A movement ritual of care & resilience to nurture our connections to the elders and ancestors.
How has colonialism impacted the care we have received from our elders?
How did we experience their resilience?
What nurturing strategies can we share with each other to help us thrive, in a mainstream society that seeks to racialise and dehumanise us?
Can we create rituals and spaces to care for ourselves?
Women from the Global Ethnic Majority whose families have been impacted by colonisation share their own histories of care, resilience, legacy, and how these stories live in their bodies. Going beyond everyday storytelling, transforming those energies into a live experience.
Upcoming work in progress performances:
23rd April 7:30pm, Unity Theatre, Liverpool
29th May 7:30, Company Chameleon, Manchester
This performance brings to audiences our latest research and development phase of this project, where we focused on weaving personal storytelling, movement, dramaturgy and community.
You can join us for our autobiographical workshops, where we explore our bodies as places of legacy; voice as ancestral calling; sharing stories; rituals; being vulnerable together. A space to discuss openly the impact of trauma and mental health on our female elders, and their resourcefulness. From these experiences, what legacy do we want to leave others?
We'll be joined by a counsellor during the workshop. They are there, holding a therapeutic space for us, grounding us when needed.
Previous participants' Feedback
‘It was like meeting my ancestors and starting to discuss with them intergenerational traumas and inherited patterns of behaviour, starting to figure out who I am, what I am made of, what importance does my heritage have in how I position myself in the world, society, community.’ Ana
‘I think this has been really revolutionary for me and my own journey of acceptance, self love and connection to my heritage. I think this is a fantastic opportunity for anyone with a similar background.’ Anahi
‘These workshops and this specific group of women helped me immensely to join the dots between my experiences and those of my ancestors, an incredibly valuable connection, which I don’t think I would have found as easily without this.’ Ellie
‘The workshop has benefited my well-being yes, it was great to connect with others and have a shared language of colonialism and the impact that has had on community and individuals. Fae
‘It made me realise that my creative process is connected to my healing and that I should see them as intertwined, that my experience in this lifetime is influenced greatly by what my ancestors went through.’ Lerato
This project is currently being developed through the Turn Prize award (2024), a development commission supported by Company Chameleon, Dance Consortia NW, hÅb + Project Auske; and a Metal Liverpool Artist Residency to develop this project.
We’re Here Because They Were is the practical component of my Practice as Research doctorate thesis, at Liverpool Hope University through a scholarship dedicated to decolonial studies and performance.
Created & performed: Fabiola Santana
Devised & performed: Jessica Morgado
Director: Will Dickie
Previous commissions
A Divergency micro-commission - hÅb
DIY 2020 | Live Art Development Agency | Supported by the Museum of London