
Jerimy Rivera
Photo by Jim Lafferty
Video by Jonathan Auger
Photo by Joshua Spencer
Video by Peadar O’Goill
Taylor Graham
As Tethered Residents
Our Artistic Statement
At Tethered Residents, we investigate the fragile, complex nature of human connection—unraveling the emotional, social, political, and physical forces that tether us to one another and the spaces we inhabit. Our work is a visceral exploration of tension—between liberation and constraint, individuality and community, power and vulnerability—revealing the fractures, reconciliations, and shifting dynamics that define our shared existence.
As artists, we are drawn to the gray areas of human experience—the unspoken conflicts, inherited narratives, and invisible forces that shape perception and behavior. Through movement, we explore how relationships bend, break, and rebuild, examining the roles of memory, projection, and belief in shaping our realities. Each piece seeks to unearth the deeper psychological and emotional undercurrents within human interaction, exposing both the discord and the tenderness that coexist in connection.
Co-founded by Jerimy Rivera and Taylor Graham, our movement language is rooted in a fusion of ballet, contemporary, urban dance forms, and psychosomatics, allowing us to craft highly physical, emotionally charged performances. We prioritize radical collaboration, breaking traditional boundaries to weave together personal histories, interdisciplinary influences, and collective experiences. Our approach is deeply informed by our own contrasting backgrounds—Jerimy, raised in public housing, trained through scholarships in elite ballet institutions, and Taylor, from a lower-middle-class home, experienced both emotional neglect and a highly esteemed yet abusive dance environment. These lived realities fuel our drive to create work that challenges elitism, confronts power structures, and examines the ways identity and history shape movement.
At its core, Tethered Residents is a call to empathy and self-reflection. We do not seek passive spectators—we invite our audiences to engage, feel, and confront their own vulnerabilities, assumptions, and contradictions. We aim to create performances that linger long after the final movement, prompting audiences to see their relationships—both with others and with themselves—through a more nuanced, deeply felt lens.
In embracing the beauty and tension of being tethered, we reveal the invisible threads that bind us all—the weight of history, the pull of relationships, and the delicate balance of autonomy and connection.