Inside the Pillow Lab: Marjani Forté-Saunders

In her residency, Marjani Forté-Saunders developed "float.," a meditation and a study on the wondrous. In her words, “the word ‘wondrous’ evokes a sense of awe and admiration, often used to describe something extraordinarily beautiful, remarkable, or inspiring. It captures the essence of experiences or sights that leave one marveling at their splendor. The intuitive human entity is full of wonders.” "float." contemplates the Zen Buddhist concept of clouds and water: to wondrously navigate the hurdles of a journey with a malleable and steady advancement. Through her creative, scientific, and technological research for float., Forté-Saunders engages the preternatural wonders of our central nervous systems weathering infinite change: love, loss, sensation, and—prayerfully—lift. Marjani Forté-Saunders is a mother, choreographer, performer, community organizer, and a three-time Bessie Award winner. She received the Dance Magazine Harkness Award in 2020. She is in steady collaboration with her partner, composer Everett Asis Saunders (New Music USA Awardee), and the duo has emerged as 7NMS| Marjani Forte & Everett Saunders (7NMS| M + E), with awarded residencies at the Petronio Residency Center, the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, Brooklyn Arts Academy of Music, and the Baryshnikov Arts Center. They are recipients of the 2021 National Dance Production Grant for their new work "PROPHET." She is the Visioning Founder of Art x Power, a platform dedicated to fostering purpose and innovation by investing in and building resilient futures for Black artists. Residency Dates: October 22 – November 5, 2025 Video by Nel Shelby Productions.