Join for an evening performance of two experimental works by Isaura Oliveira & Power of Skirts at the Triennial Hub at Lyrik. Following the performance, stay for a conversation between Isaura Oliveira and Aaron Myers, Executive Director of the Boston Dance Alliance, moderated by Marguerite Wynter, Director of Partnership + Engagement at the Triennial.
The first work unfolds within Julian Charrière’s Triennial commission Calls for Action. It is inspired by the phrase “the future is Ancestry”, a reverence to the Native Indigenous peoples of the American continent, also known as Amerindians.
The second work is a preview and in-progress presentation of YABÁS, which will premiere at The Strand Theater in November. YABÁS is a ritual performance honoring the female deities of the African Yoruba cosmology of Orisha, central to Afro-Brazilian ancestry, culture, and spirituality. The Orishas embody sacred wisdom within the natural elements.
Three Yabás are celebrated through dance, recorded drumming, spoken word, and chant:
Yemonjá: mother of all fish, Orishas, and beings. In the diaspora she is the Atlantic Ocean, but in Nigeria she is the spirit of the Ogum River.
Osun/Oshun/Oxum: goddess of fresh water, divination, femininity, and fertility, the spirit of all “sweet” waters, and protector of the Osun River.
Oyá: spirit of the Niger River, Orisha of winds and storms, embodying the natural force of transformation.
Performers
Isaura Oliveira: leader artist, choreographer, performer
Performers: Hilani Morales, Yarumi Eliza, Cherish Casey, Brittany Owens, Kaitlyn Jolly
Ebere Oparaeke, Jireh Calo
About the Event
Doors open at 5:45pm and the performance will begin promptly at 6:30pm
Isaura Oliveira
Isaura Oliveira was born and raised in Salvador - Bahia, Brazil, one of the cradles of African Brazilian culture, where many African, Amerindian traditions and arts are maintained and nourished. Isaura is a Multidisciplinary Artist of Dance, Theater and Costume. As a cultural educator and an independent scholar, Isaura’s expertise is African Brazilian Culture & its Dance. She is dedicated to studying and teaching culture and creating experimental dance performances. In parallel with culture and dance, Isaura’s curiosity goes to a consistent research in the history and social movement of her African Brazilian and other cultures of the African Diaspora. Isaura follows updates on the contemporary life of Native Indigenous of Brasil and beyond. Her interest in Arts and Humanities is influencing the approach of her creativity and teaching methodology. Spirituality, Nature, and Ancestry have been her guides; thus, her artistic and educational work is connected with culture, social justice and healing arts. From the results of Isaura's community classes, in 2019 she launched Power of Skirts as a street parade for BIPOC students and guest musicians to perform in neighborhood events. Since then, Isaura’s vision has evolved to building a training program for students/mentees and guest artists to perform her experimental choreographies, ritual performances, and collaborations among their talents. Today, Power of Skirts is an in-progress community performance group and healing arts practitioners.
This program is presented in partnership with Boston Dance Alliance.
Boston Dance Alliance
Since 1994, Boston Dance Alliance (BDA) has been supporting the local dance ecosystem by creating shared resources and forging productive partnerships to help dance flourish in Greater Boston. BDA’s aims include increasing access to dance for diverse communities, building dance audiences, and fostering the sustainability of dance locally.