PUSH IT REAL GOOD is a collaborative duet made with Aretha Aoki and curated by Movement Research with the intended themes 'sweat/effort' and 'stillness/action' within a larger framework of play and experimentation. the improvised performance leans on the history of the emory and Aoki’s relationship while reconnecting under the often laughable amount of time, space, and resources provided to performance makers. evidence of these constraints, in the form of printed email exchanges, are included in the piece, offering to the audience the honest reality of making art with limited resources. the artists are left to explore the physical labor of dance-making while simultaneously addressing the stagnation that arises when practical issues, like where do you rehearse when you can’t afford studio space, are left unresolved. this piece ultimately makes lemonade out of lemons in a light and humorous take on the state of working conditions in the larger dance field.

commissioned by Push It Real Good curators