Out-FRONT! Fest. 2023: Symara Johnson

Out-FRONT! Fest. is a new movement-based, cross-disciplinary performance festival centering the voices of LGBTQ and feminist artists. Curated by Pioneers Go East Collective, and presented in partnership with The LGBT Community Center, the festival features the work of artists exploring bold new performance modes for a lively exchange of art and culture. Out-FRONT! Fest. will take place January 12–19, 2023, at The LGBT Community Center, 208 West 13th Street, in Manhattan. All festival events are free (donations suggested).

Reservations are required and can be made at http://pioneersgoeast.eventbrite.com.

Symara Johnson

The Kitchen Sink Wrangler at the Midnight Rodeo 

Thursday, January 12 and Friday, January 13, at 8pm

Theatre 301

The Kitchen Sink Wrangler at the Midnight Rodeo is an exploration into the artist’s American and West Indian heritage. Formally trained in Caribbean dance techniques in Trinidad, Symara Johnson combines the methodologies of folk and modern dance to explore her family history within the United States, of which there is a limited archive. Johnson uses family lore and American cultural fantasy to create and project a persona that embodies and is in conversation with her lineage in the Wild West and the Deep South. In the piece, the rope becomes both a prop and partner as Johnson embodies her cowgirl persona. She uses the rope as a boundary, holding it taut and creating shapes for her body to deftly navigate. She surveils the land around her, responding to her surroundings with playful curiosity. When she begins to lasso, the rope transforms into a mesmerizing and dynamic sculptural accompaniment.

Photo: Olga Rabetskaya