Yes, And
Women and Their Work
In January 2022, Yes, And Community members gathered with Gesel virtually and in Austin, Texas for another creative residency.
This creative residency was in partnership with Women and Their Work, an Austin based visual and performing arts organization. While in Austin, the group thrifted clothing that made them feel decadent, supported each other through eyes-closed movement improvisation exercises, participated in a rhythm workshop, cooked a meal together, and much more!
In April 2022, the Yes, And Community gathered at Women and Their Work a second time for two weeks in preparation for the premiere of Yes, And at Fusebox Festival. Preparations for the festival included an "installation" period consisting of rehearsals on site with local and core performers, the creation of new video portraits with community members, and the addition of visual elements by visual artist Vicki Meek. The interactive performance included readings from Octavia Raheem's Gather, a dance jam with a live DJ, and complementary 10-minute massages by a local massage therapist.
Videography by Maggie Bailey
The video excerpt features an exchange between dancer Khorii Tinson and choreographer Gesel Mason during a dress rehearsal at Women and Their Work. Khorii, a dancer in their 20s with a brown skin tone and shoulder length twisted black locs, is wearing a flowy spaghetti strapped black dress with red roses. Khorii is dancing ecstatically and fiercely in a courtyard with a sheer blue fabric curtain wafting behind them, kicking up dirt as they flail, twist and spin. Gesel, a middle aged woman with a butterscotch skin tone and a loose curly afro pulled back with a bandana, stands on the side holding a window pane, witnessing. She is wearing a black crop top with maroon pants. A poem by Toni Lightfoot plays in background, underscored with atmospheric sounds created by Jovan Landry. Actress and dramaturg, Yunina Barbour Payne, a light-skinned Black woman in a fitted purple dress, stands on the opposite side, calls out childlike text in response to the text and Khorii’s movement.
Above: Audio Clips
Members of the Yes, And community respond to the question: Who would you be if you had nothing to worry about?
