LOVEPIECE
TNMOT AZTRO PERFORMANCE AND DANCE INSTALLATION LLC, premiered Lovepiece with two completely different versions. The 1st - September 20th 2019 outside in the rock sanctuary of Kamora’s Cultural Corner located in Hartford CT. This performance was sponsored by the Artist Workforce Initiative (2019), a sponsorship created by the Arts Council of Greater New Haven through a partnership with the Connecticut Office of the Arts, and the 2019 Connecticut Dance Alliance Jump Start Award. The 2nd - September 23rd, 2019 a culminating event to the WIP (Work in Progress) Artist Residency September 13th-24th 2019 at the Quick Center for the Arts in Fairfield CT. Wilkerson gave two lecture series, One for The University of Hartford - Hartford Art School, Hfd CT March 2019 and the University of Connecticut Rainbow Center in Storrs CT October 2019. The cast created a special performance for youth in July 2019 at Wesleyan University Center for Creative Youth Summer Program in Middletown CT.
Lovepiece is about the work it takes to build a healthy relationship with yourself using movement/sound, to uncover the process of healing from rejection, hate, poverty and humiliation within black/brown queer romantic relationships. Spontaneous, erotic, queer, open-ended, club and latin american-inspired melodramas paired with transgressive experiential outlooks on love takes the audience through the lens of queer POC relationships, specifically the dichotomy between Black and Latino queer relationships, and the exchange of culture with attachments to the harboring feelings of wanting to be accepted, wanting to be in financially stable relationships, being “out” in public and being put on a pillory for your own personal act of love.
Lovepiece offers an abstract representation on concepts such as interfamily based relationships, depression, regret, HIV, solace, self hate, fear and humiliation. Interfamily is a british word, meaning occurring between, existing between, or involving two or more “family” members. In “lovepiece” the audience makes their way through wilkerson's transgressive experiences as a queer person. Wilkerson's personal relationship with their status, family and past lovers are then directed towards how they manifested their own community or family . Wilkerson believes the shame queer people feel in loving other types of people comes directly from how we are taught or not taught love as a child to an adult. The innocence of being a child is easily dismantled by the way people specifically queer people process and discover who we are and what we enjoy. Lovepiece highlights those specific moments in using performance to explore the ideology behind looking into your own future from innocence to adulthood discovering how you love and how precious love is . We incorporate the stylistic form of latin american - melodramas also know as telenovelas, to layer heightened satirical humor on topics very heavily pernicious. Lovepiece is seen in (8) 4 min sections. The 8 sections in lovepiece are based off the ancient greek 8 types of love, Eros - Erotic, Philia - Affectionate, Storge - famillair, Agape - Selfless, Ludus - Playful, Mania - Manic, Pragma - Enduring, Philautia - Self love.
Tnmot Aztro Collaborators
Lovepiece by Arien Wilkerson/TNMOT AZTRO
Conceived & conceptualized: Arien Wilkerson & domsentfrommars Choreography: Arien Wilkerson
Set conceptual & design: Arien Wilkerson, Joe McCarthy, domsentfrommars Sculpture Construction: Joe McCarthy
Lighting design: Jon-Paul LaRocco & Arien Wilkerson
Lighting Construction: Jon-Paul LaRocco, Emma Graydon, Dan East
Musical Director: Zach Rowden
Cast & Performers: domsentfrommars, Karim Rome, Zach Rowden
Costume design & construction: domsentfrommars
Creative Consultant: Derek Jackson
Property of TNMOT AZTRO LLC - updated 2020
All Original music by: domsentfrommars, Karim Rome, Zach Rowden with music from Juan Gabriel, Los Angeles Negros , Arianna Grande, Lara Plantonos, Kevin Hernandez Rosa, Hunohuno (La DeadCorp)
Running Time: 70 mins - Its be under it can also be under solely because the performance happens in miscellaneous order.
