Empowering Spaces for the Arts
Last night was closing night of the show The Untethered: Homecoming 2020. A diverse group of alums from across the country - and even internationally! - came together to offer both a performance and their stories, journeys, and wisdom for the College.
Performers spoke of creating their own performance spaces and shows when the main stage had meager options for performers of minority backgrounds. They spoke of the connection between art and mental health. They spoke of the community they built supporting each other, and the bonds they formed with the faculty members who were fighting the good fight. They offered hints of their own paths beyond the campus, whether their art was a primary vocation or a passion supported by a “day job”.
One of my favorite takeaway - hands down - was Jamar Jones ‘13 saying something along the lines of “I was hungry, but I wanted to make sure other ate too.”
I was struck by how parallels between the challenges and triumphs faced by theater students from the last decade and a half at the College and the conversations we’ve been having within my community of dancers lately - representation, accessibility, grit in the face of adversity, and a commitment to the art form.
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised, though. Art is healing. It creates community. And the guarded hallows of art can feel inaccessible or unwelcoming to the many who don’t have institutional support and backing.
We tend to equate success with hard work and the struggling with the lazy - and that just is not true. It takes not only hard work, but praptam, kismet, serendipity. This came up again, and again, and again, as alums shared how they ended up reeled into theater. And, from listening to and watching so many incredible artists within the Kuchipudi world, I know that’s true in dance as well.
The (almost silly) revelation I had over the course of this weekend is that I, too, am a theater kid. But my musical theater was the nritya natakams of Mastergaru. My references are the daruvus of his body of work, and of the larger body of Kuchipudi natyam. The Natyashastra is, after all, a treatise on dramaturgy, and dance and music were both considered auxiliary to the theatrical stage. I think the fact that I never, ever, ever considered auditioning for a play - in high school or college - speaks volumes.
Lots to chew on, not only as a performing artist, but as an educator and organizer.
Much love to Guru Francis Tanglao-Aguas and Margot Flanders for your incredible work corralling all of us in such meaningful ways. Thank you Ivy He, Christine Rosa, and Sumie Yotsukura for the eye-opening documentaries. Lewis Feemster, my dearest Bindu, thank you for sharing your works, your voice, and your vision with me and allowing me to play with them. To my fellow artists - here’s to seeing many more of your works - be it on Broadway, the silver screen, or another Aguas Arts Ink production.
