We Are Collective presents... Outlaw of the Arts

August 28th is Workshops from 4:00-8:00 PM

at Chicago Danztheatre Ensemble.

Class Schedule

4:00-5:00 PM: (Art) It's ALWAYS Political taught by L'Raven

5:00-6:00 PM: Tendencies of a Fall taught by Tristen Sanborn & Alyssa Simpson

6:00-7:00 PM: Advocacy in Script Work taught by Ray Post

7:00-8:00 PM: Heels Technique and Western Play Pretend taught by Maddy McCarthy

4:00-8:00 PM: Zines as Revolution hosted by We Are Collective

Class Descriptions

(Art) It's ALWAYS Political by L'Raven

As artists, we are uniquely positioned to advance the issues we feel are important. We know how to make complex themes tangible and visceral. Join L'Raven for an hour-long session on how to bring visceral experiences to life as an organizing and escalation tactic. Let's heal ourselves and liberate our communities through movement for the movement.

Tendencies of a Fall taught by Tristen and Alyssa

Through in class research, dancers will find the edge; of the physical, anatomical, and communal space. In this class, participants will create spontaneous composition from improvisational methods of moving and communicating. With facilitation from Alyssa Simpson and Tristen Sanborn, this class is aimed at encouraging active questioning and play.

Advocacy in Script Work taught by Ray Post

Advocacy through knowing your audience, advocacy through knowing yourself, advocacy through disturbing the comfortable and comforting the disturbed. Art being as subjective as it is, we often struggle to feel as though we have gotten our point across and this fear of being misunderstood can be inhibiting. How do you know your message will get across the way you want it to? How do we toe the line between entertainment and enlightenment? How do we get our audiences to leave with new perspectives and new questions? This class will explore how to build advocacy into the foundation of our work, in order to cultivate an effective message.

Heels Technique and Western Play Pretend taught by Maddy McCarthy

Class will consist of a warm up focusing on activating stabilizer muscles that are essential for keeping joints safe while dancing in heels and a short, sensual dance phrase using western imagery/storytelling.

Zines as Revolution hosted by We Are Collective

Join We Are Collective at our zine-making booth, where you can craft your own message of resistance! Supplies will be provided. Feel free to bring any additional things want to use in your zine as an act of revolution!

Learn more about our Teaching Artists on our Instagram @wearedancecollective.

Details of Outlaw of the Arts Festival:

We Are Collective is built, organized, and celebrated by queer folks & now more than ever we are in need of art as revolution. Performance has been pivotal to the exploration and acceptance of queerness. We must be loud. We must speak clearly. We must use our voice before it is stripped away. Through this three day festival, we hope to highlight queerness as power through education and performance. Day one will consist of classes ranging in topics to highlight radical ways to advocate, uplift, and move forward through community. Day two will be an en masse performance of queer revolution ranging from contemporary dance, to film, to drag, to spoken word in a short form composition! Day three will be a long form evening based on the idea of revolution, not specifically queer revolution.

In addition to the 18 artists and companies performing, the Queer Art Market by We Are Collective will also be hosted before the show and at intermission. Community groups will be tabling to offer information, resources, and ways to engage with their organizations pre-show and during intermission as well! We want to emphasize that revolution happens through communal support. In this space, we uplift each other to act as Outlaws of the Arts.