Pussy

an experimental video on snaps and shade......

"...see, there is a domestic snap, a classic snap, you have your "Z" snap, and of course your Queen Diva Snap!....medusa snap....

'Cunt' with all its meaning and sting, in the Ball, is a 'power word' of vindication. It can mean 'cunty: possessing a soft and irresistible muse-like presence that only a woman can have', or it can mean 'cunt: hard, fast, of woman and desire, ready to eat & destroy anyone who messes with her"

by Cuauhtemoc Peranda

Graham, Cunningham, Peranda

As I work on my MFA thesis, I think a lot about the parallels of modern dance and Native American dance.

In addition to that, I think about why the hell I chose to write my thesis "about", to establish my dance form. --That is a huge endeavor, a lot of ego, and a lot of authority I am wielding....yet, this I feel I must do.

Martha Graham has passed down some quotations, some knowledges, some ideas, some ponders, to help me get through this MFA trial though:

"No artist is ahead of his time. He is time; the others are just behind the times."- Martha Graham

I feel that I am ahead of myself, ahead of my time.....but no. Thinking that I am time. Situated in Time and Space, I realize I must create, I must dance, I must write right now. There is no time in the future to do this work, just now...


also

"You see, when weaving a blanket, an Indian woman leaves a flaw in the weaving of that blanket to let the soul out.” - Martha Graham

This is sacredness. The Flaw is meant to happen. The Flaw is what happens. The Flaw is okay. The Flaw is the spirit. The Flaw is us. The Flaw is our light. The Flaw is our bodies. The Flaw is beautiful. The Flaw is perfection. The Flaw is sacred.....

So much of what the early modern dancers did....are so Native...

”The body is a sacred garment.” - Martha Graham

”The spine is the tree of life. Respect it.” - Martha Graham

”You are unique, and if that is not fulfilled, then something has been lost.” - Martha Graham

”To learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. - Martha Graham

Cunningham

Time Space Force

Sacred Time
Sacred Space
Sacred Force --passion -- Life

It is all the same. YET THE GROUNDING PRINCIPAL IS WHAT MAKES THIS SAMENESS SO DIVINE AND MAGIC.
IT IS THAT THIS LAND, AMERICAN LAND, AMERICAN INDIAN LAND, IS THE LAND OF THE SIMPLE SACREDNESS. THAT, THIS IS THE PLACE WHERE DANCE IS DONE TO KEEP THE WORLD IN BALANCE.....THIS IS WHERE DANCE IS USED TO CREATE MORE THAN JUST MOVEMENTS, A PLACE OF PROFOUND TRANSFORMATION BY UNIFICATION WITH THE EARTH..... sync up with the rhythm of the earth, of you, it is groovy and delicious...let's dance....let's be sacred.

learn to dance by practicing dancing; learn to live by practicing living; learn to love by practicing loving; learn to die by practicing dying.....some days it's a good day to die, some days its a good day to have a Grand Slam Breakfast....now, let's get our groove on

"Make Drag, Not War!"

Announcing 3rd Annual

"Make Drag, Not War!"

San Francisco, CA — Veteran Artists and Iraq Veterans Against the War are proud to present "Make Drag, Not War 3!" Sunday December 4th, 2011 at Dance Mission Theater. Make Drag, Not War! is an annual benefit for Veteran Artists that pairs San Francisco's most theatrically talented drag queens with recent military veterans to tell their stories through drag performances. Dance Mission Theater has generously donated their space for the third year in a row for a night of dragtivist theater touching upon issues affecting veterans such as post-traumatic stress disorder, Don't Ask - Don't Tell, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This year's cast of queens are some of San Francisco's fiercest: Raya Light, Miss Rahni, Lil.Miss.Hot.Mess., Phatima, Kallisto, Tara Wrist, Alexis Blair Penney, Honey Penny, and more TBA! With performances by Rotimi Agbabiaka, Flynn Whitmeyer, the League of Burnt Children, and over a dozen veterans from Iraq, Afghanistan, & Vietnam Wars. Artist Malcolm Drake returns as host.

Make Drag, Not War 3!

December 4th, 2011

Dance Mission Theater

3316 24th Street

San Francisco, CA 94110

Doors 7pm

Show 8pm

$10-20 sliding scale

$5 "audience participation" tickets available

NOTAFLOF

*please note: a film crew will be filming the show for French television, anyone wishing to attend the show but not be filmed will be placed in special seating, if interviewed be prepared to sign a release form.

For additional information, Contact:

Stephen Funk

Founder & Artistic Director

Veteran Artists

(415) 672-3740

sefunk@gmail.com

www.veteranartists.org

Make Drag, Not War 3! Sunday December 4th at Dance Mission Theater

Veteran Artists is a San Francisco-based nonprofit, founded and run by recent military veterans connecting other veterans with community resources to pursue any form of art they choose. VA partners with artists and activists to develop meaningful projects and programs that facilitate therapy, skill building and reintegration. We strive to counter destructive experiences with creative experiences, empowering veterans with tools to educate, inspire, and connect with the general public.

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Dia de los Muertos Ceremony

Come and Celebrate
Dia de los Muertos Ceremony

Mujeres Unidas will be having:

La Memoria del Camino/ The Memory of the Path

Wednesday from 12 - 1pm in Toyon Meadow

A human installation/performance’s to honor and remember all women, men, children, and living things, whose lives have been taken while crossing political and social boundaries. Performance public art serves to contribute to the community identity that inhabit and use the common space, by creating and contributing to the collective memory. The collective memory will take shape through the act of remembering and honoring the people who have died while crossing boundaries. Through this performance we will collectively strengthen our community identity and encourage the idea of complimentary dualities, by giving life to those who are no longer here physically.

Shade:

“Sometimes I feel discriminated against, but it doesn’t make me angry. It merely astonishes me. How can any deny themselves the pleasure of my company? It’s beyond me.” ― Zora Neale Hurston