IndanceFALL 2020 DISCOURSE + DIALOGUE TO UNIFY, STRENGTHEN + AMPLIFY - P.4 IN PRACTICE - Dancers' Group
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indance
FALL 2020
DISCOURSE + DIALOGUE TO UNIFY, STRENGTHEN + AMPLIFY
P.36 Out of Touch P.4 IN PRACTICE P.30 In Community
CONTENTS
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Visit dancersgroup.org for more I HOPE YOU’RE WELL, AND I HOPE
information and resources. YOU’RE SAFE.
For most of 2020 these daily words were
LEVELS written in emails, texts and in posts on social.
Community (FREE) They do bear repeating: Dancers’ Group
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These direct and caring sentiments reflect
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JOIN or RENEW Are you OK? I think that trying to make
dancersgroup.org
sense of this time is in part a realization
that human and natural systems are not
SUBMIT separate. Hey, World. Are you OK?
We find ourselves in an unreal reality. Being told to carry on with our life
Performances to the
Community Calendar as if all is OK: like, the paradox of being ordered to shelter in place, yet the
Dancers’ Group promotes performance expectation is that we keep working, keep producing; and then there’s the
listings in our online performance reality of lost income and still having to pay our rent and loans and bills.
calendar, and emailed to over
1,700 members. How does this make sense — well it doesn’t and yet, it’s our reality.
Even during a pandemic — a time like and not like the HIV/AIDS pandemic
Resources and Opportunities
— we dance. Times of great loss stir up questions of what to do? What comes
Once a week, Dancers’ Group sends
out its DG Weekly email, which includes next? These questions, past and present, guide us forward and provide options
recent community notices, artistic and opportunity to share. I do believe that dance is a sharing and forever kinda
opportunities, grant deadlines,
local news, and more thing. It’s primal, and it feeds us, and it continues to be the thing we come
back to. So continue to question. And continue to demand change.
As we’ve put together this Fall issue we’ve asked many questions, and one
was, who’s in the community? This has led us to look at numerous dance
DANCERS’ GROUP 4 / IN PRACTICE: Stepping 30/ In Community Dancers’ Group gratefully acknowledges
organizations in the Bay Area — over 700 the last we surveyed. Within these the support of Bernard Osher Foundation,
Artist Administrator pages we highlight a smattering — that’s a technical term — to illicit action Back to Move Forward Highlights and resources, activities California Arts Council, Fleishhacker
Wayne Hazzard A Conversation about shared leader- and celebrations for our community— Foundation, Grants for the Arts, JB Berland
from our readers. Meaning go to their website or social media page, and learn ship and power with Cherie Hill, find more on dancersgroup.org Foundation, Kenneth Rainin Foundation,
Associate Director
Katie Taylor more about their work, activities, transitions, offerings. Be ready to be gob- Hope Mohr and Karla Quintero Koret Foundation, National Endowment
smacked by what continues to take place here.
36/ Out of Touch for the Arts, Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation,
by Sima Belmar
Program Assistant When, and how, do we decide it’s safe San Francisco Arts Commission, Wallace
Andréa Spearman Let’s dance with those that protest. Let’s dance with those that dream. 10 / House/Full of BlackWomen: to touch and hug family and friends?
Alexander Gerbode Foundation, Walter &
Elise Haas Fund, William & Flora Hewlett
Administrative Assistant
Let’s dance to ensure a shift in power. Let’s stomp out systemic racism. It New Chitlin Circuitry: Reparations by Rowena Richie Foundation, Zellerbach Family Foundation
Shellie Jew doesn’t matter how we dance, it matters that we do something, we move, Vaudeville is the 14th Episode directed and generous individuals.
40/ How Much Should I Pay?
we are in action. by Amara Tabor-Smith and Ellen
Bookkeeper
Sebastian Chang
With so many new offerings online
Michele Simon Let’s be kind and generous and ready to move toward truths we know to what’s the right amount to pay for a
Articles by Tobe Melora Correal,
Design be true — in dance, in the World. class or performance?
Dana Kawano, Frances Phillips,
Sharon Anderson I hope you’re well, and I hope you’re safe. by Katie Taylor
Marvin K. White, and Zakiya Harris
—Wayne Hazzard, Artist Administrator 29/ We
Cover: Rami Margron, photo by Robbie Sweeny
Contents: photo by Robbie Sweeny by Maurya Kerr
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dancersgroup.org PHOTO BY PAK HAN
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INPRACTICE LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE
Sima: A shift from second of collaborative leadership within non-profit
to third wave spaces. Maybe it’s not acknowledged as such.
feminism. Sima: I’m always a little leery of the word col-
Hope: I wore two hats for laborative because, yes, it means we work
a long time: an activist out- together but it doesn’t necessarily mean that
side the dance world and we do so in a non-hierarchical way. Does part
an activist inside the dance of announcing a shift to distributed leadership
world. Within the dance mean claiming a non-hierarchical relationship
world, my curating had between the organization’s moving parts?
been tied up in my own Karla: Yes. There is that desire among the
aesthetic lineage, which is staff and also with the artists to figure out
white postmodernism. So ways to flatten the hierarchy between all of
when I started curating, us when we’re working together. What I’ve
I was bringing in people observed in the move to distributed leader-
like Anna Halprin, Sim- ship is that it’s tied to these macro questions
one Forti, Lucinda Childs, that people have had in the dance community
Trisha Brown—all white around how sustainable it is to run an orga-
women. All of the chore- nization, to put on a dance concert, to make
ographers I’ve ever danced work using the models and paradigms that
for professionally have have been prevalent for however many years.
been white. As an activist In part it’s a conscious effort to counter exist-
outside the dance world, ing patterns of how we do things, the way
my awareness and engage- that we fundraise, the way that we put excess
ment was much more inter- value on production driven work.
sectional. I was a Latin
American Studies major, I Sima: How has your role in the organization
(Left to right): Cherie Hill, Hope Mohr, Karla Quintero
did fieldwork in the domes- changed since the shift?
STEPPING BACK
tic violence movement in Karla: My work is changing a lot because
Hope: The Bridge Project’s programs have Central America. I had that awareness, but I have to change the way that I see it. Even
been social justice-driven for a long time. I hadn’t yet figured out how to implement it though I felt that my contributions were
More recently, that engine has become more into curating. acknowledged and respected, I was not hired
TO MOVE FORWARD
focused on cultural and racial equity, most to vision for the program. I’ve been thinking
specifically with Dancing Around Race Sima: When did you, Karla, come into the a lot about what that shift means because it
(2017-2018). Through that project, I was in organization? seems like an easy shift, but it’s not. In par-
a lot of working and personal relationships Karla: My first engagement with HMD ticular, if I’m part of something I respect
with artists of color and involved in conver- was as a dancer in the 2016 Bridge Project, already, I’m inclined to support it in the way
with Cherie Hill, Hope Mohr & Karla Quintero sations where I was frequently hearing the Ten Artists Respond to Locus (a multi-dis- that it exists.
PHOTOS BY (L. TO R.) ROBBIE SWEENY, COURTESY OF HOPE MOHR DANCE, MARK PRENNINGER
need for white people to step back. I started ciplinary response to the legacy of Trisha
thinking about what that would mean for Brown). I started working as a dancer in Sima: To suddenly become part of not just
me personally and what that would mean to Hope’s work in 2017 and then as an admin promoting but creating the vision.
by SIMA BELMAR apply that to the organization that I founded. person later that year. Karla: Yes, that’s a very different thing even
B
I also felt like there was an increasing discon- if you’ve already had a lot of autonomy in
nect between our public facing programming Sima: I’ve seen you in a lot of different admin terms of the work that you were doing in the
eginning on September 13 and organizers will offer art and activism work- HMD’s leadership is now composed of three and our internal organizational structures. I spaces. And dance stages. organization.
running through November 21, shops, improvisation practices for both co-directors: Mohr, Cherie Hill, and Karla wanted to bring the internal structures into Karla:Yeah, I do a lot of different support roles
HMD’s 2020 Bridge Project pres- rookies and old hands, and live-streamed Quintero. Quintero is HMD’s Director of Mar- alignment with those values. for folks in the non-profit space. Before danc- Sima: What’s your relationship to HMD,
ents POWER SHIFT: Improvisa- performances. keting and Development, and Hill is Director ing, I used to work in transportation advocacy Cherie?
tion, Activism, and Community, HMD stands for Hope Mohr Dance, and of Art in Community. Titles aside, the three Sima: What did the social justice drive of in New York, particularly in Spanish-speaking Cherie: A year ago I came on as HMD’s
a festival that features the improvisational The Bridge Project has been Mohr’s curato- women now work as a co-curatorial team. I the organization look like before Dancing communities. I started working with HMD as Community Engagement coordinator. I
practices and diverse dance genres of leading rial platform for ten years. But this spring, spoke with them in July about what the shift to Around Race? an admin manager, mostly helping Hope carry was mainly working with the Community
Black/African American, Latinx/Latin Ameri- the organization announced a shift to a “dis- distributed leadership looks like in practice. Hope: The program was anchored originally out the programming in whatever way was Engagement Residency (CER) program,
can, Asian American, female-identifying, and tributed leadership” model, which might in feminism and a commitment on my part to helpful. It may not have been distributed lead- which I was really excited about because of
queer improvisers and social justice activists mean that Hope Mohr Dance goes the way Sima: What led to the shift to a distributed honoring and centering female-identified voices ership, but a lot of the work was collaborative. its focus on cultural equity and working with
from around the world. In a swift pivot to of the Oberlin Dance Collective–from words leadership model? And what is distributed and lineage in dance. Over time that curatorial It’s interesting that “distributed leadership” is artists. I’ve done a lot of work in equity in
online and outdoor platforms, the festival to acronym. leadership? commitment became more intersectional. a buzzword now because there’s always a lot dance education. But I was interested in what
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Our board is now 100 percent working artists
and that was not the case six months ago.
on our part and because of that there’s a high gram. This application supports organization/
bar. We need to implement the values not artist partnerships for sustained residencies
only in a structural way, but also on the level in community settings. For many CAC pro-
of organizational culture. It’s not just about grams, artists must partner with a nonprofit
creating a democratic workplace or hori- in order to be eligible and competitive for the
zontal power relations among staff. It’s also funds. In terms of how we distribute CAC
about changing how things get done. And funds, initially the majority of the money
distributing power to artists and bringing from the grant went to one lead artist with
artists into positions of power over aesthetics the rest divided among the mentee artists.
and resources. Now that’s more equitably distributed among
the three artists for three different projects.
Sima: What’s an example of how one might Hope: We’ve also started implementing finan-
distribute power to artists? Or what did it look cial transparency practices regarding how we
like before you embarked on this process? communicate internally to each other and
What’s something you might dismantle? with artist partners about budgets and fund-
Hope:: Our board is now 100 percent work- ing. A lot of historically white-led organiza-
ing artists and that was not the case six months tions have positioned themselves as regrant-
ago. After we announced our move to distrib- ing organizations. They regrant funds to
uted leadership, three of the board members, artists of color. That’s problematic for a lot
in conversation with me, decided it was time to of reasons because the regranting nonproft
step down. There’s been an intentional transi- 501(c)3 retains control over the money and
tion away from a traditional nonprofit board over the relationship with the funder. Often
that’s conceived as a fundraising engine com- this can disempower the artist because they
prised of people with connections to money don’t have the direct information or direct
and networks. I think that’s an outdated access to the money. If there’s poor communi-
model. Value-aligning the board has been an cation, too often the artist pays the price. So
important part of this transition. We’re also the question is, how can nonprofits step away
having former lead artists in the Community from that gatekeeping role and provide more
Engagement Residency program select the direct access to resources?
next round of artists in partnership with HMD
staff and I am stepping off that selection panel. Sima: What kind of problems do artists run
We’re also talking about a paid artist coun- into in that model?
cil with curatorial power or the power to hold Hope: Sometimes it can happen even in the
the organization accountable to our stated and application process. If an artist is relying on
aspirational values. Things like that. a nonprofit for a foundation opportunity
Karla: When I came on board, the CER because the foundation only accepts 501(c)3
program supported one lead mentor artist applicants and the nonprofit messes up on
PICTURED: POWER SHIFT ARTISTS AND ACTIVISTS, LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ARTISTS >> and a number of mentee artists. In a recent the application, the artist pays the price. Or
meeting a couple of artists brought up dis- if the nonprofit fails to be transparent with
mantling hierarchies within mentorship as the artist or fails to honor their agreement,
that would look like in a dance company that reographed work. I was also really happy that ership training starting with hiring Leader- Sima: What are some of the things the artists well so it can be bidirectional. That already the artist pays the price. Funders need to shift
wasn’t dance education focused. My long we could focus this Bridge Project on impro- Spring as consultants to help us delineate said or asked for? started happening in the CER program in as well. If foundations made applications
term goal is to start my own residency pro- visational forms that come from the African, what distributed leadership means for us and Cherie: One big topic was race. What does 2019 where we transitioned to three lead art- less burdensome, accessible to artists with no
gram in the Caribbean, so this was great field Asian, and Latin American diasporas and peo- for HMD. We talk about power and decision it mean for a white founder/leader who has ists who have collaborators they work with. staff and less time, and if fiscally sponsored
research for that. Then in January, I met with ple of color who teach and perform improvi- making, and some critical questions that have been the head of this organization to embed The CER also transitioned from a mentor- artists were eligible for all funding opportuni-
Hope to renew my contract and the idea of sation because it feels like so much in the US come up around the relationship of HMD to cultural equity and distributed leadership? ship program to a capacity building pro- ties, that would help level the playing field.
distributed leadership and moving me into focuses on improvisation from white artists. The Bridge Project. Does it mean stepping back? Does it mean gram. We’re still asking questions about what Cherie: HMD is also connecting artists we
a bigger role as Director of Art in Commu- training? There are a lot of questions we it means to shift, share, cede power within partner with to foundations and program
nity surfaced. I didn’t know exactly what Sima: What did the co-curating process Sima: Karla mentioned bringing artists in to don’t have answers to yet. a program where you have an organization officers that they didn’t have a connection
that would mean, but I was in for the ride. look like? help flatten hierarchy. What role do artists play Hope: An ongoing theme has been what that’s regranting money to artists. That pro- to previously and might not even know of.
Cherie: There was a lot of collaboration and in the distributed leadership model? combination of dismantling, evolution, and gram could radically transform over the next Hope’s connected a couple of our CER artists
Sima: Can any of you name the first real shared decision making. We would meet to Cherie: Something I’ve learned about HMD is seeding new structures do we want to imple- few years. to people at Hewlett or CAC so they can start
step HMD took toward enacting distributed talk about artists we’d want to invite, share that there is a high value for artists, paying them ment. Any time you structure or restructure to build their own relationships with them.
leadership? videos of their work. Hope was really sup- and respecting their time. We recently had three an arts organization, there will be different Sima: You write the grants that get the money As an artist, no one ever introduces you to
Cherie:All of us co-curated this year’s Bridge portive of who we were interested in bring- sessions where 10-15 artists were on a Zoom questions and tools that are appropriate. to support your programs? Is there a discon- the foundations even if you’re working with
Project. The theme of improvisation was ing. The process felt really empowering to be call with us and LeaderSpring, talking about Bringing artists into the process is absolutely nect between how you get the funds and how a 501(c)3; they keep those relationships to
really intriguing to me as a creative dance and able to make decisions and bring my vision what distributed leadership means to them. crucial because a lot of organizations have you distribute them? themselves. That’s another way that we’re
ARTWORK BY XX
improvisation teacher and as someone who into what the Bridge Project would be this Hope: And we paid each artist $100 for each multiple directors—that in itself is frankly Karla: The CER is funded by the California being more transparent with the artists we’re
loves to put improvisation into my own cho- year. We’ve been in intense distributed lead- community meeting they attended. nothing radical. This is a value-driven move Arts Council Artists in Communities pro- working with and also helping them estab-
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lish their own foundation. A lot of artists everyone that was there, but at least every- Hope step back in a lot of ways—being more
have expressed the need to know more about one’s perspectives are acknowledged, heard, cautious about time, sharing decisions with
fundraising and how to think about long and taken into account. More and more Karla and me. I’ve even stepped back, just
term sustainability. we’re starting from this place of dialogue, listening to the artists and what they need,
Hope: That’s another aspect to this commit- and more and more we’re able to because rethinking curation and who that should
ment to distributing power. White artists who we’re building trust with artists. come from. It’s been about sharing responsi-
move in circles of power and have relation- Hope: It’s interesting to think about the bilities and giving up power at times.
ships with funders, donors, and program offi- implications of distributed leadership work
cers can directly connect those folks with art- for art making. Many choreographers and Sima: In an older paradigm, I’d think it
ists. This is one way of bringing new voices directors claim to work collaboratively in the would be more efficient because you would
to the table. Instead of saying, “I’ll get that studio, but typically that ethos only goes so delegate tasks.
grant for you,” say, “Meet this person, you far. The pressures for authorship in the stu- Hope: It’s less efficient.
can apply for this grant directly.” dio are different than in administrative and Cherie: And more work.
institutional contexts. In antiracist and equi- Karla: In particular when we’re talking about
Sima: This sounds like a sideways movement. ty-driven work, I don’t think we should let partnering with artists. It’s about providing
Unblocking access. Stepping aside rather than artmaking off the hook. the resources and information artists need to
stepping down. take ownership or leadership over something.
Hope: I just published a blog post about step- Sima: It’s important to take the temperature If people don’t know the structure that’s cur-
ping back. White folks shouldn’t withdraw and on how local dance communities feel about rently in place, where things come from and
disengage as a way of avoiding the structural your organization. Whether or when you can what the thinking is behind them, then it’s a
work of antiracism. What does it mean to stay make a practical shift, if the community feels really tall ask to say, do you want to share
in the work while also making space for other the organization is there for them, that’s a leadership over this. A lot of it is about how
voices? Sometimes it’s appropriate for white huge difference already. we communicate information with each other
people to step away entirely and that might be Hope: There are a lot of organizations doing and the community. That’s where the focus of
what I do eventually, but I also feel like there surveys right now of their “community.” A distributed leadership is right now. Also, it’s
has to be capacity building, a transitioning of survey’s good—it’s better than not doing revealing that what is most scarce is our time.
relationships and resources, and an engage- a survey—but there’s a difference between Hope: For me, distributed leadership is not
ment in difficult conversations. Just saying “I’m having artists weigh in as some sort of ancil- just structural. It’s cultural. The culture of
out of here” may not always be the best thing lary unpaid or underpaid focus group, whose the organization needs to shift and that
takes time. It’s about unpacking the layers
of power. It’s about relationships. It’s about
We want people to check out Power Shift, The shifting how the organization relates to time,
Bridge Project that’s coming up and join us. efficiency, and control. Those deeper organi-
zational shifts get at white supremacist cul-
ture, which pervades nonprofits and philan-
thropy. Just changing who’s inside the system
is not going to change that much.
to do. In dance, there’s a dominant model: the input you cherry-pick according to your com-
founder starts the organization and puts their fort level, and actually bringing artists to the Sima: What can In Dance readers do to
name on it and then all the programs are tan- table and giving them a stake in the future of support HMD’s new adventures?
gled up in the founder’s personality. It’s crucial the organization. Hope: We want to bring more working art-
to disentangle the cult of personality from the ists onto the board, so if people are interested
public programs. It’s crucial to separate curat- Sima: What I’m hearing about the definition of in being a part of this work, reach out to us.
ing from the founder’s ego and lineage. distributed leadership is inviting other people, Also, I’m interested in being in conversation
more people, different people, large amounts with other organizations who are doing this
Sima: So what’s the plan for the relationship of people to the table, even if it becomes work or navigating similar shifts. To normal-
between HMD and The Bridge Project? harder to determine what everyone needs, and ize these shifts, I think it’s important that the
Hope: It’s a work in progress. then the three of you are in constant communi- learning doesn’t happen behind closed doors.
Karla: I think people in general undervalue cation about the decisions you make based on We need to share our learning curves, our
what it takes to build enough trust to get those conversations. Is it that simple? mistakes, and our vulnerabilities.
a bunch of people in a room to share how Hope: No, I don’t think it’s that simple. I Karla: We’re calling for organizations to
they think with each other, in particular resist defining it. This work is emergent, itera- be more transparent with the artists they
when they’re coming from different places tive, and dynamic. And in our case it’s val- work with.
and backgrounds. The trust I’ve seen grow ue-driven. It’s not a business decision. We’re Cherie: We want people to check out Power
through the distributed leadership meetings not doing this because I’m leaving town or Shift, The Bridge Project that’s coming up and
with the community, between the organiza- I’m dead. The more we do, more reveals itself join us. That’s a step toward engaging in equity
tion and the artists we work with, and how it as needing to be done. and supporting diversity for our community in
keeps growing, is a real tangible thing we’ve Cherie: I agree. I don’t think we have a defi- dance. People should read HMD’s blog. Folks
been striving for. The things that come from nition yet because it’s still in process and have asked that we publicize our process and
this place are reflective of equitable practice. we’re at the earlier stages of it. I think dis- decisions more, so keep an eye out for that.
Many programs that aim to advance cultural tributed leadership in general is unique to
equity reflect a savior mindset: we are giving whomever is doing it. I think the things you SIMA BELMAR, PH.D., is a Lecturer in the Depart-
something over, or up, for you. This change said are parts of it, at least where we are with ment of Theater, Dance, & Performance Studies at
we are seeking can’t start from this place. It it now. A year from now there could be a the University of California, Berkeley, and the ODC
has to start from a place of conversation and lot more components. I would also add that Writer in Residence. To keep up with Sima’s writing
maybe what emerges from that doesn’t serve stepping back is a big part of it too. I’ve seen please subscribe to tinyletter.com/simabelmar.
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t
THE 14TH EPISODE OF
HOUSE/FULL OF BLACKWOMEN
VAUDEVILLE
BY TOBE MELORA CORREAL, DANA KAWANO,
FRANCES PHILLIPS, MARVIN K. WHITE, & ZAKIYA HARRIS
PHOTOS BY ROBBIE SWEENY
Learn about the public events and follow on Instagram
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FALL 2020 indance 11
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BY TOBE MELORA CORREAL
JUNE 2013...
I want to do “A House Full of Black
Women!” —Amara Tabor-Smith
T
hese were the words that came fall-
ing out of Amara’s mouth, sweet
and easy, like fat golden corn falls
ripe and juicy off a late-summer
cobb. It was mere hours after the
soul-stirring finish of Amara’s 2013
presentation of He Moved Swift-
ly’s “Room Full of Black Men” and I was still
speechless with awe at the majesty that had
taken place there. We were two sister-friends
of 40+ years having some kitchen table-talk
and debriefing the show. A house full of Black
women??? I didn’t know what that was; nei-
ther did Amara. But what our heads didn’t
know our bodies could feel: a She-presence
that came into the room, something thick
and round, wide-bellied and dark. Not the
so-called inferior-dark of white supremacy,
nor the despised-feminine dark of patriarchy. Sebastian Chang. Together they gathered a cir- girlfriend chats with Amara and photo-
This dark was a radiant-dark Mother Force, cle of Black women who began showing up in graphs. Then one day Amara said to me,
primordial and rich in beauty and mystery. places you would not expect to see them, doing “we’re gonna do a 24-hour song circle for
Amara’s words had called open a portal and things you would not expect to be done; shak- Black women.” Which sounded so glorious
this spirit, House/Full of BlackWomen, was ing aloose preconceived notions about what it made my eyeballs pop with excitement,
now with us at the table. With chills running constitutes art, audience, theater and perfor- until she finished her sentence with, “and I
up my spine I looked at her. “Yaaasss Amara, mance, making a place in the streets of Oak- would like you to lead the opening prayer.”
oh my god, YES.” She looked back at me with land for this new/not-new1 thing Amara had All I could say, with tears in my eyes was,
sharp eyes, her lips in pursed determination, named Conjure Art. “I can’t. I know you love me but I am not
and nodded her head three times, resolutely. At that time—in addition to the chal- worthy of the job.” I can’t… because I
lenges of a chronic health condition and spend my days feeling empty and lost, chok-
Dear Beloved House/Full, the heart-wrenching death of my mother ing on despair. I can’t… because I am worn
Mother of Black Woman Medicine a few years before—I was dealing with an all the way down from the struggle of just
Who Restores and Transforms… extended crisis around housing and resources barely making it. I can’t… because I don’t
PHOTOS BY ROBBIE SWEENY
and so was usually too unwell to show up have anything of value to say to anyone
At first I watched from the sidelines, quietly in person for the various House/Full “epi- right now, let alone a whole ass song circle
stalking you while Amara joined forces with sodes” that were taking place around town. full of Black women, who deserve the very
her long-time collaborator, the formidable Ellen Instead, I mostly learned about you through best and should have an opening prayer
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from someone in far better shape than me… This is what you give us, House/Full: an they know it or not--for the world. While
Amara let me cry-talk for a while then leveled embracing invitation to, as Amara said, come we tarry in your healing presence, the lost
her gaze at me and said, “This is not a show. as we are, to entrust it all to your circle. ones who work against our aims, the hungry
I am not asking you to perform. Just come as Tucked and pinned into the folds of the full ghosts who would rather dominate than love,
you are. I know you can’t see right now but spectrum of our Black Womanness, we bring feast on the entrails of their own rotting flesh,
I still see you. I know your power. I know offerings of sweet bread and tears, comfort devouring themselves into annihilation.
your magic. Just come and speak what your and courage, for you House/Full, our Sacred Some say House/Full performs. “Ha! We
tongue knows to be true. That’s all you have Ground. Mother Who Turns Jagged Edges To do not perform,” we whisper amongst our-
to do and it will be enough.” Magnificent Joy, you are our bowl of sugar, selves. We pour libation to the Deep Dark
And so I did that, brought my true tongue, our honey water cleansing. When the poisons Bowl of Ancient Feminine Mystery, wherein
unvarnished and vulnerable. At first it was of systemic racism and misogynoir have us all manner of Black Woman genius, power
hard because I felt so exposed with all my pain confused about who we really are, you still and beauty dwell. We sit at the table of She-
and struggle hanging offa me. But word by see us. By the bright light of your gaze we Who-Brings-A-Thickness-Of-Blessing. Where
word I just kept going, feeling my way with learn to treasure one another when, through Black woman pain is offered up to commu-
authenticity as my touchstone. And I soon the eyes of a sister, we re-find truths we have nal digestion, and the metabolic powers of
found out this was indeed enough. With the forgotten we know. You remind us we deserve our togetherness are activated and unleashed.
breath and bodies of all the women in the cir- to be held, our stories honored. You insist we By dancing and resting and processing2 and
cle holding and supporting me, before I knew are worthy of being seen and heard, fully and remembering together we conjure medicine
it I was in the flow of prayer and praise, no with the deepest love. in your name, House/Full, to serve the sacred
longer feeling broken; the magic had begun. Never do you ask us to explain any aspect work of your alchemical mission: That Black
For the next 24 hours, 75 or so of us sang and of the unique intersectional web of oppres- women be free, so that all may be free.
hummed and made sound together continu- sions we each have to fight against every day
ously without interruption. We howled and as we do the endless work of challenging the TOBE MELORA CORREAL was initiated in 1990 as a
sobbed, raged and bellowed. We napped when structures of greed and what Ellen calls “the Yoruba-Lukumi priestess of Yemaya. She has an M.A.
we needed, nibbled on snacks, moved our lies of whiteness.” You make a place for Black in Consciousness Studies and is the author of Finding
bodies and shared sleepy-wild laughter. Leav- women to gather and bear witness to one Soul on the Path of Orisa. She is honored to serve as
ing nothing out, we filled that massive room another as we make revolution. The House/ spiritual advisor for House/Full and lives in Oakland,
PHOTOS BY ROBBIE SWEENY
with Black Woman True-Tongue. Together we Full revolution is Black women creating a cul- California.
brought down a fiercely powerful healing--on ture of loving mutuality and radical accep-
the city of Oakland, on the Black women and tance, mending and tending, as together we 1 “New” as in contemporary. “Not new” as in expressive of and
grounded in ancient healing practices of earth-based ritual and
girls of our bloodlines and most importantly, stitch the fabric of renewal. For our people, medicine-making traditions
on our own beloved selves. for our ancestors, for ourselves and--whether 2 As in processions.
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BY DANA KAWANO
I
didn’t wake up one day
thinking I should create rit-
ual costumes. They snuck up
on me. They whispered to
me, they brought magic into
my home and drew me into
their clutches. Those whispers
came from a human most people
know as Amara Tabor-Smith. In
this article I share an inside peek
into the approach I use to concep-
tualize and render ritual costumes
in general and take a look at how
that works in practice in my collab-
orations with House/Full of Black-
Women Co-Creators Amara Tabor-
Smith and Ellen Sebastian Cheng.
The starting point for a success-
ful ritual costume process lies in
drawing out a clarity of the inten-
tion behind the planned ritual per-
formance and then breathing that
intention into each step of the
design and construction process.
Ritual performance combines art
and aesthetics as an instrument to
inform viewers about beliefs, the
constructs of our ancestral origins.
It calls upon education and con-
templation to understand diasporic experiences while honoring and The ritual costume serves as a dramatically symbolic vessel carrying
retaining our cultures and grounding in our identities. It brings about a story all its own while holding space for embodiment of spirit. It is
perspectives that we might otherwise overlook, deny or refuse to see. an instrument called to action that is imbued in the fabric of intention
It often infuses… It is a digestion that can transform us. whereby we can carry out those intentions with respect to the world,
You see, what I have learned about ritual costume design and cre- our fellows, ourselves and our traditional beliefs. They hold a back-
ation is that it is in essence a guided process with spirit at its core. bone of courage that dares to hold truth through subliminal messages,
It is not based on perfect construction of the garment but rather a alluring layers with complex meaning carried on the backs of channel-
mindset born of an earnest desire to understand, honor and respect ers. They are a canvas for the integration of symbolic references, for
the traditions where they are derived. It is an openness to embark on spirit and woven in the fabric of life’s journeys. They recall ancestral
a journey where you as the creator let go of ego to solely embrace the guides deepening our awareness and bringing forth new perspectives
intent of those who will wear it, heightening awareness of the mes- in moving forward. They are a protective womb of safety to release
sages and materials that appear during the process of creating and the injuries of the past and move forward toward healing.
then trusting that those materials showed up so you can integrate
them in a meaningful way. It is as if spirit is guiding you through the
process, telling you what to do—as long as you listen. THE CONCEPT
Costumes and fabric share a long history. French poet Charles
Baudelaire’s phrasing of the essence of that relationship speaks for My process of conceptualization draws inspiration from various points
me: “fabrics speak a silent language.” RISD Museum expands that, during development. There are typically portions of Amara’s and
speaking to the Egungung costumes I create: Ellen’s projects where they are clear in their vision while other parts
that remain open, providing room for improvisation. As they tell the
PHOTOS BY ROBBIE SWEENY
Its universal significance and applicability might sometimes be story underlying the performance, it gives rise to strong visions of the
culturally specific, but in essence spans the entire gamut of our setting within me. Their explanations evoke a series of symbols, meta-
collective human experience. Though it has no voice, cloth speaks phorical relationships, spiritual overtones/undertones, objects, textiles,
in complex, multisensorial fashions.1 organic matter, texture that seem to appear within my mind. Having
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San Francisco, CA 94103those representing the treasured values of bound her to a halyard, hoisted her up the a world that existed in the past, a world as
Egungun traditions, or asa. Asa represents mast and dropped her to the deck, again all worlds should be based in a love for each
a conscious attempt “to select, choose, and again long after she perished. When other that we as human beings have lost
discriminate, or discern” (Yai, 1994) while Amara and Ellen retold this story at each along the way, making it feel unsafe to be our
being cognizant of the historical past. rehearsal, I could feel my own body being authentic selves.
Quite logically, artists-priests-devotees hoisted, followed by the free falling weight- My experience with House/Full has been
use their oju ona (design consciousness) less emptiness only to crash in blinding grounding. It has given me a perspective
together with oju inu (inner eye or artistic pain. This sensation imprinted itself in my rooted in extremes: one like a raw open
insight and sensibility) as well as laakaye soul. This bone dress was to honor this wound to another of unlimited power to
(intuitive knowledge) plus imoju-mora young woman’s spirit, to tell her story, express. It has afforded me the opportunity
(unusual sensitivity) in order to make to set her free. This costume needed to to understand deep pain and pure joy—
deliberate choices (Abiodun, 1989; Lawal, scream in anger, it needed to cry in pain, it sometimes together. Doing so widens my
1996) in the selection of colors, patterns, needed strength held deep in principle, it awareness not only about others but also
and designs. This dynamic artistic process needed an ocean’s sway, it needed air for within myself. It can be uncomfortable at
is constantly inventive, revitalizing, and spirit to flow through it, it needed to hold times but looking back over the years my
modern. The result is that the cloth panels the echo of ghosts, it needed the allure of depth of understanding my place in this
come in a multiplicity of designs, patterns, beauty followed by a recoiling to the ugly, world, what I bring, where I fall short and
hues, shapes, and colors—a curious blend ugly truth. how I can use what I have as best as possi-
of disparate elements fully reflective of ble to help others continues to become more
the multidimensional vision and power of and more clear. That clarity about who you
worked with Amara and Ellen for nearly traditions, historical era, specific objects
departed ancestors.2 ANATOMY OF A are and what you bring helps to inform all
choices you make with clear intention.
eight years now, I have gained an under-
standing of the general aesthetic that appeals
related to a specific era, possessing symbolic
significance with an earthly element to it. THE COSTUME RITUAL COSTUME and simplicity in reconstruction. Versatil-
ity plays a key factor as cast members can
I never thought that making costumes
would open a door into such a rich life jour-
to them and communicates the feeling with Garment construction begins with a visu- change requiring quick costume adjustments. ney. But I often think that I have the best job
which they hope to fill their audience. Once I The moment I live for is when the performer alization process. I mentally visualize the Honoring the spiritual nature of the perfor- in the world as I am able to intimately collab-
understand the environment, I inquire about puts on the finished costume for the first entire set design look and feel while think- mance, these special costumes are built with orate with highly talented artists that process
the main characters, their roles and their
deity overlays. The pivotal points in the per-
WHAT IS AN EGUNGUN? time. Embodying the character in the cos-
tume brings the costume alive and the cos-
ing about how costumes might punctuate
the space. I ask how the performers will
clear intention as a vessel that will hold the
intended grace of the message.
life in a deeply profound way, dig into the
roots of understanding ancestral history and
formance determine where visuals need to The Egungun plays a prominent recurring tume transforms the spirit of the performer, move through the space, how much move- The underlayer garment typically includes a traditions, gain a perspective on history and
make a specific impact and where the cos- role in Amara’s and Ellen’s House/Full series. which together become the vessel to deliver ment will they be doing, will they be solo or form of protection for the performer who will how it informs us today, integrate all of those
tumes integrated with the set design are of Some readers may appreciate knowing a bit the intention to the audience that the direc- part of a larger group in movement? wear the costume. That protection can be in aspects and create tangible references that
major importance. of background on Egungun and their history. tors articulated weeks or months before. From there I can see the silhouette of the form of a talisman/amulet/herb/symbolic can support visual impacts to provoke ques-
The performers selected for those charac- The RISD Museum offers one of my favorite In the House/Full of BlackWomen episode the costume followed by a general under- characters etc. The structural inner layer I tions, raise awareness, promote healing and
ters inform the final phase of the costume descriptions: “Passing Through The Great Midde,” the standing of the overall construction. Typ- view as the bones (usually figuratively, though celebrate our existence. What can be better
design process. Amara’s identification of the directors said they wanted a “bone dress.” ically starting from the base garment or not always!), which provides a strong struc- than this?
role, the deity overlay, coupled with the cho- Made into elaborate decorative patterns, Curiously, I wasn’t shocked. They told me garment that is closest to the body, I define ture to build on.
sen performer can bring clarity defining the forms, and colors, these carefully arranged the story of a young woman aboard a slave what will work best in terms of form and The outer layer includes the fabric base of
essence of the costume. In my design pro- fabrics must follow the well-established trader ship who was ordered—and who function. What would be most comfort- which specific embellishment and symbolic UNTIL THE NEXT TIME…
cess, I draw from African traditions, Yoruba conventions of the past, best defined here as refused—to dance for the crew. So they able, identifying fabrics, style that support object oriented adornment can be supported.
their movement. From the undergarment Through the combined integration of each It’s been great to have a chance to write
I think in layers, what needs to be com- layer that imbues the costume in preparation about and bring words to my work—a space
posed over that undergarment to achieve for the ritual performance. This includes the that ordinarily has precious few of those. I
the silhouette. collaborative collection of meaningful fabrics would like to take this opportunity to express
Once the scenes are laid out, other spe- and objects, ritualistic processes often used thanks to the Bay Area ritual dance commu-
cifics emerge driving costume design, such to create the objects, spiritual practices in nity, the directors and dancers, for inviting
as the number of performers per scene, placing the objects—all with clear intention me into your sacred midst. I consider myself
who is cast in those roles, what the set will throughout. privileged to be a member. Looking forward
look like, the amount and type of move- to seeing you all in a theater as soon as we
ment, what function they will support in
the story line. Now specific deity references
enter the process which informs the essence
INSIDE THE EXPERIENCE are able!
DANA KAWANO is an award-winning Ritual Costume
of costume character such as Mother of the The feeling I get when entering a rehearsal Designer, Scenic/Installation and Visual Artist who
Ocean, the universal element they embody space can only be described as like entering has worked with artists like Amara Tabor Smith, Ellen
such as water, fire, earth, wind, the objects a remote island, a village, with people who Sebastian Chang, Dohee Lee, Yayoi Kambara, and oth-
that are symbolic for the deity and colors. share a deep love, compassion and acceptance ers. She is versed in a multitude of artistic mediums.
I strive to bring a consistent look for the for each other focused on the positive aspects Her focus is to create ‘visual landscapes’ of elaborate
overall production entailing purchasing sim- of the gifts that each person brings. The space wearable and/or scenic art that incorporate textiles,
ilar items with variations of style and then holds a respect that is beyond words where found materials and traditional mediums while inte-
there are special ritual costumes for key each individual feels safe to be their authentic grating cultural/ritual layering to tell the story.
PAINTING AND PHOTOS BY DANA KAWANO
roles. As advocates for material reuse, we selves and are able to express in a way that
place intention on items that are purchased is grounded at a level that allows them to
for future reconstruction or creative alterna- share who they are in whatever way that they 1 By Bolaji Campbell, Cloth as Metaphor in Egungun Costumes,
RISD Museum, July 10, 2016, .
When designing the special ritual cos- understanding that is held by all to support
2 By Bolaji Campbell, Cloth as Metaphor in Egungun Costumes,
tumes, during the construction process I each other in a way that I’ve not experienced RISD Museum, July 10, 2016, .
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H
ouse/Full of BlackWomen has been built in episodes over Ink; Eastside Arts Alliance; Regina’s Door (a boutique dedicated
a five-year period, sustaining a question posed by Ellen to protecting women from trafficking); and others. It was going
Sebastian Chang and Amara Tabor Smith: “How can we to encompass ritual, faith, dance, theater, procession, film, and
as Black women and girls find a space to breathe and be even sleeping. One artist was not “the lead” – Ellen and Amara
well within a stable home?” While I had known Ellen described one another as “my art wife.”
since the late 1980s and Amara for a decade, I met their The piece dissolved boundaries between indoors and outdoors,
shared project – as I am often introduced to projects – in performance and ceremony, between the ordinary and the tran-
a grant proposal. It was described as a site-specific ritual performance scendent; and it combined those who were initiated in a spiritual
examining issues of displacement, well-being, and sex trafficking of practice and those who were not. Participants moved in and out
Black women and girls in Oakland. of the piece, following a singular and communal path to healing.
I’m always interested in artists tackling difficulty and defying cate- Can I admit how much this work challenges and compels me?
PHOTOS BY ROBBIE SWEENY
gories, and House/Full certainly did that. It wasn’t going to be a single I have seen two of the episodes live and viewed excerpts of oth-
event but sustained over a long time. It wasn’t going to be a piece for a ers through documentation. In my memories of sections and
repertoire: likely its sections would be shared once. It wasn’t going to excerpts, I feel as if I have dreamed them. I’ve also taken notes.
be distinctly contemporary or traditional in form. It wasn’t driven by I heard what I heard. My memories, my hearing may be in error.
a single arts organization but porous to contributions by Chapter 510 I will tell you about a few episodes.
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San Francisco, CA 94103I Many have round mirrors, framed in
white fabric, and sewn over their bellies.
ence moved through the house for the per-
formance and, at the end, she served them
have written about selves and fear and com-
fort. I remember thinking they were brave
I struggle to fold a spiritual dimension into The clothing is not identical, but its lac- black-eyed peas, cornbread, and mustard – revealing. Later I wondered about the sym-
my daily life. The religious observances of iness, its somber affect is. I refrain from greens. Later, Amara Tabor-Smith served the bolism of the cotton balls.
my childhood were not overtly about “the using the word “costume,” because CounterPulse audience vegan cornbread and This 2017 episode of House/Full of Black-
spiritual.” They were composed of Protes- what they are wearing seems to be more gumbo at performances of Our Daily Bread. Women, “Black Women Dreaming,” wasn’t
tant church-going and occasional pot-lucks. about revealing themselves than about They had in common these histories of per- the first section. It was informed, in part, by
For two years, we lived in a small town in obscuring themselves. While processing, forming acts of caring, breaking out of “the one of the work’s most radical strategies, cre-
Massachusetts, if we didn’t go to church, the women are quietly singing something theatrical,” expressing heritage through food ating a time and place for Black women to
neighbors would turn up at the door with akin to “A wick, wick, wick; a wick, and in distinctive spaces. rest, recognizing the likelihood that they are
casseroles, assuming we were too ill to get wick, wick,” a song about breathing. House/Full of BlackWomen has moved juggling multiple jobs and raising children
out of bed. My father was impatient with Sometimes there is a whispered lash- inside and out of spaces that were trans- and healing others. Black women could sign
“church people.” He saw them as gossips like sound. The streetscape is loud. At formed to be more than sets or frames. Most up to sleep for between two and ten hours at
and hypocrites. When we moved to South- times the women wearing white are in vivid to me – perhaps because it is the epi- a West Oakland boarding house, where they
ern California, we attended a church with the roadway and then they move along sode that the Creative Work Fund partially would be met with beverages and food as
large windows that was perched on a cliff the sidewalk. They pass a white limou- supported – were the spaces for sleeping and well as comfortable resting places. One-hun-
overlooking the ocean. He tolerated reli- sine and a restaurant whose annoyed dreaming at Chapter 510 Ink in Oakland. dred and eighty women chose to sleep and
gion then because there was a view. hostess stands outside. They pause An installation in a storefront window dream for the project.
Surrounding the church were flagstone alongside a police car and I’m shaken for resting. A rocking chair. Women posi- Later at a grantmaking conference, Amara
paths one of which arched into a bridge in fear for them. tion themselves. Some recline. Some and Ellen asked a room full of funders why
over a koi pond. It was treacherous when watch over others. The aesthetic is ten- “being well rested” wasn’t acceptable as a
wet, especially if one was running in new,
slick-bottomed Mary Janes.
II derness. A hallway is lined with cotton.
It’s hard not to touch the fragility, the
measurable outcome.
IV rituals, the songs, the movement alongside
the artists. The women on film say they are
I was once that girl. And now, this is what
I’m viewing:
When I first met Ellen Sebastian, she was
co-founder and artistic director of Life on
suggestion of the sky and clouds and
dreaming.
III We’re in the alley behind the Eastside Arts
Alliance. Women are scrubbing white fab-
beginning to find a space to breathe and be
well. One says that the process has taught
Women dressed and veiled in white the Water. She had written and directed, In grants we grab onto words and overuse ric in shallow galvanized buckets. Amara is her how to love because it has taught her the
carry white parasols and white lanterns, Your Place is No Longer with Us, which Chapter 510 Ink is a writing center for them for three years or longer until they keening with her arms full of white, washed work it takes to adjust and find balance in
walking down a street in Oakland. took place in a Victorian mansion. The audi- youth, and young women read pieces they lose their power and then we grab onto fabric. one’s life again.
new words. Two words that I believe we are One speaks of being in the mystery and
about to release are engagement and immer-
sive. How, then, do I find the right words for
V learning to be comfortable in the dark.
Women appear in butterfly forms. I think the
House/Full’s capacity to transform me into My mother’s mother was very beautiful as woman says – and I love this quote but may
more than a witness? It happens here: a young woman and engaged to marry a not have it right – “When I’m a calendar…I’ll
man who “left her at the altar.” This was never become a butterfly.”
The dance is in her shoulders. She is in a small town, and the shame of it was She also says, “I am a caterpillar moving
leaning back. Her angel-open face to the known by all. So, a week later, after meet- cautiously/slowly/cautiously slowly….”
sky. Draped in white. The dancer places ing a man in the street, she married him and In the middle of my journal is this note:
her hand on the shoulder of a seated put that shame behind her. That was when “Those who walk with the dead and the sea
performer as if to comfort her, as if to the real pain came. They had five children – cannot fear either one.”
tell her “It’s time.” four sons and my mother, the middle child.
She bends over backwards and rises like
I’ve been told that when the older sons
could hear their father coming home from a
VI
a loping bird. night of drinking, they would awaken their I’ve been intimidated to write about this
mother and run her out into the woods to work. That may be because I’ve grown so
I try to identify the bird being portrayed save her from being beaten. fond of Ellen and Amara and want to get it
and read, “Drag is higher in rotational I never knew that grandfather. He aban- right, and I am humbled before them.
motion of the wings.” That’s in contrast, doned the family when my mother was 18. Given the frame, the ambition of House/
an ornithologist writes, to gliding. While he never beat his daughter, she carried Full of BlackWomen, it could fall in upon
the burden of his brutality and her mother’s itself. Its leading to the women’s being healed
The dancer claims slow, rotational fear. We’ll continue to carry it. could appear contrived. How does it not? I
motion. When she crouches, her hand That abuse is small in the context of was raised to believe that simple ideas were
is jiggling. An invitation and a warning. women who have lived through trafficking. elegant ideas. If that’s true, a place where
Then her body buckles as if she is trying The 2019 episode “Slowly, Cautiously,” is a 180 women sleep is one of the most elegant
to eject something. grief ritual, to “quell the voice of familiarity notions I’ve met. And House/Full is a con-
with terror and tap into a different voice of tainer for such a range of material, from the
Another dancer on the floor in blue. the ability to move through.” nurse’s interview to a ceremony to a chant to
On film, a nurse is speaking of the heart- a folk song.
The third dancer is shaking in her shoul- breaking aspect of her job, the business part It’s created a place where spirit, art, place,
ders and her whole being falls back- of it, the need to move quickly, to cut cor- and social justice come together to save lives.
wards. The movement quickens. The ners, to get the vitals, and move on to the Nothing less matters.
women sitting against the wall cry, next patient. She describes the work as,
laugh, yelp. Then singing: “Don’t do a full assessment, but make it FRANCES PHILLIPS is program director for the Arts
PHOTOS BY ROBBIE SWEENY
look like you did a full assessment.” I can and Creative Work Fund at the Walter & Elise Haas
“Black crow/black crow/please hear only imagine what she would say now, feel Fund. Prior to her work in philanthropy, she was ex-
my cry now, during the pandemic. ecutive director of Intersection for the Arts. A poet,
Black crow/black crow/I’m calling I’ve lost my sense of who is an “artist,” she is the author of three small press books.
for you.” and who is a woman who has practiced the
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