PROCESS
constructions began five years ago conceptually and has developed through multiple iterations to its current state. In that time, I never once considered that I would be completing my honors thesis under the conditions of a pandemic that has killed half a million Americans and millions more globally—a pandemic that would send us all into isolation, grief, and loss en masse.
The first exploration in the process was constructions: part one which was a piece for five dancers that premiered at the Peggy Theater at Hunter College as part of the Fall 2019 Student Showcase. I created part one under the structure of the Composition 2 class at Hunter, taught by Prof. Maura Nguyen Donohue, in collaboration with the dancers and with mentorship from Alberto del Saz. The piece was based on clear compositional images, segmented vignettes that reflected passing interactions, and movement sourced largely from people-watching. I was interested in public and private spheres of identity, how we edit them in interactions with others, and the blurring of their boundaries. I used drawings, schematics, and timelines to build patterns and structure the work.
I began constructions: part two in February of 2020 for Dance Workshop, the final class in the creative sequence in the dance major. I planned to explore notions of sexiness, social expectations associated with sexuality, particularly for non-men, and ownership and agency of the sexual body. Just a few weeks before the piece was set to premier at The Kaye Playhouse, I had to completely abandon the work I had put in with the seven dancers I was working with as classes were suspended and the shift to remote learning began. I was kicked out of the dorm where I was living with three days’ notice and forced to return to my hometown of Watkins Glen in rural Upstate New York. I was, as we all were, isolated.
My Dance Workshop classmates and I changed course entirely from live, in-person performance to creating dance film and virtual performance within weeks which led me to produce a dance film called “Softly Shedding and Undressing,” essentially part three. This film was my first attempt at screendance and served as an invitation for an unguarded view of softness, tenderness, and intimacy. The film sought to simulate a moment the audience shouldn’t be seeing, though the gaze was in fact welcomed and desired, asking the viewer to bear witness to an intentional act of shared vulnerability. It was an exploration in romance with myself and taking time and care for delicacy and weightedness. This film was the last performance before coming out as trans non-binary.
Several months later I began work with an incredible group of collaborators whose friendship, patience, and care I am deeply grateful for. Together, we have created a collection of 6 dance films that encapsulate themes surrounding queerness and transness as experienced and discussed throughout the creation process. In addition to this virtual dance film experience, I wrote a paper entitled “constructions: Queer Dance as Embodied Abolitionist Praxis” which chronicles the personal, creative, and philosophical work that supports the dances you watch.
constructions was made possible through support from the Hunter College Dance Department and the Mellon Public Humanities Scholars Program. So much gratitude to Maura Nguyen Donohue for her endless encouragement and reassurance throughout the tumult of this creative process.
PEOPLE
Valentina Bache Rodriguez was born and raised in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. At 15 years old, they skipped high school and moved to Massachusetts to attend Bard College at Simon's Rock, where they obtained her Associates Degree in Biology and Dance at the age of 17. Then, they moved to NYC to attend Hunter College for a BA in Dance graduating spring 2020. They have learned from Yeniv Abraham, Shamel Pitts, Alberto de la Saz, Nina Goldman, Blakeley White-Mcguire, Maura Donahue, Zina Zinchenko, Nikolas Ventura, among many others. And has performed works by Kyle Abraham, Yael Levitan, Alwin Nikolai, among others. Their current works operate as introspective movement diaries in which personal and societal absurdities are explored. Through the spatio-emotional investigation of the unmapped qualities of human experience, Valentina hopes to innovate motion as an endless expressive realm of possibilities for themselves and those involved in the process.
https://vale-porfolio.webflow.io
Alishanee is a multidisciplinary artist and dancer from New York City. She will graduate from Hunter college this Spring through a self-designed academic program that explores the intersections of dance, psychology, and religion. She has studied ballet, modern/contemporary, and flamenco for 12 years and has performed at the LaMama Ellen Stewart Theater, the 92nd St Y, and the New Victory Theater. She draws inspiration from visual art, music, nature, and the human body.
Instagram: @alishaneee
Justine Farhi is a Brooklyn-based dancer and choreographer. Her base is in release technique and she explores the dynamics of weightedness as a vehicle of momentum and flow in her practice. Her independent and collaborative works have been showcased at Brooklyn Arts Exchange (NYC), Bates College (Maine), Hunter College (NYC), Jennifer Muller/The Works (NYC) and 92Y Harkness Center (NYC). She has had the honor to perform professionally in the work of Monica Bill Barnes at Brookfield Place (NYC). Currently, she is a student at Hunter College pursuing a BA in Dance, expected to graduate in Spring 2021.
Anakeiry is a dancer based in NYC from the Dominican Republic. She is currently a senior in college studying dance and journalism. She has trained at the Martha Graham School, NYU Tisch Pre professional program, City Center and Broadway Dance Center. Some of her credits include: New York City Center, The Joyce and Kaye Playhouse. Anakeiry wishes to immerse herself in concert and commercial works in the future while still using her passion for writing to be an advocate for the arts.
Jeerond Mussu is an artist based in New York City. They were born and raised in Indonesia. They moved here when they were fifteen to pursue their education and career in arts. They are currently attending Stella Adler Studio of Acting for their drama studies. They love writing music and poetries. They got most of their inspirations from walking around downtown Manhattan and Baz Lurhmann’s movies.
Instagram: @jeerond
Katherine De La Cruz is a Dominican dancer and choreographer based in Brooklyn NY. She earned her BA from Hunter College where she double majored in Anthropology and Dance. She performed at The New York City Center during the 2019 Fall for Dance Festival in “The Running Show” by Monica Bill Barnes & Company. She also collaborated and performed with MBB & Co on the visual podcast “Keep Moving” which was presented by the American Dance Festival (2020) and the WP Theater (2021). Katherine is passionate about choreographing. Her latest dance film “Avanzamos,” premiered at the Estrogenius Festival in October of 2020. She plans to continue combining her training in dance as well as her Anthropology background create work that offers a space for both confronting political and social issues, as well as offering perspectives on internal healing processes.
Instagram: @cruzdelakatt
Kdlcdance.com/
SarahIsoke is a performance artist and creative director based in Brooklyn. She is a double major in Dance and Africana, Puerto Rican & Latino Studies at Hunter College. She is currently studying how to choreograph without crying, how to dance without dying and most importantly how to wink. In this season of her life, serving her community is her primary mission. She aims to use her talents to benefit differently abled communities such as the deaf and blind; creating visual and performance art that matters.
Damali O’Keefe (she/her)
Emily Collantes (she/they)
Original Web Design:
Emi Baché Rodríguez
RETURN