D-LIST-Psyllos 27 Tamieca McCloud   Born in Newark, lives in Brooklyn. Dancing since ...

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Tamieca McCloud

Born in Newark, lives in Brooklyn. Dancing since she was eight. Accepted into the Pilobolus Dance Theater one year out of Rutgers, toured from 1995 to 1998. Created Restless.Native.Dance to pursue her own vision in choreography. Was selected by Dance magazine as one of the "25 to Watch" in 2003.

Describe the work you are putting out through Restless.Native.Dance. So many things influence me and inform me… I like sports, so some of my moves are athletic; I like martial arts, so you might see a side-kick instead of a turned-out developé.

What are your roots in dance? I started out in ballet, but my musculature made me different. The nice thing about Pilobolus was, I got to be a female dancer and still be physical; they took advantage of that in a positive form.

How do you sculpt a dance? Most of the stuff I do is small. When it's a solo, it's structured improvisation. When it's a duet, it's hard for me to translate the work to another dancer. I have pieces where if the emotion is not behind it, they will be very pedestrian pieces. What makes them powerful is what's going on in the dancer's head. So I try to create stories and find a way to relate with them, with the hopes that it will carry over.

What are the dynamics necessary for a perfect piece? The most important thing is the performer. It will not be a perfect piece without the dancer presenting it as such. I don't mean that they have to have the most amazing abilities, but if they don't have performance presence, it doesn't work.

What have you learned of the artist's struggle? In our country, to be an artist is not necessarily a good thing. A lot of people may come and enjoy your performance, but at the end of the day, they view an artist in a certain light. I work a full-time job and sometimes I think if I just stopped dancing, I could have a normal life and even have money, because right now all my money goes to this.

Is that possible? I want dance to be my life; it is the strongest impulse in me, but it's also the one thing I can't control. If I decided to be a chemist or go into business, there would be more opportunities to have those things support me. And that is why dance breaks my heart. It's not about money, but I want to live. Without art, think of what an awful world this would be. I always think, why aren't we supporting our artists?

Tamieca McCloud/Restless.Native.Dance will be premiering her new work, geena, Thurs.-Sun., July 8-11, at the Joyce Soho, 155 Mercer St. (betw. Houston & Prince Sts.), 212-334-7479, 8, $15, $12 st./s.c.