Queer Mvmnt Fest 2024

FREE Workshops

These free workshops are a true highlight of Queer Mvment Fest! We can’t wait for these talented and mindful practitioners to share this diversity of offerings with you. Workshops offered are of varying lengths, styles, and themes. Read the details below and check out the schedule to find workshops that work for you! 

Sunday, June 9

at City Heights Performance Annex

☆ 2 - 3:30pm: Punking and Whacking: A Queer SoCal Dance Workshop with Era James

Punking/Whacking a dance art form created in West Hollywood in the 1970’s today is globally recognized as a prominent club style seen at competitions, battles and other dance platforms everywhere. Learn history, exercises, drills and explore in this dance that is centered around confidence, storytelling, and powerful arm movements. This workshop is for everyone. 

Manila born and San Diego raised, Era is an artist and community leader specializing in dance. For nearly 20 years, Era has been fortunate to be a part of numerous dance teams and organizations throughout California including Culture Shock San Diego where she is currently a work study program coordinator, instructor and troupe member. Era has also started a grassroots performing arts organization named The Healing Arts Embassy a.k.a. THAE that hoping to bring healing and life sustainability to artists through the use of education, opportunities and resources. In recent years she has focused training in arts forms such as hip hop, whacking, house and other street and club styles.

☆ 5 - 6pm: Bachata Basics Workshop with Anacristina Ramirez

Fundamentals of bachata body movement, musicality, and footwork. This workshop is for everyone.

Anacristina is a Latin dance instructor, dancer and choreographer in San Diego. Growing up in a Cuban/Puerto Rican household she has a strong background in Latin music and art. Anacristina teaches weekly classes in salsa and bachata and directs a few performance teams. She is passionate for the culture and the art and loves to go out social dancing.

This location is ADA accessible. DISCO RIOT is committed to accessibility and holds with great care the needs of our entire community, especially those who are disabled. We encourage you to contact Alyssa Rose, Program Coordinator (email: operations@disoriot.org) regarding any specific accommodation needs.

Friday, June 14

at ConnectArte in Tijuana, Mexico

☆ 12- 1:30pm: Dancing en lo Sucio Workshop with Amelia Rose Estrada & Gabriel Mata 

This workshop will explore the vibrant possibilities of expression, identity, and inclusivity through movement. We will focus on weight sharing techniques and narrative building while immersing ourselves in a rich tapestry of Latinx/e music and aesthetics. This workshop is for everyone.

Amelia Rose Estrada and Gabriel Mata are Latinx queer artists in Washington DC. Their work as choreographers, educators, and interdisciplinary performers explore issues of identity and intergenerational relationality. Through dance and voice, they articulate the nuanced narratives of their marginalized experiences, challenging societal norms. Their work serves as a vibrant tapestry, weaving together the threads of queerness and Latinx heritage. As educators, they empower the next generation with tools for self-expression and resilience. Intergenerational relationality is a focal point of their work and they aim to bridge gaps and foster understanding between people of different backgrounds and experiences. These artists illuminate the diverse hues of their existence, celebrating queerness and Latinidad in a harmonious dance of cultural affirmation.

 ☆  1:30 - 2:30pm: De-constructing Gendered Movement Workshop with Riy Mutakabbir

Using story-telling, writing, consensual touch and guided improvisation, this workshop explores intrinsic and societal restrictions we place on our moving bodies. This workshop will examine the innate and learned behaviors that have influenced our movement vocabulary. Okay with tactile redirection is a plus. No previous experience required, but always helpful. This workshop is for queer folx.

Riyadah "Riy" Mutakabbir is a movement artist whose style has been called "innovative, unexpected and slightly erotic." At 17 years old, they were admitted into UCLA's Dance major which resulted in the development of their own unique style composed of hip hop musicality, modern and sensuality. During their undergraduate career, they co-founded a dance group called Taste The Rainbow that celebrated resistance in a world that too often denies queer people’s existence. Their films have been shown at the Theyfriend Performance Festival and will also be shown at Queer Movement Festival this year. They hold an MFA in Dance: Creative Practice from Saint Mary’s College of California and a BA in Dance with a minor Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender* and Queer Studies from University of California, Los Angeles and plan to continue their somatic education in the future. It is Riy’s mission to provide dance spaces to people of all genders and races to create a more inclusive dance community.

DISCO RIOT is committed to accessibility and holds with great care the needs of our entire community, especially those who are disabled. We encourage you to contact Alyssa Rose, Program Coordinator (email: operations@disoriot.org) regarding any specific accommodation needs.

Saturday, June 15

at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Downtown

☆ 10am - 11:30am:  Quare Ballet / Ballet for All Bodies Workshop with Alyah Baker

Ballet For All Bodies re-imagines the ballet class as a radically inclusive and supportive environment for a diverse range of movers. In the workshop, we will center the joy of dancing as we explore the traditional principles of ballet technique in a fun and affirming environment, set to an inspiring playlist of pop hits. This is be a queer centered offering but the general public is also welcome.

Alyah Baker is a dance artist, scholar, and choreographer working at the intersection of art and embodied activism. She holds an MFA in Dance: Embodied Interdisciplinary Praxis, a B.A. in Sociology, and a minor in Dance from Duke University. In her work, Alyah examines power, the politics of place, and identity while centering liberation and joy. She is deeply committed to accessible arts education and building equitable creative ecosystems. Alyah has been recognized in local and national media, including Dance Teacher Magazine and the New York Times. American Dance Festival, Queering Dance Festival, Oakland Ballet, and others have commissioned Alyah’s choreography. In 2021, Alyah founded AB Contemporary Dance, a project-based company exploring storytelling, queer aesthetics, and Black feminist praxis. The company's current project, Quare Dance, is a recipient of the 2023 - 24 National Performance Network Creation and Development Fund.

☆  11:45am - 1:15pm:  We Base, We Fly: Deconstructing Gendered Partnering in Dance Workshop with Jade Prime 

This class builds from the ground up, focusing on trust, consent, and mutual understanding. Movers will explore non-binary partnering through games and guided explorations, all working up to weight sharing, Pilobolus-style. Accessible to all ages/backgrounds. No prior movement experience necessary.

Jade Prime is a Filipina-American dancer, dancemaker, and teaching artist, passionate about sharing body-positive and socially conscious dance, transcending barriers to access, and encouraging inclusivity. Since 2018, Jade has traveled the world retelling the story of a curious girl’s venture down a rabbit hole, through movement she helped to create. In addition to touring with MOMIX, Jade has enjoyed performing as a guest artist with Pilobolus, illuminating Memphis history through site-specific dance with Tennessee Ballet Theater, and diving into the world of AcroYoga as a certified AcroLove teacher. After having grown her love of movement in small-town Kentucky studios, Jade established an artistic residency in Grantham, England in 2013, which culminated in a series of performances and research-based publications on contemporary dance improvisation in the UK and USA. Now based in San Diego, Jade is interested in deconstructing traditional dance partnering roles and helping movers find new ways to soar.

☆   1:30 - 3:30pm: Theatre-Dance Improv for Queer narratives with Alejandro Bastien-Olvera

In this workshop, we will be using Playback Theatre methodology to represent Queer narratives on the stage. Playback is a physical theatre methodology that enables performers to represent on stage the stories that the group share in relation to navigating a queer identity. We explore different resonance/improvisation routes to connect with the teller's emotions, values, and agency. This workshop is for Queer people and allies.

Alejandro Bastien is a performer, creative place-maker for queer communities, and theatre maker. He is originally from Mexico City, where he studied theatre and trained in physical theatre at La Cabra Salvaje. Alejandro completed his MFA in Theatre for Youth and Community at Arizona State University. Currently, he works at The New Children’s Museum and collaborates at the Hillcrest Youth Center with Queer youth. His work focuses on theater for queer communities, Playback Theatre, and theatre for Youth.

This location is ADA accessible. DISCO RIOT is committed to accessibility and holds with great care the needs of our entire community, especially those who are disabled. We encourage you to contact Alyssa Rose, Program Coordinator (email: operations@disoriot.org) regarding any specific accommodation needs.

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For more information about the week of Queer Mvmnt Fest: https://discoriot.org/qmf24/