We asked each artist in Cohort 3 a series of questions about how they navigate the world and express themselves through their practice. Here’s what Coco had to say: 

Good: When did you first realize that making art was essential to how you move through the world?
Coco: Oh my gosh, probably since I was a baby! I don’t know exactly when I realized that making art was essential to how I move through the world—it’s just something I’ve known, almost matter-of-factly, since I was a child.

Good: What parts of yourself do you feel most seen in through your work?
Coco: I feel most seen in the way I use playfulness to hold space for catharsis and creation—there’s a continuous sense of freedom, silliness, honesty, and lightheartedness that comes to life when I choreograph, dance, and perform.

Good: What story do you think your younger self needed to see in art—and are you telling that story now?
Coco: Younger Coco needed to see the practice of multiple mediums celebrated—particularly Black dancers and performance artists who incorporated other art forms into their practice—and I do believe I’m telling that story now.

Good: How do you navigate the tension between visibility and vulnerability in your work?
Coco: I try to share with the awareness that once something leaves me, it’s meant to be seen. So I shape the vulnerable parts into something a bit reimagined—intimate and honest, but performed.

Good: What is a misconception people have about your practice—or you—that your art helps correct?
Coco: A common misconception is that my dance and photography are separate practices, when in reality, they are deeply interconnected and inform each other equally.

Good: How do your surroundings—physical, cultural, emotional—show up in your work?
Coco: I’m a sponge—everything around me, whether physical, cultural, or emotional, inevitably shows up in my work, from the architecture and landscapes to spiritual traditions and forms of human intimacy.

Good: If this chapter of your life had a title, what would it be—and how is that reflected in your current work?
Coco: If this chapter of my life had a title, it would be Citrus & Eggs, reflecting the two most popular ingredients in my diet, which also frequently appear as objects in my photography and performances.

Good: What truth have you been circling in your work but haven’t said out loud yet?
Coco: The truth I’ve been circling in my work is that I’m creating real and imagined practices for our contemporary world, hoping to bring a little more buoyancy to our hearts and spirits.

Good: If you had to strip everything back—materials, audience, career—what would remain at the center of your practice?
Coco:  I would still be dancing everywhere and with everyone.