Meet Caroline Haydon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Haydon.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Caroline. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a multimedia performance artist & producer and got my start developing this kind of work before I moved to LA 4 years ago. As an acting & dance student in Salt Lake City, UT, I gravitated toward physical forms of storytelling, mainly dance, corporeal mime, mask, & stage combat. The epicenter of my work revolves around Butoh, a form of Japanese contemporary dance which began as a radical form of expression after World War II.

During my time in Salt Lake, I was fortunate enough to study with a master of the form who was a former pupil of one of the founders of Butoh. In the beginning of my time in LA, I was quite shy about my study of Butoh and how it impacted me as an artist. While I worked a few jobs that allowed me to utilize it as a skill, in a sense I kept it to myself, and never really identified myself as a Butoh dancer. I devised and filmed short dance films, but they were always things I elected not to share or show anyone beyond those closest to me. However, through the encouragement of close friends and collaborators, I started to publish the works I created myself. The response I received almost immediately was quite overwhelming and extremely gratifying.

By identifying myself through this form, I have crossed paths with amazing collaborators and been able to further develop my artistic journey. Butoh has given me tremendous opportunities to devise and present my own work in gallery spaces, as well as choreograph, assist & dance for film shoots, live events, & workshops. Recently, I have begun working closely both in front of & behind the camera with LA-based production company Safety Third Productions, a company whose work traverses both creatively-driven advertising content and highly conceptual dance films.

This partnership has allowed me to develop my work as a film producer & creative director, as well as a performer. In the fall, I will travel to San Francisco to work as an Artist in Residence at SAFEhouse Arts. As I continue to develop and understand my own artistic process, I am grateful that Butoh as a form allowed my journey to unfold into one that is multi-faceted, and one that has introduced me to a team of inspiring collaborators.

Has it been a smooth road?
As I mentioned, the concept of identifying myself through my work was difficult in the beginning. I think something inherently unique about being an artist in an urban & entertainment-driven environment like Los Angeles is the sense that you’re very often creating work “for someone else.” I think I struggled with this at the beginning of my time here. When I moved to LA, I had a hard time identifying myself as an artist, as a creator, because I didn’t actually feel like I was creating. I felt stifled creatively within the confines of working for someone else.

And for a long time, I waited for someone to “give” me the permission to create what I was inspired to examine. It took me a little time to realize, however, that I had always been free to create exactly what I wanted to on my own terms by giving myself the permission, and by assembling my own team of collaborators. Through this experience, I became proud of my work and proud to identify myself as an artist.

The great satisfaction, I think, comes from learning to value my role in supporting other’s visions, but also learning to value myself and standing on my own merit.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Caroline Haydon story. Tell us more about the business.
As an independent artist, I specialize in creative & artistic direction, as well as choreography and content development. I am most known for my collaborative endeavors involving new media & movement/dance and work as both a performer & choreographer.

Additionally, as I mentioned, I’ve begun working quite closely with LA-based production company Safety Third Productions. Within that sphere, I mainly work as a producer, editor, and creative director. As a company, Safety Third is known as a digital production studio specializing in movement design for film and photography. Partnering with global brands and artists to create highly choreographed short-form digital content.

Safety Third offers end to end production services. What I think I’m most proud of in terms of these collaborations is in regards to the multi-skilled nature of the team. We all wear many different hats depending on the size & scale of the production, and the hats vary from project to project. I could be an editor for one project and a producer or assistant director for the next.

This partnership has manifested in a variety of fulfilling and diverse projects, and I think the interest in exploring movement & technology in advertising and brand development truly sets Safety Third apart.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I think as an industry, film is seeing a major shift to short-form content. In addition, there is a much higher demand for new media & technology to be present in film production, so I certainly see that manifesting even more as things move forward.

Overall, I think storytelling & art forms, in general, are shifting towards a much more multimedia-driven and collaborative feel. I think people are interested in approaching a project from many different perspectives, and having many different facets through which to share the overarching idea.

I feel very lucky to be in LA at this time as I think boutique production companies and independent artists have a much more significant presence and platform in terms of creating & sharing works than they have in the past. There is a sense of people finding ways to create with very little, and I think exciting work can come out of these times.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.carolinemhaydon.com
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @carolinemhaydon

Image Credit:
Lloyd Galbraith, Anika Perkins, Derek Hutchison, Kendal Carson

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