#moderndancer

WHOO! It’s Wednesday which means there’s only two more days until I can return to that magical land called Netflix. It’s been my addiction for too long. That’s why this Mars album needs to come. Otherwise I will surrender myself to fictional characters and stories. I’ve kind of done that considering the major I’m in but still.

In response to Leto appearances: Am I the only one that’s been itching to see what this episode entails? I mean let’s be honest: he had a better Christmas break than me. Mine was boring compared to his. Mine consisted of me dancing and singing to every show tune and pop song known to man (Sondheim would be proud). Yes I spent quality time with my family but it didn’t involve going to some awesome national parks. I say we bombard Kevin Jorgeson. Yup social pressure. It works every time hahaha. (I’m totally kidding BTW)

Then again I question my urges to lip sync “Bet On It” and “Grease (Is The Word)” while I walk to class. Yeah...my childhood is catching up with me. I need to take a break from listening to Disney music and Show Tunes. Again.

Moral of this post? Find other ways to wait for the next Mars album besides listening to Disney music and watching Netflix shows. It’ll help. That may or may not be why I’m learning ballet and cooking like a maniac. 

I hope ya’ll have a great day. Sorry this post is a bit scattered and, well, random but sometimes that’s life. I love ya’ll so much. Remember: lip-sync in the car but not in public.

And if you’re wondering which version of “Bet On It” it’s Lin Manuel Miranda’s. 

TUMBLR: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/marsandfruit

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/marsandfruit

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/marsandfruit/

YOUTUBE CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCam0ZZXNPqhp5wu8wjUmdig

Dance Groundwork.

Shoot w/ Felicia Avalos. Bronx, NYC/2018

These are the shots you want to get right. A small constant in my head while I was shooting Felicia. This day was a rare occasion – a photographer friend of mine, was moving out of his Bronx apartment, trading it in for Queens. The Bronx apartment was vacant and spacious enough to be a small dance studio. The location was right across a massive DJ Kool Herc mural - a reminder that something great started here and working with Felicia, I knew I was capturing something beyond my friend the dancer. I captured a composer of narrative, a storyteller through movement.

I met Felicia in Washington DC about 9 years ago – and in between the time of this shoot and leading up to her move to NYC, she spent her time working with several dance groups, nationally and internationally, toured overs seas and to my knowledge, had to get an extension booklet for her passport. She came back stateside sometime around 2015 to get her MFA at George Washington University and shortly after hit the road again and landed in New York City. In her short time, she has had the privilege of performing at Jacob’s Pillow, New Victory Theater on Broadway, IsSanat Theater in Istanbul, and the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem. I remember prompting her, how do you work? When you conceptualize a piece, what do you build with and what do you use to inspire the work? At the core, its her family, background and Mexican heritage – what lit up for me to capture was the dancer that came to the big city and did not pull back on her mission to tell stories that matter. In 2019 I had the opportunity to see one her works – Las Pizcas an excerpt from the full length work The Beast: A Daughter’s Document of an Undocumented Journey which was presented as a thesis project at The George Washington University. This excerpt follows Avalos’s father when he worked as a migrant farm worker picking fruits and vegetables in California.

Current Dance Company: https://calpullidance.org/ Web: https://feliciabavalos.wordpress.com/