Camposition | Bio | Octavio Campos

OCTAVIO CAMPOS - BIOGRAPHY

Octavio Campos is a Miami born Cuban-American dance theater artist.

He has been collaborating as a dancer, performance provocateur, arts advocate, glbtq activist, educator and choreographer in theater, dance, music, opera, circus, cabaret, television, film and the visual arts arenas for the past 25 years, with over 100 professional credits.

He studied dance and composition at the State University of New York at Purchase, Martha Graham School, Folkwang Schule of Pina Bausch, Lincoln Center Director's Lab, and Creative Capital Professional Development Program.

His has created and performed in theaters and opera houses throughout Europe, Australia, North and South America. He has collaborated within the works of Robert Wilson, Birgitta Trommler, Philip Glass, Los Carpinteros, Honeygunlabs, Vivienne Newport, Stephanie Ansin and Rosie Herrera. Campos has received countless awards and grants namely at the Berliner Theater Treffen(2001), Miami Choreographers Fellowship (2005,2009, 2011) State of Florida Interdisciplinary Arts Fellowship (2010)and MasterMind Genius Award(2011).

He has given master classes and workshops worldwide, notably at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (Sydney, Australia) Florida Dance Festival, Catholic University Belgium, Centro Cultural Lima, Frankfurt Schule de Darstellender Kunst, The Theater Offensive, St. Petersburg Music Hall in Russia, Broward Correctional Institute for Women in Florida and New World School of the Arts. As a commercial artist and producer he has worked for Discovery Channel, Heineken, Circ X, Spiegel World, Cirque du Solei, Bacardi, MySpace, Latino, Merck, Mercy Hospital, Shell, Ferrari, Def Jam Records, and Donald Trump.

Upon his return to Miami from an extensive performance career in Germany, Campos founded the interdisciplinary performance ensemble, Camposition, whose productions and programs are being supported by the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, Miami Dade College, Miami Community Foundation, City of Miami Beach, Florida Arts Council, PS 122, New York, The Kennedy Center, and the National Performance Network.

Currently he is Resident artist at Miami Theater Center, http://www.mtcmiami.org under the Artistic Direction of Stephanie Ansin and will be an Artist in Residence at the Baryshnikov Arts Center Spring 2013.

His theatrical performances are subversive in nature and challenge assumptions of gender and politics always shaking up the status quo.

ARTIST STATEMENT

I push the boundary between all the performative interdisciplinary containers surrounding me , constantly, even in my dreams. I am negotiating a feeling of deep responsibility to my world by responding actively through my work using interactivity, movement, humor, mise-en-scene and social phenomenon. Organizing those states become the universal connector that charge my process which has become more about inspiring the human condition, finding balance and enjoying the freedoms that strict boundaries permit.

The EXPERIENCES I accept now must question my own presumptions and help me rethink peoples assumptions.

The PERFORMANCES I create will be about issues that matter in really profound ways in a world in which nothing of consequence seems to matter anymore.

The QUESTIONS I raise in my work will create a rich conversation about how we live with one another generating interesting ideas we can bring into our daily lives, inspiring the ACTIONIST that lives within each of us to create a catalyst for social change.

Octavio Campos
Miami, FL (USA)
March 11, 2013