it is becoming ever clearer to me that the universe does not make mistakes.  she is kind, full, intentional, and available.  she is all that we are.

in college as a young dancer i found myself grateful for every moment in a rehearsal or class.  for the rediscovery that dancing felt like water or walking.  like the expansion of air. something that is.  i also hadn’t acknowledged that in a dance program as a young person of color who hadn’t extensively trained in western traditions, i felt isolated, unapproved, and that my dance – while maybe a calling, and something i was “good” at – would be limited to a hobby.  i had internalized that although i was seriously studying forms from around the world, and developing serious proficiency, “serious” dance looked a certain way, located in a certain place.  and i had little interest in looking that kind of “serious”. i was at a crossroads.

and then i saw Arthur Aviles dance.

and realized…

“dance can look like that?”

eyes wide opened, i understood that dance could speak.  not merely through the voice of the mover, the body itself could communicate stories uniquely plentiful, emotional, visceral.  it was a moment that i understood that “serious” dance resides in the body of the mover.  and i was ready to be that kind of “serious”.

years later, now a South Bronx resident, with a creative career of dedicated inquiry and art making, i’ve been offered a residency at a historic performance organization, founded by none other than Arthur Aviles and Charles Rice-Gonzalez.  and my artistic advisor on the project……Aviles himself.

i am grateful to him that he showed up in the power of his gift and offering such that others could be blessed to discover theirs.  and for his dedication to a continued career of making and communicating from that place.  seriously.