Sadiya Ramos
Yes, it absolutely can. I think that when you use your body you are able to portray things in a visceral way and recount things that have happened. Accounts of abuse, police brutality, all kinds of things that have happened especially to people of color. And why not? Why not use your body and movement to bring notice to these issues.
It took away my college experience. Our school wants to give us a virtual graduation - it's ridiculous. The rest of the college experience will be inadequate. We pay for studio space in our tuition and there is no space or way for me to adequately train and perform. I think one of the hardest things is the idea that dance is very communal; and there is so much fellowship in what we do. Not having my counterparts to inspire me and contribute energy in the room is definitely affecting the way I practice dance.
The Thursday before the week everything started to change, we were doing a run through for our senior showcase that would be debuted in NYC at Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater. A lot of people in the industry would be there and that is something we count on for networking and job opportunities... later I got an email from my teacher, Joy Davis, who was coordinating the trip. She said that we shouldn't get on the bus on Monday to go to NYC and there would be a meeting about the coronavirus That made me nervous but I was still in denial.
