Speak Spanish!
Get What You Need Residency 2019-2020
"Why the Hell have I not learned Spanish yet?”
While traveling back to my second “home” of Tucson, AZ, and listening to some favorite music in Spanish, I had a sudden sense of anguish and frustration over not being able to understand the lyrics, even after 20 years of access to the language.
I had lived in the Old Barrio in Tucson for 5 years, taught ESL students, and organized in a non-profit with Latinx youth. I am married to a Puerto Rican who could barely speak a few words of English when we met 10 years ago. At this point, my spouse was fluent in English, and I could sputter only a few loving sentiments in Spanish. Not only was this a personal pain point (and deeply embarrassing), this is a serious problem that Americans have—we resist the notion that we aren’t the only ones in the world. I knew this world view had been internalized and sewn into my body. Applying to GWYN Residency with this piece was not only to give myself some extra incentive to learn Spanish, but also to make myself uncomfortable as I examined the resistance, the embarrassment, the science and the underlying racism that perpetuates my mono-lingual nature.
This project was conceived and created during Get What You Need (see below for more info) residency 2019-2020. During the course of the residency, our city went under lock-down for the Covid-19 pandemic and BLM uprising and we completed the residency online. The nature of the process and how to hold a creative process at all during this stressful period inevitably altered the outcome of the work. I began with one idea and certain kind of ambition, and that was completely dismantled and broken down. However, it revealed a softer, more intimate entry-point to the material, and exploration of film/video as new form.
There are no current plans to continue this project, but I am still actively learning Spanish! ;)
Speak Spanish! Short film GWYN May 30th 2020
About GWYN Residency
Get What You Need (GWYN) is a work-in-progress residency by BodyMeld New Dance Platform/ Zornitsa Stoyanova. The residency allows movement artists in the Philadelphia area to show work and get feedback on their artistic process, at whatever stage they are at in development. Two resident artists show their in-process work once a month for seven months (November 2019 to May 2020). At each showing there is one mentor present to give feedback and answer any questions the residents may have. Mentors for this season included Keila Cordova, Silvana Cardell, Leah Stein, Megan Bridge, Terri Shockley and Amy Smith. Each GWYN event was also FREE and open to the public.
For more info visit https://www.bodymeld.org/get-what-you-need/
GWYN Residency program 2019-20 was almost entirely created by donated space and time. It was made possible by the generous support of The Fidget Space, The Art Room, 954 Dance Movement Collective, Cardell Dance Studio, Community Education Center, The Beard Cave and PhiladelphiaDANCE.org.
GWYN Monthly work-in-process events
Sun. Nov. 3, 2019 with Amy Smith
Sat. Dec. 14, 2019 with Megan Bridge
Sat. Jan. 18, 2020 with Silvana Cardell
Sat. Feb. 22, 2020 with Keila Cordova
Sat. Mar. 28, 2020 —online due to Covid-19
Sun. Apr. 26, 2020 —online due to Covid-19
Sat. May 30th— final showing Facebook live event