Diana Lara (she/her) a choreographer, performer, and somatic movement educator born and raised in Honduras. Her choreographic work is influenced by contemporary dance, contact improvisation, Body-Mind Centering training, and Latinx culture. She creates choreographies that explore the effects of coloniality, religion, and gender on the body, and that generate rituals to peel layers of oppression. She is nurtured and committed to create work in collaboration with artists from different disciplines, and to generate containers that allow us to value and enjoy the creative process. Her choreographies have been staged in San Francisco Bay Area venues including the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, NohSpace, Dance Mission Theater, Moments Notice, CounterPulse 2nd Sundays, The Garage, and Safe House Arts; and in Mexico City, Canada, and Honduras venues.
About this Project
Sap Flow: Embodied Connection with Ancestry and Nature
The project explores the pathway, rhythm, and characteristics of the sap flow within trees, drawing inspiration from the concept of embodying fluids from Body Mind Centering® practice. The project seeks to investigate the sap flow in trees as a metaphorical representation of the interconnectedness between humans, nature, and ancestral heritage. By embodying the qualities of this fluid, the artists intend to establish a direct connection with their Lenca indigenous ancestors. Four artists involved in this project are from Honduras, and have Lenca ancestry. The possibility of creating this liquid connection —human-to-tree—might offer a way to contest racist and oppressive systems ingrained in family and socio-economic structures that have been perpetuated by colonial legacies and cultural influences from the United States. The project aims to motivate others to reclaim all their ancestry, all their roots without hierarchies, facilitating a collective journey of self-discovery and healing.
Collaborators:
Gabriel Vallecillo Márquez multidisciplinary artist. He started as a poet then moved onto video-poetry, video-jockey, 3d projection mapping, live cinema, video and VR installation, documentary film and video performance. His video art installations have been featured at Biennials in Ecuador, Panamá, Nicaragua and Honduras. His artworks have also been exhibited in Cuba, Italy, USA and Germany. Gabriel is currently based in Berlin. www.gabrielvallecillo.com / https://liminal-space.art/.
Isadora Paz Taboada (she/her) is a Honduran-Argentinian dance artist, leader and co-founder of DA escenica, an independent collaborative project based in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. She has been a resident artist at ADF Durham, NC and the National Choreographic Center in La Rochelle, France. She explores community narratives, practices and performances promoting collective inquiry and intercultural dialogue through dance and performance. https://www.facebook.com/daescenica/about
Performers:
Olivia Treviño (she/her) is a second and seventh generation Mexican-American of Indigenous (Chichimeca) and Spanish descent. She is a theatre artist, dancer, community organizer, activist, educator and drama therapist who places decolonization, ancestral connection and liberation at the center of her personal and professional practices. Olivia taught acting, improvisation and movement at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo from 2013-2017, has been a recurring guest teaching artist at Cal State University Long Beach, as well as assistant directed at South Coast Repertory, UCLA, Juilliard and Cal Rep. She holds a BA in Theatre in Acting and Directing from Cal State Long Beach and a MA in Counseling Psychology in Drama Therapy from California Institute of Integral Studies.
Ronice Lindsey is a dance artist living on Ohlone land in Oakland, CA. Dance has become her highest expression—releasing what she holds within, in connection with others and the Earth that holds her. Part of that work includes Ro’s continued exploration of her Honduran identity, digging up its pain and joy, finding lost lines through her dance. Ronice is currently a company artist with Dancing Earth–a BIPOC dance company centering humans’ connection with ecology, led by the artist director Rulan Tangen. They debuted the production “Eco Elegies – Ritual of Re:Mix” in September 2023 in Yelamu (SF) at the Dance Mission Theater and had community performances of the work at SNAG Magazine’s anniversary celebration and the multicultural Mosaic Festival in San Jose. Ronice will partake in the company’s teacher training and artivist program in 2024, which includes a tour in Mexico.
Visit dianalara-somatics.com to learn more of their works
Facebook:@diana.lara.somatics
Instagram: @diana.lara.somatics
June 6/7/8
(Thu/Fr 8p; Sat 2p)
June 13/14/15
(Thu/Fr 8p; Sat 2p)