Nadia Oussenko has quite the resume, such that, she admittedly is a "Jane of all trades, and finally old enough to be a master of some."
She is a photographer/videographer and dance educator, with classroom knowledge, professional stints, and plenty of on-the-fly work.
"The spring semester is when I do most of my teaching, so my busy season just ended. Now I'm catching up on editing. Also, I'm wrapping up shooting this dance film called 'On Following, Part 1: Negotiating Embrace,' based on my struggle with learning Argentine Tango," said Oussenko, whose 2009 project, "On Falling...," was based on her fear of falling after recovering from knee surgery.
"Now I'm embarking on a three-part dance project about my fear of giving up control. When I first began partner dancing, I was expecting to break all these gender norms and learn to lead. But then I realized that I couldn't follow [whatsoever], so I got really curious about that."
Most of Oussenko's video work consists of documenting contemporary dance shows for friends. With photography, she shoots weddings, parties, celebrations and more. She also sets up a studio in her apartment for headshots or family photos.
"I'm interested in movement, plain and simple," Oussenko said. "Early on I realized how much a moving camera could enhance dance movement and how much editing was part of choreography. I wanted to make films that would send viewers on the rollercoaster of movement that I felt while dancing, so most of my early stuff made people nauseous. Now my focus is a little different. I love close-ups, details. A tap of the finger or turn of an eyeball can say so much."
Oussenko was, at age 7, obsessed with the Flashdance soundtrack. The song "What a Feeling" inspired her to dance. She then started choreographing dances and have concerts in her living room. And she sold tickets for 10-cents to the neighbors.
"The rest of my summer will consist of catching up on editing, daily physical therapy, binge-watching Netflix and perhaps finally finishing "Leather Queen," a documentary we filmed in 2011 about my awesome Chicago-based queer performer friend Tamale running for International Ms. Leather," she said.
Age - 39
Neighborhood - Edgewater
Relationship status - "It's complicated, [but] technically, single. Love, for me, is always a bit complicated. But isn't complicated love what inspires most artists? I'm no different."
Orientation - Queer
Favorite TV shows - Battlestar Galactica, Dexter and Breaking Bad
Hobbies - "I love partner dancingWest Coast Swing and Brazilian Zouk are my favorites." Cooking and watching Netflix, too.
Little-known fact - "I used to be a really good bowler. I dated a bowling alley mechanic in [college], so I spent a lot of time bowling by myself. I got kind of obsessive. Now, I'm terrible, [though]."