Pioneer Winter is a funny, talented and brilliant dancer and choreographer. Plus, he has a great name! Winter graduated from Krop Senior High in 2006 and holds a B.A. in Psychology and a Masters degree in Public Health and Epidemiology from FIU. In 2007, Winter choreographed an adaptation of the musical Godspell, which was performed at the International Fringe Arts Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. Along with Florida Dance Masters accreditation, Pioneer began dancing with Edwin and Gaile Holland andthe University of North Carolina School of the Arts (NCSA). In 2010, Pioneer conceived and directed Reaching the Surface, a multidisciplinary project reducing HIV/AIDS stigma that featured artists who were either infected or affected by HIV. Most recently, he presented in the Adrienne Arsht Center’s Miami Made Weekend with an Incubator commissioned work titled Phallussy (2011). After the show, I contacted Winter and discussed his work, his process, and the new projects he has under construction.

Neil de la Flor: I had a blast watching your latest work, Phallussy, during Miami Made Weekend at the Arsht. The work that you presented focuses on gender roles and personal identity presented through playful humor and satire. Why is this aspect so important to your work?

Pioneer Winter: Humor is just one way to get through to the audience. The arts have long been credited with an aesthetic that transports its visitors from reality to the fantastic. I just utilized this quality to hint at topics of social reform in a way that is best absorbed by my audience. No one goes to the theater to become depressed and no one wants to feel bad about the choices they’ve made—this is difficult not to do when a choreographer produces work on topics like HIV stigma, labeling and gender. As you saw in Phallussy, my answer to that little snag was to allow the wonderful Ivonne Batanero to laugh at me.

ND: I want to jump to the end of the performance mainly because I remember things in reverse. The final pas de deux, which was humorless (in a good way!), was probably the most provocative and seductive part of Phallussy. It was also the section the audience responded to most—at least from where I sat…

PW: Really? That’s disappointing. You were sitting stage left? I created the final pas de deux back in September or October for the Miami Beach Arts Gala. I enjoyed the storyline and dancing in it so much that I incorporated it into Phallussy. It just made sense to me as it has such a bittersweet ending. You aren’t quite sure if the couple has salvaged their love (or if there was love in the first place)—this depends on how you interpret the video of the two men dancing in the pre-recorded rendition of the same pas de deux on the upstage screen.

ND: What did you hope to communicate to the audience?

PW: I guess what I want to communicate with this piece is the inherent difference between heterosexual and homosexual relationships, and how silly it is to try to compare them. There’s a part when the female dancer takes notice of the two men on the screen, but is promptly spun back around into a slow-dance with her male counterpart, almost as if he’s admonishing her, “We aren’t them. Stop comparing.” I wanted the audience to see the strength of the two male dancers—how they were so strong and controlled, able to sustain certain movements longer than the couple performing live. On the other hand, the live couple could execute beautiful lifts and possessed a softness. Of course, this is a total generalization on my part because it demonstrates the merit of ALL relationships…PERIOD.

ND: What would you do different if you were to do Phallussy all over again?

PW: Honestly, I haven’t stepped back from Phallussy long enough to think up any changes. When I finally watch the video of the performance, I’m sure I’ll find many things I’d do differently.

ND: I’m curious about your process, in general. How do you conceive of your projects? Do you collaborate? Eat lots of cereal? Does it come to you in dreams or while you’re driving?

PW: I hate cereal. Many ideas do come to me when driving, as well as in the shower. I believe creativity comes from repetitive tasks—daily rituals that our minds hope to deviate from. Turning my focus to something a bit more interesting than driving my car gives me time to work out any issues in my choreography that may be eluding me. Yes, steer clear of me on I-95. I close my eyes sometimes.

ND: I hope you don’t text while driving and closing your eyes! Tell us about the next project you’re working on for the Arts Gala grant celebrating Stonewall.

PW: The project is titled 42 and is meant to be a retrospective on gay-themed triumph and struggle over the past four decades. I’m collaborating with artist Jared Sharon to focus on key aspects of the grind that has been gay ascension. It’ll be presented in late June at the Bass Museum of Art in Miami Beach. The date coincides with the 42nd anniversary of the riots that began at the Stonewall Inn. The performance will be free and open to the public. And while Stonewall’s 42nd anniversary is not a milestone year, this project will find its niche in not only the portability of the messages, but also the way the themes discussed maintain significance and identification within the current social climate.

ND: Your work is infused with this idea of social change however it’s not an oppressive or forced aspect of your work. Do you think social change can be a function of dance or is dance a function of social change?

PW: It can go both ways. (Laughs.) Social change can be enhanced by dance and other art forms. The audience doesn’t want to be lectured. And if you ARE going to tell someone you think they’re wrong, it’s best to do it with some nice legs and a demi plie. Dance continues to evolve from social reciprocation. Often, inspiration for one’s art comes from the development of the outside.

ND: Last question: what do you like to eat for dinner?

PW: I love meat. And salads. And miso soup and dark chocolate. And anything Jared Sharon happens to make for dinner.

Pioneer Winter can be reached at http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/pioneer.winter.