CROSSROADS is a dance, film, and cross-disciplinary performance series curated and presented by Pioneers Go East Collective. The spring 2022 series will feature works by 10 artists with diverse aesthetic and conceptual approaches to performance and storytelling. CROSSROADS will take place Thursday–Saturday, May 26–28, at 8pm, at Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South (between Thompson and Sullivan Streets), in Manhattan. Performances are free. Advance registration required at http://pioneersgoeast.eventbrite.com.

Pioneers Go East Collective launched CROSSROADS in 2017 in partnership with Judson Memorial Church. The series centers the voices of queer, BIPOC, and feminist artists. The format provides artists with both an opportunity to present work in a low-pressure setting that encourages experimentation, and space to share their creative practices with other artists and audiences. The series is multigenerational, focusing on community to foster a network of support, exchange, and dialogue. In addition to the performances, CROSSROADS offers workshops by participating artists and Pioneers Go East Collective’s collaborators.

The spring CROSSROADS features Angel Acuña, Yoshiko Chuma, Symara Johnson, Anabella Lenzu, Amanda Loulaki, Molly&Nola, Doron Perk, Paz Tanjuaquio, Dane Terry, and Pioneers Go East Collective.

The spring series was curated by Daniel Diaz, Gian Marco Riccardo Lo Forte, and Philip Treviño.

CROSSROADS Spring 2022 Schedule

Thursday, May 26, 8pm

Dancer and designer Angel Acuña’s film EPIFANIO – DV no.0001 introduces one of the artist’s entities, EPIFANIO, the disruptive party dancer with inelegant mannerisms; subtly appearing visually on the transfixed body, persisting in strenuous conflict with Acuña’s lack of submission to finally then complete its undivided energetic interference between itself and the dancer.

Doron Perk’s Grandfather Visit is a solo dance exploring themes of grief and heritage inspired by Perk’s many visits with his grandfather, a Holocaust survivor. After his grandfather’s death, Perk felt the need to bring his inspiring story to light as a way to deal with personal loss as well as the collective trauma of the third generation to genocide. Using the framing narrative of a visit, Perk dances out embodied memories, using the movements to evoke forgotten sensations. This work is the result of a two-year process brought to life thanks to a fellowship at LABA – Laboratory for Jewish Culture with the theme of Chosen.
Paz Tanjuaquio will present Dead Stars Still Shine, a new work created in collaboration with visual artist/composer Todd B. Richmond, digital artist Onome Ekeh, and incorporating poetry by Luis H. Francia. Inspired by “Dead Stars,” a short story written in 1925 by Paz Benitez-Marquez, one of the first female literary figures of English literature in the Philippines, the work centers on the idea that lights from dead stars still shine and create a vibrant luminous atmosphere light years away. For Tanjuaquio, these stars can be seen as a metaphor for both lives lost and a loss of culture that still resonates in our communities and within our bodies.
On Eternity, written and performed by pianist Dane Terry, is a surreal series of autobiographical stories about Terry’s time spent working as a cocktail pianist on a cruise ship in the late 2000s. Visuals are by Bizzy Barefoot.
Friday, May 27, 8pm

Yoshiko Chuma will present Hey women!, a quartet that is part of her ongoing performance series Head in the Sand. Chuma is joined by dancers Emily Pope and Sarah Skaggs and multi-instrumentalist Ginger Dolden.

Symara Johnson will present The Kitchen Sink Ranger at the Midnight Rodeo. The piece pulls from current research that Johnson is conducting in relation to her most recent work in development, Symara and Her Lasso. It is a practice of ideas that have surfaced from intensive periods of working on what is intended to be a multi-hour durational piece. A condensed score will be presented as a trial-and-error process for Johnson to learn from.

MOLLY&NOLA will present STEER, a work that tumbles into an unforeseen territory where livestock auctioneering, cloning, and a brief dalliance with the Pentecostal Church collide. STEER was developed with support from New Dance Alliance’s 2021 LiftOff Residency.

Pioneers Go East Collective’s new film, My Name’Sound, investigates our role as artists and how our everyday struggles affect our creative paths. James Baldwin’s Artist Manifesto on the artist’s responsibility and the same-sex intimacy of Giovanni’s Room will launch a passionate exploration of the history, empowerment, and visibility of the LGBTQ experience in pursuit of artistic freedom. Creative team: Gian Marco Riccardo Lo Forte (creative director/filmmaker); Philip Treviño (creative designer); Mark Tambella (installation designer); Mert Erdem (director of photography); Bryan Baira (sound designer); performances by Daniel Diaz (writer); Agosto Machado (writer); Joey Kipp (dance-maker); and Richard Morales (writer). A short, live performance by Daniel Diaz will follow.

Saturday, May 28, 8pm

Yoshiko Chuma will present Hey women!, a new quartet that is part of her ongoing performance series Head in The Sand. Chuma is joined by dancers Emily Pope and Sarah Skaggs and multi-instrumentalist Ginger Dolden.

Anabella Lenzu’s A bone to pick with you exposes the inner dialogue of an artist in the examination of the creative process. Lenzu shows the struggles, the desires, and the internal contradictions that make visible the vulnerability of the performer. The work reflects Lenzu’s experience as a Latina artist living in New York and comes from a deep examination of her motivations as a woman, mother, and immigrant.

Amanda Loulaki, whose work focuses on the “process of making,” will present a film.

Pioneers Go East Collective’s new film, My Name’Sound, investigates our role as artists and how our everyday struggles affect our creative paths. James Baldwin’s Artist Manifesto on the artist’s responsibility and the same-sex intimacy and sensuality of Giovanni’s Room will launch a passionate exploration of the history, empowerment, and visibility of the LGBTQ experience in pursuit of artistic freedom. (See May 27 for artist credits.) With a live performance by Daniel Diaz and Doron Perk.

NEXT! Workshops with Doron Perk (May 26, 6–7pm) and Parijat Desai (May 27, 6–7pm) will be held at Judson Memorial Church. Workshops are free and all are welcome. Advance registration required at https://pioneersgoeast.org/upcoming.