Fana Fraser 

Saturday, 10/01 || 2:00-3:45pm, $6

Gibney Dance: Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center, 280 Broadway, NYC

Entrance 53A Chambers Street

The Playground NYC allows dancers to experience various choreographic styles and ideas, engage with a new community of dancers, and gather resourceful information and inspiration from the array of choreographers involved. In turn, established choreographers are paid for their creative investigations, are given free space to explore new movements with professional dancers, and are provided with the opportunity to establish relationships with new dancers and fellow choreographers.  

Class Description:
LABYRINTH (LAB) is a philosophy that honors intuition and erotic agency. (LAB) is a creative workshop period to sense the intricacies of your body. (LAB) is a lingering moment for curious minds to imagine, play, pattern, and repattern. (LAB) makes space for doubt and compassion; for festering, shedding; for stillness, silliness, rebirth. (LAB) lives and cares for wild new madness. 

During (LAB) time I will offer verbal and visual prompts designed to support mindfulness,awareness, and spirited presence. Participants can expect that a generous space will be cultivated to dream, to dance, to sing, to follow, to analyze, to journal, to choose to do some or any of these things; to choose to do nothing.

LABYRINTH (LAB) currently holds “Pedagogies of Crossing: Meditations on Feminism, Sexual Politics, Memory, and the Sacred” by M. Jacqui Alexander as a core text. 

Bio:
Fana Fraser is an artist, director, educator, and creative thinker. A full spectrum doula in training, Fana’s work is framed by narratives of eroticism, power, and compassion. She is a BAM 2022 Jack Nusbaum Artist in Residence; 2022 Pertronio RETREAT & RESTORE awardee; 2021-22 Jerome Hill Artist Fellow in Dance; 2021-22 Performance AIRspace Resident at Abrons Arts Center; and 2021 Caribbean/The Future Space resident artist. Fana was shortlisted for the 2020 BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writers’ Prize. She is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Dance at University of the Arts. Fana worked as Rehearsal Director for Ailey II from 2016-20 and as a co-director for Pepatián from 2018-21. Her performance work has been presented at venues including Abrons, BAAD!, Brooklyn Museum, Dance & Performance Institute, Gibney, ISSUE Project Room, Movement Research at the Judson Church, Trinidad Theatre Workshop and Wassaic Project. She has performed with Camille A. Brown & Dancers, Sidra Bell Dance New York, The Francesca Harper Project, The Metropolitan Opera, Ailey II, Samita Sinha, Raja Feather Kelly, Miriam Simun, Jonathan González, Raymond Pinto, Andrea Miller for Hermès, and with Ryan McNamara at Performa 13, Art Basel Miami, Guggenheim Works & Process, Frieze New York, and The ICA Boston. 

fanafraser.com | @fanafraser