BodyStories: Teresa Fellion Dance

Mission

Who We Are:

BodyStories: Teresa Fellion Dance is a contemporary dance company of womxn and non-binary individuals that captures and communicates universal human encounters through dynamic, purposeful movement. We are a multifaceted, highly physical company laced with provocative, emotional, political and humorous edges. Our work is intellectual and highly choreographed in every moment. It is intricately technical and controlled in every nuance, with a look that is not controlled.

 

BodyStories’ mission is to examine depths of society in their darkest and brightest moments, inspiring audiences to physically sense emotional and psychological aspects of the human condition through dance. We use immersive techniques to integrate and empower audiences by navigating them through public and theater spaces in innovative ways of engaging with performance. For Anita’s Way with chashama, Fellion developed the site-specific piece Control Dominion exploring power through physical relationality, where audience navigators instructed audience members to move into specific formations in relation to the dancers’ shifting positions in the outdoor space.

In addition to creating and performing original works, the company is committed to reaching diverse populations through community engagement and education, and maintaining a stable business model to sustain our work. BodyStories has put on free and ticketed public concerts throughout the United States and abroad, and held several workshops with integrated participant performances, such as the Patrick Dempsey Cancer Center, where participants contributed text/movement created in collaboration with BodyStories.

It is our mission as a company to elevate the voices of LGBTQIA+  individuals through social and artistic allyship. We believe all individuals have the right to be their full authentic selves and that everyone is deserving of happiness, health, love, support, and privacy. 

We are committed to creating accessible and inclusive art that can be enjoyed by all bodies. We believe that all bodies can dance and we are dedicated to providing the necessary accommodations to make our classes, performances, workshops, and programs possible for all to enjoy.

 

 

List of Actions for Accountability and Transparency in Anti-Racist Work

As a dance company that holds social justice as one of our core tenets, we stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and the ongoing protests. However, standing in solidarity, in this current moment and moving forward, is not enough. We must take a look at ourselves and what we are doing as a dance company to actively fight racism, and what we can do better. We have worked to promote social justice and anti-racism since 2004 but realize that we must do more. The following is a list of actions of accountability and transparency BodyStories implements and will implement to actively fight racism internally and externally. Some of these items we are able to do immediately and some will be ongoing as we rebuild. We hope this list will inspire anyone reading it to think critically about what actions they need to take to be actively anti-racist.

The racial and ethnic makeup of our artistic and administrative staff, and Board of Directors

Our educational offerings

Compensating our collaborators

Public advocacy

Continuous self-education