2020 Q1 Scholarship Recipient - Meet Moonyeka
We had the opportunity to get to know Moonyeka more this quarter as a Q1 Scholarship recipient. Check out her interview below! She’s one incredible human and we are excited about partnering with her on future events at Ascendance.
My name is Moonyeka. I’m a Filipinx femme movement based storyteller who who utilizes art creation, teaching, and organizing to realize a world that honors my communities' stories in a way that is healing, celebratory, and generative.
I am also a practitioner in pleasure and eroticism. I do this through sex work and my own sexual/sensual healing practices.
What drew you to Ascendance?
A friend of mine mentioned Ascendance. I’ve been to a few pole studios and was having trouble vibing well with most of them. I actually was recommended to Ascendance because there was a scholarship program. I generally cannot sustain or afford my own personal dance training beyond self training.
How was your experience in class?
My favorite thing about Ascendance is I feel a little less alienated here. This is the only studio I’ve been to where I felt there was more presence of (qt)poc folks. I also get a little nostalgic cuz I grew up in the South End/South King County areas.
What are your pole/aerial goals?
My first goal was honestly to climb to the top! Beyond that I just wanted a space where I was exploring my movement in new ways. I’ve been performing, battling, teaching, choreographing and creating for awhile and my cup needed to be filled with ways to replenish my own erotic and creative energy.
What has been the most challenging to learn?
Beyond the approach of the move, movement, dance and embodiment have always been a way for me to be in conversation with myself around the discomfort in my body. My discomfort is rooted in systemic oppression, trauma, and projected narratives about what queer femmes of color need to move and act like. It gets distressing to parse out who I am moving for, why I am moving. When I am in class the narratives of shame and the response of freeze can show up because I am moving these narratives quite literally in my body. While it is challenging, I appreciate having another opportunity to engage with these narratives through new ways of moving.
What would be your advice to students who want to try pole/aerial/dance?
Be gentle with yourself. Integrating new ways of moving with your bodymind takes a lot of time and patience. I encourage folks to talk to themselves as compassionately as you would with a loved one. I also encourage folks to set intentions, ground, and reflect on what medicine they seek within movement and dance based practices.
Photo credit: @kapatid.kollective and Bianca
More about Moonyeka: Moonyeka is a sick/disabled Filipinx femme movement based storyteller who utilizes art creation, teaching, and organizing to realize a world that honors her communities' stories in a way that is healing, celebratory, and generative. Amongst many projects and collaboration Moonyeka continues to facilitate LIL BROWN GIRLS CLUB (a movement based mentorship program for young g*rls of color), organized (e)merge: a movement based healing intensive for dance communities and beyond in September 2019; moves + creates work with Dani Tirrell and The Congregation, and is working on LOOB** -- a multi-disciplinary biomythography/memoir as part of their 2020 Northwest Film Forum x Velocity Dance Center Dance Film Residency.
In 2018 Moonyeka joined forces with Kapatid Kollective as the organizations’ Lead Storyteller to bring arts + culture events for Filipinx American History Month and carve spaces to better imagine and collectively develop the many ways in which Filipinxs can heal, undo interconnected systemic oppressions, and thrive.
Moonyeka is also the founder of WHAT’S POPPIN’ LADIEZ?! -- a movement , culminating both as an ethnographic research project and community event series, that celebrates womxn in Street Styles providing them a platform to tell their own stories through teaching, battling, performing and more; a 2019 City Artist Awardee, 2018 Arc Fellowship awardee, the 2017 Tina La Padula Fellowship recipient, Ubunye Project 2017 contributor, Seattle Dances’ DANCE CRUSH 2016, Mary Gates Leadership awardee and George Newsome Humanitarian scholar.
www.moonyeka.com / Instagram @m00nyeka.