Trueselves VII: The Transmasc D*ke-F4g Continuum
Lead Organizer/ Choreographer/ Dancer
Choreographer’s Note: The goal of this year’s TrueSelves project was to center and celebrate transmasculinity. With the movement piece, I wanted to show the story of stepping into masculinity from a place of isolation that is steeped in fear and discomfort but daring to walk into a new skin. Then, they encounter the rigid expectations that “Masculinity” holds. Through this, we find the full expansive masculinity available to us. We land in a new place where we are not alone in our daring and discover that there is someone else just as expressive and feminine and tender and strong in their masculinity. Here, we find community. Here, we can move forward more embodied, more expressive, and more open.
Artistic Statement: We knew we wanted to center this year’s project around trans-masculinity. When the team got together, one of the first ideas that came up was the inherent tenderness and softness found within the community, which is a subversion from what we think when we think of masculinity. This tenderness shows up both in how we, as trans masculine folx, care for others and how we treat ourselves.
The general act of transitioning takes a huge amount of love, care, and courage. In doing so, one builds and creates themselves. When it comes to trans masculinity specifically, you have to contend with forging yourself into societal ideas of what it means to inhibit masculinity, which is generally restrictive and, at times, harmful. Being trans forces you to look at what masculinity means and rip it open, finding a version of it that is authentic and expansive. We can take the parts that we love, like strength and boldness, and pair it with the full expressivity that transness demands of you.
To be trans, you must be honest first. This is the basis of both the photo shoot and the movement piece.
A still image can invoke a multitude of emotions in a person. You can feel the intimacy in it. When witnessing a movement piece, you are forced to take in art spread over time as you watch bodies in motion together. We aim to offer the audience a chance to take in masculinity from multiple mediums. A powerful display of what it means to be self-made.
The TrueSelves Series is a partnership between coLAB Arts and the Pride Center of NJ. Grant funding has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund.
