DID YOU KNOW? Highlighting the Activities of Artists in Our Region
IN 2017 BAY AREA-BASED and Russian-born Dasha Chernova began Telaboratoria (in Russian, “telo” means body and “laborato- ria” means laboratory), a program offering dance and theater improvisation classes and workshops designed to heal and empower LGBTQ+ communities in Russia. In Novem- ber, Dasha heads back to continue the pro- gram, and before leaving they shared more about this work with In Dance . How did dance enter your life? As a child growing up in the post-Soviet economic ruins of a provincial town in the 90s, I was very physically active, climbing and jumping off fences, exploring abandoned construction sites, basements and dump- ing grounds. Looking back I can see where my love for site specific work and industrial landscapes comes from. My mother saw that I had a great need for bodily expression and put me into dance classes, but the authoritar- ian structure did not work for me, I was bad at remembering choreography and following the instructions, so was soon expelled. I was able to pursue dance as a young adult after immigrating to the US fourteen years ago. It happened naturally: I moved to the Mission district of San Francisco and was surrounded by arts, my English was very poor and dance allowed me to express myself. I was also undocumented for the first five years of my life here and felt invisible on a fundamental level, therefore dance gave me a sense that I existed and was seen, through my body. First I started working with Harupin-Ha, a Berkeley-based Butoh collective, then I continued in a duet with an artistic partner Deia DeBrito – we created clownish post- apocalyptic performance narratives that we showed at local black box theaters, bars, parks and backyards. I started formal dance training very late, at least compared to more traditional stories of entry into a dance prac- tice. I took my first ballet class at 21, my first contemporary class at 22. By this point I was so immersed that started building my life, jobs and friendships around dance. I was lucky to live in a rent-controlled housing in San Francisco at that time which gave me the privilege to focus on seeking out dance mentors and to have time to usher at shows. At some point I performed extensively in dance and theater works around the Bay. I also have discovered my passion for teach- ing movement and eventually went back to school to study dance and pedagogy at UC Berkeley. DASHA CHERNOVA
What challenges face LGBTQ+ people in Russia? This is a complex question that I can answer on multiple levels. First, due to the infa- mous federal “anti-gay” law that was passed in 2013, LGBTQ+ Russians do not have a freedom of expression of their identity pub- lically. The law is phrased quite vague but it basically bans any ‘gay propaganda’ to minors and thus gives the state a permission to target LGBTQ+ individuals. Second, the majority of Russians still hold conservative views towards queer and trans* citizens. A lot of it is based on the recent government-imposed anti-Western views, neo-conservative wave that is on the rise, and also, a simple lack of knowledge and misrepresentation of queer folx [a gen- der neutral variation of the word "folks"] in media. We barely have any neutral to positive representation of LGBTQ+ people publically - our communities are still either demonized or exotified. The level of stigmatization is so high that many queers never come out to their fami- lies, hide their relationships from co-workers and neighbors – remaining closeted is often the only way to stay safe and protect your loved ones. It is understandable as there are real threats of legal persecution and hate crimes. For instance, in recent years many queer educators were fired based on their sexual orientation or gender identity once outed by right wing homophobic activists through surveilling educators’ private social media accounts. Those of us who “look” or “act” queer live under a constant threat of being harassed or physically attacked in pub- lic places. There are other challenges within LGBTQ+ communities such as internalized homophobia and transphobia, depression, self-medicating, lack of support, and finan- cial struggles, especially for many trans- gender folx. Oppression is intersectional and older queers, queers with disabilities, queer and trans* migrants experience even more hardships. While the capitals, such as Moscow and St. Petersburg do have some resources for their LGBTQ+ populations, living queer and trans* in regional Russia is much tougher. How and when did Telaboratoria get started? When I left Russia at the age of 19 I wasn’t out, in fact, I did not know any other Rus- sian queer/trans* people. I visited Russia seven years later, and to my great surprise,
Telaboratoria / photo by Katya Poloz
teachers of different movement arts dis- ciplines, such as puppetry, acting, perfor- mance, and voice. We also organize a bi- weekly Queer Authentic Movement practice, potlucks, site specific practice, Cuddle Par- ties. We have a social media group where we post readings, videos, assignments, thoughts. I also travel to regions of Russia and to Eastern Europe to lead workshops in their local LGBTQ+ community centers and would like to do more of it this coming year. Altogether we have impacted more than 220 LGBTQ+ individuals. I believe that oppression happens through people’s bodies, and there are multiple stud- ies that demonstrate that trauma is stored in our bodies. However, many trans* and queer folx in Russia do not have access to spaces where they can safely connect with their bodies, and even more so, spaces where peo- ple can have a collective experience of that connection. Telaboratoria provides ongoing collective creative movement practices. I am convinced that when those whose bod- ies are systemically and institutionally mar- ginalized move together, have a courage to expose their soft and hard selves in front of each other, collective empathy is generated and strong bonds and support system begin to develop.
met several openly queer people that I’ve kept my connection with. Those connec- tions started bringing me back to Russia and eventually resulted in my offering a three- day performance and movement workshop to a group of queers in Moscow and then a workshop to trans* people and their part- ners in St. Petersburg. Somehow everything started falling into place, I realized that I could give back to my communities, that I finally had right resources and capacity to return and offer my skills and energy. Still it took some years to be able to commit to this kind of work in Russia. I spent 2016 looking for grants that would support the project at a larger scale, was extremely fortunate to receive a year- long funding and I moved to St. Petersburg to start the program. Describe Telaboratoria’s activities and programs. Currently Telaboratoria is run by myself and Natasha Kim, the administrator of the pro- gram. The bulk of the program consists of two three-hour creative movement classes each week in ten-week sessions. The program is open to all LGBTQ+ identities: cis-gendered LGB folx and trans* folx. Some participants identify as LGBTQ+ activists while others are closeted queers. We get about 14 to 20 attendees in each group. In addition to these regular classes we offer monthly workshops with guest
Telaboratoria / photo by Katya Poloz
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