Qwe’re is a collaborative exploration on the becoming of gender binaries within the realms of romance, sex, and emotional intimacy. In a constellation of reflective monologues and embodied emotions, it begs the question--when does gender become sexual and/or lovable? What is putting your legs behind your head and pleading for pleasure, if not a gendered performance? What is gender if not something to perfect? The body yearns with no reservation. In the erotic and romantic, it vesselsl the unfiltered truths that we sorely need in contemporary politics. This work reflects a journey of questioning that I hope to develop into a longer piece. It was created with the support of the Brockus SHIFT/west residency in Los Angeles. Choreographer: Jason Vu Music: A Sea of Love - Huerco S. / Still Down - H.E.R. / Numbers - FKA twigs / Jezebel - Nicholas Britell / Recorded Interviews With Dance Cast Dancers: Diego Mesa, Becka Klebba, André Gary, Tessa Nesis, Caroline Smith, Jason Vu A work in progress made possible by the Brockus Shift West Residency.

We Live Like Water honors the quiet and determined languages of compassion survived by Asian-Amerian womxn, in collaboration with the poetry of Ocean Vuong. Spoken word by performers and Vuong create soundscapes for a somatic grieving of intergenerational traumas from war and immigration. Delicate textures of Vietnamese Áo Dài (dresses) and piercing melodies of the Đàn tranh (zither) embody the balance of an Asian mother’s stern, but elegant methods of caretaking. We Live Like Water is a chance for these Asian-American womxn to hold still in their suffering, to remember poetries of motherly love, and to confront the fear of hearing their bodies and words aloud. To choreograph a dance for these womxn is to acknowledge the resilience I have inherited from my mother, aunts, grandmothers, and ancestors. Take one more breath because you have to. Offer one more kiss because you still can. This work is part of an evening-length concert I choreographed and directed with the support of the Brown Arts Initiative at the Granoff Center in Providence.