Happy New Year! Moving Into 2022

I've been reflecting a lot on the recent years leading up to 2022. There have been a lot of changes and shifts leading up to this year. In 2016, I learned I was pregnant with Noreak and graduated from grad school. In 2017, I started doing some work again with World Trust Educational Services in a different capacity than the years prior, which opened me up to work around communications and community engagement I didn't know I was interested in. I also became a mom in 2017. I became Co-Director at AYPAL, something I really didn't expect to do but so glad I took that leap. 3 months into that, the Bay Area shut down due to COVID-19. That was riiight after the most significant relationship I've had thus far came to an end. In 2020, when the dance studios started to open up again with socially distanced and outdoor classes, I knew I wanted to dance again. At the very least, for my own wellness, both health and headspace. So I did and have been consistent about it. Long story short, like magic (except I know that it's all me), other opportunities came about that really contributed to my growth and happiness.

Last year, an old mentor and Artistic Director of Kaimera Productions, Simón Hanukai, reached out about a place-based production that would be running in Oakland. He was looking for storytellers from Oakland and given our history of working together and learning from him, he knew I had a story to share. Here is a sneak peek into the show last summer.

This show was probably the best thing to have happened to me during the pandemic up until that point. I did get to work with Simón again, but a bunch of other folks I used to write/dance/act with or learn from were a part of this show, too. And in the audience. This group pretty much took over City Hall by making art and building community all throughout the place. I'm just super grateful to have been a part of something that was so beautiful and felt so special with people who were a very integral part of my youth and development as an artist.

That same month, I shot a dance visual with Amanda Gutierrez's Vibe Academy mentorship program. This group spent 9 weeks training together and shot the project at San Jose's beautiful Redwall Studio.

This experience was just fun. We took precautions to ensure folks' safety and were masked at every rehearsal, but I'm not sure when I will do something like this again given where we are still. I want to. Still, I learned a lot and was for sure inspired.

So 2022. May we move into this new year with grace and trust in our personal journeys, see the blessings in the challenges we'll inevitably face, and practice living in the joy and gratitude that serves as soil for more happiness. Personally, the year of the Water Tiger, 2022, is about saying "yes", fostering my relationships, and strengthening my foundation as an artist and organizer.  🙏