We have been in ‘production mode’ – and I apologize to my fellow Performing Diaspora Familia – our production went up – it was a success – and I am now ready to be on board!! We are gearing up for a tour to Cuba in July – there we will be training with two phenomenal Cuban companies – Narcisco Medina Danza Contemporania in La Habana and Cutumba Baile Foklorico in Santiago de Cuba. We will be presenting work (from CONTRA-TIEMPO’s rep) with both companies in both cities – as well as TRAINING – taking classes every day and also teaching technique classes by CT members – as an exchange of ideas and movement approaches entre EEUU y CUBA! Much of my research for this new work will occur while we are in Cuba. I will be journaling, interviewing folks, eating (oh yeah – the piece is about FOOD!), collecting stories and local folklore, videoing, and most of all observing, listening and allowing ideas and inspiration to emerge… what I love about creating new work is that you can have all of these clear intentions, ideas, concepts and then you get out there and dance with folks and allow yourself to be open and all of the sudden the piece starts to create itself… does anyone else feel this way… ? I am not minimizing our work as choreographers -but I feel like when working within a social dance form – a dance form that is created with each new combination of people who dance it… you have to be willing to allow yourself the space to ‘be’ in the context of the dance – this ‘BEING’ is at SUCH another level when we are in Cuba – where music and dance permeates every square inch of everything… versus ‘being’ in that social dance context here – in LA – where that space is created with walls, microphones, ipods and whatever else is require to create it… I have been to Cuba four other times and every time I am there – I am always struck with how saturated life is there with music and dance – Dance, music and being are all so connected there isn’t a space where one ends and the other begins… I will write more about our piece later… but in the meantime – THANK YOU ALL for this amazing opportunity to be a part of this collective – it is an exciting time to be creating work and I have a lot to say! :) I look forward to learning from you all!- Ana Maria
Share This!
More Good Stuff
Unsettled/Soiled Group is a group of East, Southeast, and South Asian diasporic movers, makers, and settlers on Ramaytush and Chochenyo Ohlone land. Unsettled/Soiled Group is led by June Yuen Ting, one of CounterPulse's 2022 ARC Performing Diaspora artists and will debut Dwelling for Unsettling alongside VERA!'s Try, Hye!, Thursday through Saturday, December 8-10 & 15-17, 2022
Try, Hye! by Vera Hannush/VERA! & Dwelling for Unsettling by Unsettled/Soiled Group December 8-10 & 15-17, 2022 // 8PM PT // 80 Turk St, SF
VERA! (they/them) is a queer Armenian American drag king, dancer, and community activist. They are one of CounterPulse's 2022 ARC Performing Diaspora artists and will debut Try, Hye! alongside Unsettled/Soiled Group's Dwelling for Unsettling, Thursday through Saturday, December 8-10 & 15-17, 2022
Yes, Ana Maria, I completely agree with you that there is NOTHING like having your community of dancers/musicians right there to work with…that is the creation itself and it does take on its own life (sometimes to our aghast!jajjaj). To me, that is the beauty. I myself am going through that initial process right now where ideas and “reality” meet. It is exciting, unnerving at times, but exhilarating nonetheless!