HERstory 2017
HERstory, is a conceptual dance theater investigating matrilineal bloodlines and ancestry, prior to European monotheism. The work honors the mother as the creator, the "mana" (life force), the birthing power; contrary to the belief that the nurturer is parallel to the weak.
HERstory, demonstrates how goddesses were omnipresent in ancient pre-colonized societies. HERstory has been created for stage and for site-specific performance such as the Fleisher Art Memorial, Barnes Foundation and the streets of Ben Franklin Parkway.
HERstory Deconstructed (March 2018)
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HERstory is a process-based durational performance involving discourse, creative writing, and improvisation (music jam, dance cipher, spoken word and story circles ). Gathering dancers, poets, singers at Fleisher Art Memorial, this experiential performance moved audiences literally from gallery spaces to the sanctuary and emotionally through the stories shared on generational trauma, patriarchy, colonialism, and the #metoo movement. The mother-daughter dance section became a highlight as Gavino invited mothers and daughters to dance. The performance ended in a ritual of signing permission slips, an offering to the goddess, Oshun, allowing each attendee the permission for self-love and self-healing.
HERstory at University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, January 2019.
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Upon reflection, I did not feel comfortable performing in such a space. I realized that where I share stories of spirit has to be carefully curated, where colonial dominance isn't what is holding up the structures.