Capturing Art in Action: Getting to Know Devin Muñoz of Muñoz Motions

By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Contributor

Despite the COVID-related challenges the dance industry has faced in 2020, dancers and choreographers have found unique ways to pivot to continue creating and sharing art. One of the predominant ways the industry has adapted is translating live shows to dance films for virtual audiences to view. By merging the arts of film, photography, and dance, Devin Muñoz’s Muñoz Motions captures the vibrancy and dynamism of live dance performances in an accessible and enduring manner. Being a dancer herself, Devin’s practice adds new layers of creativity, allows artists to hone in on their messages, and potentially reach larger audiences than imaginable.

As a Mexican American, Devin grew up watching and participating in “ballet folklórico,” a traditional Mexican style of dance that values local folk culture and includes characteristics of ballet. As a toddler, surrounded by this style of dance, is when Devin’s love for the art form emerged. Devin officially began taking classes around age seven at a local community center. At first, these classes weren’t the most appealing to young Devin, due to the lack of control she felt in them. However, once Devin realized she had control over her body, she wanted to get even more involved. Originally from San Diego, Devin later took classes at a beautiful, small theater in Balboa Park, where she “felt like a princess.”

Devin’s interest in photography came about during her high school years. She recalls constantly hanging out in the dark studio in the photography department of Mercer Island High School, where she was a student. She used her mom’s old camera as a teenager to practice taking photos of stationary objects and printing them out at school. Later on, as a student at Cornish College of the Arts, Devin took an elective about “screen dance,” and from there began to realize that dance on film was an avenue she wanted to pursue. Knowing she wasn’t particularly interested in being a “star soloist” or making work for the stage, she desired to work with a medium that would grant her more control of what the audience sees in the work she creates. Devin describes the rest of her time in college as full of “trial and error,” as she refined her skills by photographing her friends and filming their rehearsals. In her senior year of college, Devin created three dance films, which helped her realize that creating and capturing dance on film was truly the career she wanted to follow.

While there is an undoubtedly strong, visceral connection audience members make with live dance performances, live dance lacks durability. A live show happens and then it’s over just like that. Thus, part of what drew Devin to dance on film is that filming shows allow them to live on perpetually. Devin strives to obtain the same vitality and intensity of live shows in her photographs by getting up close and personal with her subjects. Her works possess incredibly energetic and lively qualities that capture each of the dancers’ movements (hence the name “Muñoz Motions”).

Among her favorite projects is her work with Chicana artist Alicia Mullikin on the dance film collaboration EL SUEÑO, which centers on the experiences of women of color, particularly first-generation Americans. The project explores the experiences of pain and joy endured by women of color and what it means to control their own narratives. Devin appreciates being able to work with a cast that largely shares her cultural heritage, as it makes the work much more relatable.

Following college, it struck Devin that there were only a couple of dancers of color in each piece she was performing in, and she was one of them. As a person of color, she describes the implicit competitive edge she experiences to get noticed in the dance world due to there being so few dancers of color cast in pieces. Devin explains it’s exhausting to search for people she can relate to and avoid “assimilating her dancing body” to fit in with others. Thus, in the dance world, she wants to see and hear more stories similar to her own.

Moving forward, Devin aims to channel all of her energy into Muñoz Motions and bolster her business. She strives to take more creative and professional risks to follow her true passion for film and dance. Listening, attending workshops, asking for help, and keeping people close that support and believe in her is what Devin is doing to continuously improve herself and Muñoz Motions.

Devin’s work is currently on display and available for purchase at Dancewear Center. To connect with Devin, check out https://www.munozmotions.com/ to view her work, as well as contact her for business inquiries. You can follow and contact Devin on Instagram @munoz_motions to view more projects and inquire about future ones.

More about Muñoz motions

Devin's Instagram