Noteworthy: Performance
Noteworthy: Curated stories from OF NOTE magazine’s archive.
This month, we’re bringing you stories about artists who use the art of performance to confront, dismantle, and elevate conversations around pressing social issues. Clarence A. Haynes’ interview with Mexican-American choreographer CatherineMarie Davalos from “The Immigrant Issue” reminds us of the complexity of bodies moving across and through borders — both the physical and metaphorical ones. From “The Gun Issue,” Rebecca Olson profiles Jessica Pleyel and her collaborative project To(get)her where women who have survived violent trauma melt wax guns in “cathartic acts of destruction.” Rajul Punjabi’s essay in “The Imprisoned Issue” on Truthworker Theatre Company explores the healing power of theater for individuals and families entangled in the prison industrial complex. Vasi Eugenis, in “The Water Issue,” writes about dancer Peggy Choy’s slow, controlled movements and their ability to communicate the urgent threat to our water supply. In “The Unsheltered Issue,” Allanah Avalon explores Kilusan Bautista’s use of multimedia theater to make visible the experiences of unsheltered youth. On the possibilities of performance to transform and inspire, Bautista says: “I believe every performance is an opportunity . . . to give a ripple in how I want the world to be.”
CatherineMarie Davalos: Dancing Across Borders
The act of crossing borders, both literally and figuratively, is something that artist CatherineMarie Davalos deeply understands. As an acclaimed dancer, choreographer and director of Davalos Dance Company, she has crafted works that honor her Mexican/multicultural heritage and the experiences of her community.
Jessica Pleyel: Standing To(get)her Against Guns
Performance artist Jessica Pleyel’s To(get)herproject is a collaborative art piece in which women who’ve experienced violent trauma use commonplace domestic objects to dismantle wax guns through cathartic acts of destruction. To(get)her seeks to create an empowering experience for its participants, while simultaneously raising awareness about gun violence against women.
Truthworker Theatre Company: Youth Voices Against the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Founded in 2013 by Samara Gaev, the Truthworker Theatre Company brings together young people between the ages of 15 to 22 to create, write, and perform in productions that reflect stories from their own lives as well as those entangled in the prison industrial complex. Their work elevates the stories that are often discounted and disregarded.
Peggy Choy: Water, Dance and ‘Afro-Asian’ Futurism
Stemming from her study of Japanese and Korean dance, Peggy Choy weaves her culture and history into all of her choreography. In RIVER — MOUTH — OCEAN, Choy and fellow dancer Onyze Ozuzu explored the role of water in different societies using what they describe as “Afro-Asian Futurism” — a blending of African and Asian styles and traditions of movement.
Kilusan Bautista: Rendering Homelessness Visible Through Theater
In Transcend, Kilusan Bautista explores the hardship of being homeless and finding himself stretched between shelters, friends’ places, university campuses, and the train.
