Secret Journey: Stop Calling Them Dangerous #3
La MaMa Moves! in partnership with Movement Research
La MaMa, in partnership with Movement Research, presents Secret Journey: Stop Calling Them Dangerous #3, a long-table discussion between Yoshiko Chuma and assembled artist/panelists with: Wendy Perron, Irene Hultman, Bill Young, Gerald Casel, and Jason Kao Hwang. The panel symposium will conduct several discussions that will explore, examine, and translate stories about oppression, marginalization, prejudice, and profiling. To aid in the moderation of the discussions, a simple and engaging structure will be introduced at the beginning of the panel symposium; this will allow for productive communication and thoughtful transparency. In each panel discussion, members of the audience will have to suggest a topic related to the aforementioned categories.
SCHEDULE
Saturday April 23, 2022
Panelists: Wendy Perron, Irene Hultman, Bill Young, Gerald Casel, and Jason Kao Hwang
La MaMa Moves! curated by: Nicky Paraiso
1:00–1:30PM: House Opens - snacks and drinks
1:30–1:35PM: Jason Kao Hwang - music
1:35–1:45PM: Opening Remarks and Introduction by Mia Yoo/Nicky Paraiso (La MaMa), Barbara Bryan, and Anna Adams Stark (Movement Research)
1:45–1:50PM: Opening Remarks and Introduction by Yoshiko Chuma
1:50–2:15PM: Wendy Perron
2:15–2:40PM: Irene Hultman
2:40–3:05PM: Long Table Discussion with Panelists
3:05–3:20PM: Break – snacks and drinks
3:20–3:25PM: Jason Kao Hwang - music
3:25–3:50PM: Bill Young
3:50–4:15PM: Gerald Casel
4:15–4:50PM: Long Table Discussion with Panelists w/ Q&A
4:50–5:00PM: Finalizing
The La MaMa Great Jones Studios is a place where emerging artists can learn from established artists, share their work, and explore new ideas.
Panel Statement: We refute the idea of an immigration travel ban - America is a nation of immigrants. We want the participants and our audience to see the other parts of the world in a new light. This is about sharing experiences – sharing experiences of other lives and other worlds. And through our sharing, explore what can and can’t be felt through our varied cultural and historical differences.
*Acknowledgement: Yoshiko’s experience in Palestine with dancer and activist Noora Baker (one of the leading dancers and directors of the El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe company in Ramallah, Palestine) has been a substantial inspiration for this project.
Panelists: Wendy Perron, Irene Hultman, Bill Young, Gerald Casel, and Jason Kao Hwang
Landing in New York City in 1976, Yoshiko Chuma quickly settled in Manhattan’s East Village – a place that, at the time, was often labeled as “seedy”, “dirty”, and/or “dangerous”. Indeed, in 1976, East Village was mostly devoid of the culture and inflation you would see before you today, and it is here that Chuma began her career, now spanning an impressive 45 years to date. She is notoriously well-traveled, and has crossed the borders between East and Central Europe, Palestine, Albania, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and most recently, Venezuela. For some, these places have been as forbidden realms, but for Chuma, these lands have become centers of creation. As she might put it, her visits to these locations have challenged what were preconceived ideas of privilege, danger, and civilization as a whole…
This panel was initially conceived by Yoshiko Chuma and Megan Kendzior during an impassioned conversation at Chuma’s private residence; this took place shortly after President’s Day (the first following Trump’s election) and served as yet another inspiration for the panel’s topics/categories. The primary reason for this creation and development of this event is to give to the art scene in New York another view point to discuss the same agenda: “Stop Calling Them Dangerous.”
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. Founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, La MaMa is recognized as the seedbed of new work by artists of all nations and cultures. To date, La MaMa has presented more than 150,000 artists from over 70 nations. Each season, we offer more than 80 productions and receive 34,000 visits from people of all ages and all backgrounds who attend performances, exhibitions, educational activities and the Archives. La MaMa is the place where emerging artists learn from established artists and where artists from around the globe share work and ideas. Our East Village campus has grown to include four theatres, an art gallery, artist work and living space and an extensive and unique Archives chronicling the history of La MaMa and the Off-Off Broadway movement. lamama.org
Movement Research (MR) is a NYC based creative services organization offering classes, workshops, residencies, exchanges, informal showings, discussions, and both printed and online publications that serve as laboratories for the investigation of dance and movement-based forms. MR is dedicated to the creation and implementation of free and low-cost programs that nurture and instigate discourse and experimentation while striving to reflect the cultural, political, and economic diversity of its moving community. Begun as an artist-run organization, MR continues today to be primarily staffed and run by working artists, valuing the individual artist and their creative process and creating opportunities that spur interaction and exchange among choreographers and movement-based artists. movementresearch.org.
La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival
La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival continues to support La MaMa’s commitment to presenting diverse performance styles that challenge audience’s perception of dance by featuring performance/installations, experimental film screenings & public symposiums which address dance artists’ engagement with the current political climate, as well as honoring diasporic histories and legacy, ancestral inspirations and inter-generational dialogue.