TRANSfiguration: The Seed Event
About the project:
An embodied movement ritual that celebrates the joy of queer expression as reflected through our interconnected relation to our ecosystems.
What: A communal creation of a movement score to be developed through creative sessions with facilitation by local dance artists. Alchemizing dance and ecosystems, this project will bring together Trans-FARM-ative volunteer participants and the LGBTQ+ dance community to explore somatic-based practices and land-centered sustainability. Under the theme of transformation and the growing cycle on Burgess Farm in Foster, RI, this project aims to interconnect participants with their larger community culminating in an embodied and interactive art installation.
When: TRANSfiguration creative sessions will meet Sunday afternoons starting early August and will culminate in a harvest-time performance on the evening of September 25th at The Flower District in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence, RI.
Where: As the creation process unfolds we’ll utilize various spaces for inspiration. The majority of the work will take place at Burgess Farm in Foster, RI and Metamorphosis Dance Studio in Pawtucket, RI. Carpool option available through coordination.
Who is this for: Trans-FARM-ative provides a pathway for LGBTQ+ people to be ambassadors of their community, and to create and perform the culmination of their dedication and creativity. This is for anyone interested in farming, systems, and sustainability as well as those curious about somatic practices, dance, movement, or performance and can attend some weekly creative sessions and the culminating performance. Participation is on a voluntary basis.
If interested or for more information, please email:
movement@transfarmative.org
About The Organizations Involved
The Trans-FARM-ative project is an inclusive LGBTQ+ community garden aimed to support all minority groups in obtaining healing through agricultural pursuits, especially the Trans community, BIPOC, veterans, disabled and minority groups. Our voluntary based organization supports everyone to grow naturally as nature intended with the support of others without criticism or judgment.
The Flower District is a nonprofit dedicated to bringing solace, joy and healing to our neighbors in need all across Rhode Island via recycling flowers as well as supporting our local floral economy via job training. We grow, rescue and donate over 100,000 flowers per year and plan to expand to giving away 300,000 flowers per year in the next five years. Our flowers are given away freely via our network of local nonprofits, community groups, and organizations serving Rhode Islanders at risk. WCFF is the fiscal sponsor for TRANSfiguration and a cherished partner that shares the values and resources our communities need to thrive.
PVD House’s mission is to build sustainable, not for profit, queer-friendly, affordable housing and affordable small business space that supports emergency housing for LGBTQ+ youth aged 18 - 26. This centers a world where lower income carers are enough to provide a good home and where no person faces housing insecurity because of who they are. At the end of the day we all want the same thing, to feel safe in our homes, our communities, and safe in our pursuit of happiness.
Facilitating Artists
Aneshia Savino (she/ze/they) is an independent apothecary, dancer, and scribe with a B.A Anthropology from the University of New Mexico-Albuquerque. Ze performed in clubs, art galleries, ritual theater, fundraising and art stages including Burning Man and AS220. Aneshia has previously worked at farms, food co-ops, and organizations dedicated to equitable access to natural and cultural resources. They love choreographing rituals/ceremonies and producing events with their family, friends, and communities, including Queer Arts Council’s Pride Block Party, New Moon Dance Party, and Dancing In Place-Mapping New Bedford’s Hidden Italian and Jewish Neighborhoods.
Ian (Page) Wooller BSc (she/her) (sports and exercise science and physiology), PG-Dip (contemporary dance) and MS (biology) has danced internationally since the 1990s with artists such as Sir Matthew Bourne, Mark Baldwin and Shobana Jeyasingh. Locally in RI, Page works with ELEMDI who have performed for the past two years in Rhode Island, is a newly published author with the graphic novel “Emily Corn Discovering Darkness” (the second in the series is due late 2024 early 2025). Page has also worked throughout the UK as a performing artist for the Merlin entertainment group for multiple locations including Warwick Castle, Fright Nights at Thorpe Park and as a full skin performer as one of the Thorpe Park Rangers. Their work has also fed into the visual arts, with acrylic paintings shown at the New Haven Pride Center and wearable art shown at BAM museum in Idaho at the yearly fashion show. At present, Page is working as a mentor for the Royal Ballet School in London, England and running The Trans-FARM-ative project in Foster as a co-creator.
Joshua Tuason (he/him) is a Providence, RI based dance artist, teacher and choreographer. His choreography has been presented through events at Ballet RI, Newport Contemporary Ballet, and the WaterFire Arts Center with Motion State Arts. He is an Associate Professor of Dance at the Boston Conservatory and teaches open community dance classes at Ballet RI. As a performer he has spent almost two decades performing in New York City with modern and contemporary companies such as the Martha Graham Ensemble, Merce Cunningham Trust and the Stephen Petronio Dance Company. BFA in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College. Certified in Cunningham Technique and Alexander Technique. He is also an approved Registered Somatic Movement Educator through ISMETA.
