Aviva (left) and Molly (right) Rose-Williams / Photo by Eric Gillet SAFEHOUSE CO-HOSTS SEVEN TO THE SEVENTH Joe Landini and SAFEhouse for the Performing Arts are collaborating with international choreographers on a transnational collaboration. This event is the brainchild of Athens-based choreographer Ana Sánchez-Colberg and will connect seven artists in seven urban sites, across seven-time zones. Seven to the Seventh instigates active co-creation to celebrate interconnections between local and global citizenship. Live streaming technology will connect all the performances.
the muscles’ fibers. My bicep wanted to hear from me that it was time to heal. So I said, “Thank you for all you did to protect me dur- ing the fall. You did a fabulous job contracting and helping the elbow bone take the impact. I am so grateful for you. You protected the vital organs. You are vital too. It is okay to ease up now. You don’t have to be scared anymore. You have done your job.”At that moment, my bicep muscle and I cried together. Fue un desa- hogo total. I felt it release tension and I was able to increase my elbow’s range of motion. More important than seeing the increased range of motion, I was thankful to hear my muscle speak. No doctor instructed me to talk to my muscle. Quite the opposite, the doctors asked me if I was talking to a mental therapist when I mentioned to them that I was talking to my muscles. My bicep advocated for itself. I regretted not having listened to it any sooner than that moment. Now that high affect dance is no longer freedom but only frustration to me, I have learned to talk to my muscles as a central part of my healing. It is through them that my body has become the studio. My body has become a site-specific location. My body has become an international collaborator. I have been at the gym or physical therapy five to six times a week for the past eighteen months. The weight machines are my con- tact improvisation companions. The vibra- tory sound of the same playlist has been on repeat for half-a-year. I have learned to talk to my muscles, and we are creating a lan- guage of our own as we listen to each other. My muscles and I have come to call this low affect process rephabulous . The word rehab is hidden inside of this motivational phrase because this rehabilitation process is about acknowledging the fabulousness of my
Photo courtesy of artist
muscles, seeing them in all of their glory and all of their struggles. However, my goal is not only prioritizing the fast-twitch muscles to be the high affect performing fibers that they used to be. Instead, I want to linger in the slow-twitch muscles too. The ones that sustain the long-endurance movement. And so, I am relearning to dance after this near-death experience with a new sensibility where I hear my muscles and the way they speak, love, and care for me. We are taking care of each other anew. The simple articu- lation of a single muscle moving slowly is freedom and agency on its own. JUAN MANUEL ALDAPE MUÑOZ is a working-class, formerly-undocumented choreographer of color from Mexico. He’s been a resident artist for venues such as the Alfredo Zalce Contemporary Art Museum (Morelia, MX), STATION-Service for Contemporary Dance (Belgrade, Serbia), Zenon Dance Company (Minneapolis, US), and Sugar Space Arts Center (Salt Lake, US). Juan Manuel is the co-director of the Festival of Latin American Contemporary Choreog- raphers, now in its sixth edition in San Francisco, California. He is a Ph.D. candidate in performance studies at UC Berkeley. juanmaldape.com
Participating Cities and Countries: Pioneer Winter and Pioneer Winter Collective (Miami) Joe Landini (SAFEhouse Arts, San Francisco) Junichi Fukuda and Fukudance (New England/ Japan) Preethi Athreya (Chennai, India) Eileen Bohorquez (Pullheim, Germany) Jimmy Bechara and Al-Saab Company (Beirut, Lebanon) La Trinchera (San Juan, Puerto Rico) Eleni Mylona Ivana Ostrowski (London, England)
In San Francisco, SAFEhouse Arts will be hosting three free workshops leading up to the performances: Workshops: Mon, Jun 3; Fri, Jun 7; Sun, Jun 23, 7pm Performances: Mon, Jun 24, 9am; Tue, Jun 25, 4pm; Wed, Jun 26, 7pm; Thu, Jun 27, 10am; Fri, Jun 28, 3am; Sat, Jun 29, 5:30am; Sun, Jun 30, 9am The project is being supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens.
All SF workshops and performances are FREE
safehousearts.org
Upcoming for Juan Manuel Aldape Muñoz: Festival of Latin American Contemporary Choreographers (FLACC), Nov 15-23, flaccdanza.org; NAKA Dance Theater + Mujeres Unidas y Activas present BUSCARTE : May 2020, nakadancetheater.com.
THERE’S MORE SPACE THAN YOU THINK BOOK IT. CREATE.
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in dance JUN 2019
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