Black lives matter.
The leaders and staff at Invertigo are listening, reflecting and working. We are a group with a multitude of identities among us, and while we are all affected differently, we all stand in solidarity, in mourning, and in action. We are grateful for artists, community organizers, activists and advocates, and protestors, for creating change from inside and outside of the system.
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David: I am exhausted, and I am hopeful. Times of turmoil often provide an opportunity to rebuild in a better way, one that reflects our values. That is most where I want to put my energies.
Laura: I am angry, I am aware of my privilege, and I am committed to learning from mistakes and making progress. The work is long and deep-rooted, and we are in the middle of it, not the beginning.
Kelsey: I'm trying to process and listen. It is overwhelming what is happening around the world at the moment - the struggles people are facing here in the US and those back at home in Hong Kong and the Philippines protesting for their voices to be heard.
Chelsea: I’m listening, learning, trying to do the work and find the best ways to support and amplify the voices that need to be heard.
Mike: I am continuing to educate myself and do what I can. It is a daily effort to recognize one's privilege and to do our part to challenge injustice. Black Lives Matter.
K.: I feel called to deepen my anti-racism practices -- personally and in my roles with Invertigo. Black lives & futures & dreams & art matter. More than ever, I feel that bone marrow commitment to show up for the work of amplifying the voices and lives of the most vulnerable.
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These uprisings are a reaction against centuries of oppression, as well as current injustices. We are committed to a movement toward justice and equity.
The body is political - it holds a multitude of identities, and trauma, and beauty. Invertigo has always been about storytelling through movement. Dance has the capacity to change the stories that are told. We want the world around us to tell a better story, and so we remain determined to be part of reshaping the story.
This is not a time for platitudes or placeholders. It is a time for reflection and action. The dance and theatre world is often a reflection of the deep-rooted systemic inequities of our society. We are committed to our own growth and to the evolution of our field. We recommend the Undoing Racism workshop as a good beginning for working to address and heal from racism embedded in our personal and professional worlds. https://www.pisab.org Two excellent compilations of action items and resources are here and here.
This moment, this work, this movement is not abstract for us. Some of us are Black and Brown, and experience these issues on the most personal of levels. All of us love and fear for and want better for our Black and Brown family, friends and colleagues. As a company, we also have levels of privilege and power and a platform to question and unpack and surrender and leverage, so our privilege can be utilized for justice.
Yesterday was BlackOutTuesday, which is why you’re getting this email today. We honored the day by giving our staff paid time to heal, process, read, learn, or advocate, as they needed. We added resources to our social justice google-doc. We committed to doing better. The work cannot end with a nicely crafted email sent on a black background expressing solidarity and getting back to business as usual tomorrow.
There is no perfect or simple way to operate in this landscape of upheaval. We feel that above all it is important that we are thoughtful, open and willing to voice our values within the torrents of change. Inclusivity and accessibility remain the central heartbeat of Invertigo’s artistic and community-based work -- as an embodied practice.
In solidarity and love,
Laura and David