Mr. Indie-pendent, Adrian Galvin

September 9, 2017

Allow us to introduce your new postmodern obsession, Adrian Galvin—aka Yoke Lore.

This insanely versatile musician-dancer-choreographer is the co-founder of BOOMERANG Dance and Performance Project, based in NYC. He owns a dance studio in Brooklyn. Oh yeah, and he’s an alum of WALK THE MOON (“Shut Up and Dance”) who often choreographs his own music videos—including his most recent, the mesmerizing “Only You.”

When DS asked about the inspiration for his wild, organic choreography, Galvin explained: “I started dancing in earnest when I was in college. I took ballet when I was little, but dropped out pretty fast…At twelve, I was still working up the courage to talk to girls, so the prospect of having to impress them in a ballet class as the only boy was just too much. I played sports instead. I found aggressive skating and snowboarding as places I could dance and learn to move my body through space in different and exciting ways. It wasn’t until college, when I met another skater by the name of Matty Davis, and I started dancing again. He kind of forced me into it! That year, we created a piece with our then-professor (and now choreographer) Kora Radella that went on to win ACDFA and was shown at The Kennedy Center. After graduating from Kenyon College, we moved to NYC and kept pursuing opportunities to perform. Our company Boomerang Dance (which is the three of us—myself, Matty Davis, and Kora Radella—with other collaborators always helping out) has since performed in Ohio, Michigan, NYC, LA, Paris, and Germany, to name a few.

“Dance for me is real exploration. It’s almost like everything else is an excuse to dance. When I play sports, I try to find any opportunity I can to put myself in the air. I love to fly. I’m originally a drummer, and I feel the world in rhythm. I make beats with my teeth as I walk the streets, making every act a way to play along with the world around me. I dance to show grit and realness. When I play music, I want to feel the words leaving my body so that the listener has a physical, almost tactile experience.

“‘Only You’ is about realizing that you’re the only one who can change anything for you. For better or for worse. If you want something to change, it’s gotta be you and no one else. The movement I designed for the video was nervous and contained… wracking my body for a way out…chasing myself down.”

We’re on the record saying that you’ll be hearing the names Yoke Lore AND Adrian Galvin more and more very soon, both in the dance world and in the indie rock scene.