Kick off the new year with a free evening of community, movement, and creativity!
In collaboration with ChezSpirit and Diverse Dance Arts, join Chezale Rodriguez (Taino) and Wade Antonio Colwell (Rarámuri) in FACING THE SUN TOGETHER, an interactive offering for participants of all ages and abilities to move, connect, and express their creativity.
This collective experience brings a unique cross-disciplinary intersection of dance, oral tradition, and multi-media visuals to celebrate the ancestral wisdom and medicine of Korima, “a circle of sharing,” which represents a cultural foundation of the Rarámuri people in Mexico.
The FACING THE SUN TOGETHER experience features:
– Call & Response Song
– Natural Intelligence (NI)
– Shared Power Greeting
– Language to Motion
– Dance Expression for Diverse Beings
– Community Bonding
FACING THE SUN TOGETHER will include live captioning.
Following FACING THE SUN TOGETHER, guests will be invited to participate in a community art experience facilitated by Storytelling Visual Artist, Tiesha Harrison. This collaborative project will culminate in a sunflower-themed artwork that explores the pillars of hope, heart, and healing/community. You don’t want to miss this opportunity to engage in personal reflection, creative expression, and connection with the community as you start the new year.
In between engagements, make your way over to October Art: The Collection of Delores Browne Abelson — a new exhibition celebrating the ballerina, educator, and arts advocate who also championed Indigenous art through her New York gallery.
The Courtyard Café will be open late from 5 – 7:30 p.m. serving locally sourced products across a seasonally crafted Southwest-inspired menu.
Image credit (above): Courtesy of Chezale Rodriguez. Photographer: Wade Antonio Colwell
About Our Guests
Chezale Rodriguez and Wade Antonio Colwell, ChezSpirit
Chezale Rodriguez and Wade Antonio Colwell, Co-Founders of ChezSpirit, are both keynote presenters, cultural educators, performance artists, MC’s, spoken word poets, songwriters, and group facilitators who have persistently and sustainably crafted these passions throughout their life spans and professional careers. Chezale is the Founder of Diverse Dance Arts and is additionally a dance educator, choreographer, and movement/healing artist for community reconnection and personal transformation. Wade is also a music curator, national education consultant and restorative practitioner that leverages creativity for sparking dialogue, strengthening intergenerational relations and uplifting collective spirit.
Image credit (left): Courtesy of ChezSpirit.
Tiesha Harrison, Sunflower Soul Project
Tiesha Harrison is a Storytelling Visual Artist and Founder of Sunflower Soul Project dedicated to using art as a tool for healing, connection, and social change. She serves on the board of Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona, where she supports children in transforming trauma into resilience through art, offering a safe space for expression and healing. Her art is best described as fearless, intuitive, bold, inspiring and infinitely expanding. It reflects the depth of her imagination and lived experiences, creating conversations with the community through visual storytelling.
Image credit (left): Courtesy of Tiesha Harrison.
