Living With

Project Description

Living With is an interdisciplinary performance that explores the (inter)connections of self and other, largely informed by our relationship to the Earth.  A cast of dancers, drummers, and poets usher audiences through an exploration between connection and disconnection; through a remembering of “old ways of being” in relation to symbiosis with nature; and through a call to emergence. These themes are represented by vocal harmonization, choreographed, and improvised dance sequences, live drumming, and a variety of emotional soundscapes. The piece is rooted in uplifting each other’s diverse stories while (simultaneously) tending to the interconnections shared between us. While the movement practice is largely influenced by the African diaspora, each dancer has a unique practice in different genres that include Dancehall, South and West African folk dance, Afro-contemporary, Salsa, Samba, Hip Hop and Experimental Street Dance.  Poetry is informed by the Dene Cree Experience on Turtle Island, witnessed through art as ceremony.  Music is influenced by the Djembe, Samba, Flamenco, Jazz rhythms with a soulful nod to Burundi. Whether Indigenous to Turtle Island or Diasporic, these means of connecting exemplify how art is received and co collaborated into a contemporary context. The use of ancestral culture expressed in this unified project brings to fruition the very nature of contemporary creation and emergence in the way the artists connect to one another, the community, and the Earth.

Intended Audience: This show is intended for ALL audiences, and we especially hope to connect with communities who normally do not have access to the arts. 

Some of the specific communities/ people we hope to connect, include but are NOT limited to:

Residents of tent cities 

Residents in lower income neighborhoods

Schools (in low-income neighborhoods/ without funding for arts and performance)

Nursing homes

Rehabilitation centers 

Remote and rural communities

BIPOC communities and individuals

Anyone who is excluded in arts spaces due to mobility/ visual/ hearing disabilities 

Company Profile

Her Tribal Roots is a collective of movement and interdisciplinary artists that was founded in 2014 by Alyssa Amarshi. Since its inception, Her Tribal Roots has strived to represent inclusion, foster empathy, and celebrate the divine feminine in all its multifaceted diversity. Thus, at its ‘root’ or foundation, the collective creates from a place of asking the following questions: “How can empathy and emotional awareness of ourselves and others inform our artistry?” “How can we make our artistic practice and production more accessible and inclusive?” “How can we better nourish our fellow artists, audiences, and the land on which we reside?” “How can we be mindful and respectful in how we include both the cultures and people from which we draw inspiration?” By beginning from an inquisitive mindset, the members of Her Tribal Roots encompass what it means to be emergent and continually aim to find a harmonious balance of practice and shared vision. Their creativity breathes in Orin McRey’s joyous offering of AfroLatin fusion movement and theatre arts; Ariane Custodio’s ability to effortlessly facilitate all types of intermodal connection; Kt Karjala’s playful merging of clowning and movement; Marisa Gold’s soulful intertwining of Afro-contemporary, street dance, and poetry; Tawahum’s rooted contributions of poetic wisdom and witnessing art as ceremony through the Dene Cree experience; JD’s expressive and expansive knowledge of rhythms; and Alyssa Amarshi’s deep love for Jamaican Dancehall, Hip Hop, and experimental movement. Some of their credits include dancing, choreographing, and creative directing for performances curated by the Surrey Art Gallery, Museum of Anthropology, Shooting Gallery Series, the Stew Jams, the summer AfroMad Festival, the International Nelson Mural Festival, and Vines Festival; sitting on panels for the Reach Gallery and the City of Vancouver; and continually cultivating community through free workshops and free weekly interdisciplinary art sessions at the Dusty Flowerpot (pre-COVID). Through dance, expression, and radical kindness, Her Tribal Roots strives to pay homage to the cultures and people who have influenced their artistic journeys and to foster connection between communities and with the natural world.

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