Immigrant Lessons going to Manila
IMMIGRANT LESSONS/MOMENTS OF MOVEMENT/ HAMPTON AT MANILA FRINGE FESTIVAL
This past week, Immigrant Lessons was pleased to become an official selected performer for Fringe Manila 2020. Fringe Manila is held in Manila Philippines this year, from February 12th to February 29th. We will be showing work in collaboration with Toronto based artist Mark Valino/ Moments of Movement and Vancouver based musician and artist Hampton. During our stay we will also be collaborating with local street/urban dancers and artists Lema Diaz (Lemabee) and Vince Mendoza (Crazybeans) as well as Caitlin Javier of Solebeats Dance Academy ( Fernie BC) to facilitate youth engagement, as well as an all styles/experimental dance event , and to explore/research the origins of two of our collective members, Sophia Gamboa and Sevrin Emnacen-Boyd. Through this exploration we are also hoping to make connections with the artist community in order to form a bridge between two cities/countries. In addition, we want to give back to the community by offering free workshops to youths and adults.
WE WOULD LOVE YOUR SUPPORT!
We are asking for help in covering some of our outstanding costs: Costs of living, studio rentals, travel, as well as incur during this trip! Any help would be deeply appreciated by Immigrant Lessons family! We are so eager and excited to represent our amazing local arts community abroad! we won't let you down ya'll!!
ABOUT IMMIGRANT LESSONS
Established in 2016, Immigrant Lessons is a Vancouver- based, international dance/fashion/art collective created to promote cultural pluralism utilizing: dance, music, fashion, media, and visual design. The collective is founded/directed by Kevin Fraser. It’s current core members are comprised of multi - disciplinary/dance artists: Sharon Lee, Sophia Gamboa, Sevrin Emnacen-Boyd, Joshua Cameron, Tegvaran Singh, Anwar Ali, Simran Sachar, and Ronald Li. This diverse collective is comprised, predominantly of first and second generation immigrants, with ancestry scattered across oceans. Immigrant Lessons incorporates their extensive street dance background, experimental practice, contemporary ideology, and the investigation of societal norms and intersections to give voice and visibility to marginalized and oppressed communities. Immigrant Lessons’ goal is to not only tell the stories that are very rarely heard, but to spark a deeper conversation on what it means to co-exist. The journey towards crossing boundaries, only to demonstrate that they do not need to prevail, is a mission the collective holds dear to their hearts. Through; performance, activism, outreach, community discussion, curation, and facilitation, Immigrant Lessons strives to become beacons of hope for future generations, whilst paying homage to their ancestors. With performances in multiple festivals and a wide range of collaborators, the Collective has a deep belief in the power of uplifting community through collaborative process and presentation on an ongoing basis. Currently, Immigrant Lessons is diving deep into the creation of their second work “ ORIGINS”. In addition to this, the collective has now begun to explore alternative avenues in which to give back to the community through youth engagement and workshops. Recently, Immigrant Lessons has become Rumble Theatres’ latest artists in residence for the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 season.
CREDITS:
Juno Fest w/ Kimmortal
Vines Festival w/ Kimmortal and Missy D
Talking Stick Festival
New Works
PuSh Festival: Club PuSh w/ Kimmortal
Indian Summer Festival
Basscoast Music Festival
Shambhala Music Festival
Festival of Recorded Movement
Vancouver Street Dance Festival
Vancouver International Children's Festival
Surrey Culture Days
FatCat Children's Festival
Made in BC
Stew Jams
ORIGINS
...Is a dance theatre, visual media, immersive exploration into a past that leaves echoes in the present. 8 artists dive into their unique stories, and journey through intersections of identity, to uncover the similarities. Together, they examine the cycles of such topics as; immigration, systemic/intersectional oppression, colonialism/imperialism, colourism, and the ripple of how they affect the ways we interact in present day. How do sift away the debris of generations ago? How do we stand in the truths of how it has affected us in the present? How do we hold space for one another as we peel back the layers of traumas passed down? How do we coexist?
PAST WORK AND PERFORMANCES
VANCOUVER STREET DANCE FESTIVAL 2018
" SAD FEMME CLUB" KIMMORTAL FT/ IMMIGRANT LESSONS ( Directed by Kate Salizar)
" SWIRL" I.M.U.R. FT/ IMMIGRANT LESSONS ( Directed by Nancy Lee)
MARK VALINO/ MOMENTS OF MOVEMENT
As multimedia artist, director, producer, editor, and cinematographer, Mark Valino is a full production package in one. Fueled by his love for music, dance and art, Mark's visual style is dynamic and intuitive and continues to evolve. He received his diploma for Film & Television Production at The Toronto Film School with an award for cinematography upon graduation. Since then, Valino has gained over ten years experience in the television and broadcast industry, with employment at ET Canada, CBC Music, BPM TV, including eight years at CTV/Much Music. For approximately twenty years now, Valino has documented Toronto's rich and vibrant hip hop and dance scenes through photography and video, including his work as at Manifesto Community Projects as the Director of the Manifesto Documentation Crew and Director/Co-Founder of Manifesto TV. Valino's work as a director was recognized when his music video with Spek Won was long listed for the Prism Prize in 2015 for "Black Body". More recently he began working with Footprints, a monthly dance event that recently celebrated fifteen years. He creates arresting video projections and can be seen taking unique and candid event photographs. Today he can be found running his own production company doing what he does best.
MOMENTS OF MOVEMENT (featuring present and past immigrant lessons collaborators)
Jammin' Camron and Sevi Sev
Kevin
Sosa and Josh
Marisa and Brotha Jason
ABOUT FRINGE MANILA
Fringe Manila is an open access, non curated, uncensored arts and community festival based in Manila Philippines, that aims to showcase fresh, daring, and groundbreaking material, highlighting the unique point of view of emerging and established artists from the Philippines and all over the world in theatre, literature, music, dance, visual art, film, cabaret, performance art, circus and every other artistic genre in between. Fringe Manila is a member of the World Fringe Network, a network of over 200+ independent Fringe festivals across the world.
PARTNERS
This trip has been fortunate to have the aid of Rumble Theatre, in which we are artists in residence for the duration of the ORIGINS journey. Which will culminate in a public/world premiere in 2021 of Immigrant Lessons 2nd full length work titled ORIGINS, in partnership Rumble Theatre and New Works. We would also like to thank our other partners on this journey: The Pace, Miel Enage, Omari Newton, Tonye Aganaba, Jillian Christmas, and The Gold Saucer.
As a huge thank you, we will be showcasing the work we explored while away as well as engaging the community in dialogue about our process as well as the themes we tackle in our work! Shows will be from Feb 25th to Feb 29th! Free to the public!
PLEASE SHARE !
With love,
Immigrant Lessons