behind the house is the garden is an intimate retrospective ritual performance that prioritizes ancestral memory and the resilience in our veins. Conceived, choreographed, and directed by SAMMAY Peñaflor Dizon, this work honors the life of their late paternal grandmother Nanay Carling, her journey with Alzheimer’s disease, and their ongoing conversation between realms.
Dizon is an MFA Candidate in the Choreographic Inquiry program at the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance on the unceded ancestral lands of the Gabrieleno/Tongva peoples. Their research centers ritual performance as a site of re-membering and reclamation for diasporic peoples. As a contemporary dancemaker steeped in ancestral and spiritual tradition, Dizon is committed to finding pathways that bridge seemingly opposite worlds - finding resonance in shared critical dialogue and harmonious possibilities through embodied practice.
behind the house is the garden will be performed by Simon Chernow, Mikayla Knestrick, Aryeal Lands, Bianca Yen, and Lingfeng Yi - with live accompaniment by Pinay sistren dynamic duo Camille and JoJo Ramirez.