Live Events
April 19th-20th:
Abrons Art Center
am i real? is a theatrical, embodied questioning of sanity that uses magical realism and somatic psychology to speak on the invalidation of one woman’s existence. The work grasps for certainty amidst gaslighting and touches on the trope of the sensitive, loud, dramatic Latin Woman. am i real? addresses the paralysis and euphoria that emerges from this questioning of self and the disembodiment that follows, leaning into the insanity as a potential liberator from the disillusion. A question posed within the work: “Can there be pleasure in madness?”
Past Performances:
In 2017 Sarah launched her dance company, BABEL, to a sold out evening length performance. What is Found explored the elusiveness of perception and the threat of nostalgia as we work to be present to our circumstances. As a company that is committed to sharing other people’s stories, BABEL found it vital to first tell their own.
BABEL’s second evening-length work, United States, No Me Conoces (2018), was a raw portrayal of the BIPOC heartbreak when the country they labor for, live in, and love pretends they are not integral to its very identity. One review mentioned how the Performing Hispanic Woman section was “such a reflection of her own raw, emotional experience.”
In 2021, United States, No Me Conoces was later selected to be performed at Judson Memorial Church for immigrant workers on hunger strike, giving them the sigh of relief that comes from knowing their stories are seen and told, even while they protested the pandemic relief they were denied.
Movement Practice
BABEL’s movement practice of finding home within the skin of the body allows dancers to feel and sink into themselves and learn from the characters and stories that lie within their bones. We let them speak as we burrow ourselves into our own world of sensing and experiencing.
This curiosity often leads to worlds of somatic psychology, where bodies’ stories lay dormant until invited to speak. Inspired by Internal Family Systems therapy, once given the stage, these characters heal, shift, grow, evolve. Through these processes Leñador sets BABEL’s choreographic work, which has clear body narratives that resonate culturally and connect us intimately. This creation process of unraveling oneself and remaining vulnerable in that way will be integral to the creation of new work. Creation entails diving into characters’ movement languages, motivations, and core fears.
As these explorations bubble up to the surface of the body and express themselves through a performance, they will emerge as nothing short of true and honest. A resonant connection to the audiences’ inner lives will be built as they get to experience the movement their own bodies crave. Here we will encounter both the raw and playful mysticism of our shared, lived experience.