[Henri Crenier’s four Civic Virtues: Learning, Liberty, Strength, and Equality], or how they relate to them in general from where they stand. And also, what are the expectations of these ideas and ideals. The whole piece, for me, is about upending the notions that the architecture pro- poses: white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism. MK: It’s an incredibly white space on every level. JH: Yes, very white. When we talk about liberty from a European per- spective, it’s based on politics, class, and religion. But from our perspec- tive, as people of color, it’s all of these things plus these really horrific notions of race and caste, as Isa- bel Wilkerson would say. Liberty is linked to our struggle for humanity, a struggle we’ve been in for many generations. MK: With that, the sense that not much has changed. I think you’re saying that as well. JH: It’s changed… some things have changed on the surface.
we’re really far off! We’re always try- ing to control and harness nature. That idea of being the superior being on the planet has interrupted this relationship that, when it works from the point of view of integration and harmony, feeds and creates this environment where we really thrive. MK: I think thrive in ways that we can’t even comprehend. And it does seem, too, that City Hall is the antithesis.
JH: Completely!
MK: That kind of edifice, that kind of architecture, the literal and figurative whiteness is the antithesis of harmony with nature. JH: Yeah, and there are no direct ref- erences there to our connection to nature, and no references to Indige- nous people, in terms of the statuary or anywhere. MK: It’s important to go into a room and ask who’s missing. And it’s usually Black people; it’s almost always Indig- enous people. I’m never in spaces with Indigenous people. Society doesn’t ask that enough—who’s missing from this work space, this dance space, etc. More on aerial-ness—the balance of support and surrender feels important and in line with Indigenous culture. I was also thinking about the folktales that slaves could fly, which I know is very present in your mind and work. Those are some things I was thinking of as I was taking notes and watch- ing, some of those ideas and motifs that feel integral, I was going to say a Black experience, but I think it’s more an integrated experience, speak- ing with some of the language you’ve been using around indigeneity. JH: I’m impressed you could see that through Zoom. Like, that was really good watching! [both laugh]
OWN This interview has been edited for length and clarity. MAURYA KERR: I’ll just share some of my impressions from rehearsal if that’s cool as a starting point. I was really struck by so many of the artists saying they felt beautifully small and held. I was thinking about that return everything is slightly askew compared to people who aren’t marginalized, either racially or through class. I’m wondering if that figures in for you— or what does aerial offer you? JOANNA HAIGOOD: I guess for me, it’s many different points of perspective, being able to see the world from all these different angles. Oftentimes, we feel like we know where we are, but
MK: But the essence of how we deal with Blackness or class…
MK: That sense of scale, it’s a different virtuosity and a holding space. I know that having been in your work and seen your work, it is so much about the holding of space and presence, as opposed to choreography or physical pyrotechnics. I think that’s one of the great beauties of your work, plus this sense of working to place, or of place, or from place. So I was wondering about how you, within this process, how you’re directing the artists, for example, in the section about liberty. JH: For me, it is much more about mining, exploring, connecting, and sharing each other’s life experiences, things that people have gone through that relate to these particular virtues
really. If you’ve ever been down to the desert, like Death Valley, or amongst the giant sequoias, those feelings are immediately apparent or bubble up. MK: It’s also feeling small in safety, as opposed to feeling small and dimin- ished. I feel like we’re always having to be big in the world to survive, and when we feel small, it’s often at our expense. So that ability to be cradled felt unique and special. JH: Yeah, because in this context, feeling small is really about being able to feel and acknowledge the larger scale of the world. Not that we are insignificant, but that there is so much happening alongside you.
JH: And how we see and respond to each other, where our priorities are, it’s still very imbalanced. The whole thing of learning: I’m working with Indigenous culture bearers Gregg Cas- tro and Jonathan Cordero, who are helping me navigate through the idea of decolonization and come to some deeper understanding of our histories. One of the virtues is learning, and thinking about what that is from an Indigenous point of view. So much of their teaching and from where they build their social structure and rela- tionship to life in general is anchored in this notion of harmony with nature. And that is precisely the area where we have gone so astray. Like,
to embrace and how rarely we get that in our lives. I’d written down in my notes something about the safety of the fetal-ness, being held that way, womb-like. Also this sense of being sideways and aslant in the world, off-kilter, that the aerial work allows you to do, and how that relates to the double consciousness Du Bois talked about, seeing the world as if
as soon as we change our relation- ship to up and down, it’s very differ- ent. And the things that are revealed are sometimes, well, life-changing in the biggest respect, and illuminat- ing in terms of where we are, who we are to each other, what we are to our environment. It’s a sense of scale,
MK: I taught over Zoom for three years, so I’m zeroed in!
12
12 in dance SPRING 2024
SPRING 2024 in dance 13
In Dance | May 2014 | dancersgroup.org
unify strengthen amplify unify strengthen amplify
44 Gough Street, Suite 201 San Francisco, CA 94103 www.dancersgroup.org
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker