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 Nursing These Wounds

 

September 22-24, 2023
ODC Theater

KULARTS presents SF Legacy Artist Awardee, Alleluia Panis’s Nursing These Wounds, an immersive dance performance investigating the impact of colonization on Pilipinx health and caregiving through the lens of Pilipinx nurses’ history, whose experiences with Westernized medical education and subsequent migrations laid the groundwork for the continuing global export of Pilipino labor, shaped the United States medical field, and created a fissure between traditional forms of knowledge and our community’s conceptions of well-being.

The project expands on Alleluia Panis’s ongoing development of a community-based ritual and ceremonial language that allows diasporic Pilipinx people to create a space of belonging, informed by rigorous traditional shamanistic practice but within the language and context of the Bay Area’s Pilipinx American community.

PERFORMANCE SHOWTIMES

Friday, September 22 at 7:00 PM
Saturday, September 23 at 7:00 PM
Sunday, September 24 at 3:00 PM

ODC Theater
3153 17th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110

 
 

Post Show Discussion

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22
8:30 - 9:00 PM

Director and Choreographer Alleluia Panis
in conversation with Jason Magabo Perez, PhD, CSU San Marcos

SUNDAY, SEPTEMER 24
4:30 - 5:00 PM

Moderator
Joyce Lu, PhD, Pomona College

Panelists
Joshua Icban, Composer
Jo ‘love/speak’ Cruz, Love/Speak Productions
Frances Teves Sedayao, Featured Dance Artist

MORE INFO + RESOURCES

Nursing These Wounds
Filipina Nurses in the Covid-19 Pandemic: Historical and Political Reframing through Art and Performance
Filipina Nurses in the Covid-19 Pandemic: Historical and Political Reframing through Art and Performance

A three-part essay about the ongoing interdisciplinary project Nursing These Wounds by Alyssa Manansala

Read More →

KULARTS Blog, "Herbal Allies for Seasonal Support," by Aimee Amparo
KULARTS Blog, "Herbal Allies for Seasonal Support," by Aimee Amparo

March 17, 2022

As we consider Spring’s active potential and continue to experience the charged stress, chaos, and uncertainty that swirls around us in our daily lives, I would like to reflect on the small steps we can take to better care for ourselves and each other every day.

Read More →

Asian American Life, "COVID's Devastating Toll on Filipino Nurses"
Asian American Life, "COVID's Devastating Toll on Filipino Nurses"

March 4, 2021

Filipinos make up 4% of nurses in the U.S. but sadly, account for a third of the nurses who have died from COVID nationwide. Host Ernabel Demillo takes a look at the impact the pandemic has had on the community; along with the history of Filipino nurses in the U.S. and why many found themselves working on the front lines.

Watch Here →

Nursing Clio, "Nursing Justice: Filipino Immigrant Nurse Activism in the United States," by Catherine Ceniza Choy
Nursing Clio, "Nursing Justice: Filipino Immigrant Nurse Activism in the United States," by Catherine Ceniza Choy

December 3, 2020

When you think about trailblazing women in American nursing history, do Filipino nurses come to mind? Probably not. But they should.

Read More →

SF Chronicle, "A surge of anti-Asian violence is forcing another racial reckoning in the Bay Area," by Janelle Bitker
SF Chronicle, "A surge of anti-Asian violence is forcing another racial reckoning in the Bay Area," by Janelle Bitker

February 22, 2021

Asians in the Bay Area say the hostility isn’t new.

Read More →

Kanlungan
Kanlungan

KANLUNGAN is intended to be a memorial to the transnational people of Philippine ancestry who make up a huge sector of the global healthcare system.

Learn More →

Fresh Air, "Haniely Pableo on being a nurse working with COVID-19 patients"
Fresh Air, "Haniely Pableo on being a nurse working with COVID-19 patients"

May 2, 2020

A nurse at Toronto General Hospital describes what it's like to be on the emergency response intubation team for COVID-19 patients on a 12-hour shift.

Listen Now →

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY FILIPINO NURSES IN CALIFORNIA?
WHY ARE THERE SO MANY FILIPINO NURSES IN CALIFORNIA?

After Filling a Nursing Shortage in the 1960s, Immigrant Caregivers Have Changed the Practice and the Politics of Health Care

Read More →

Why Are There So Many Filipino Nurses In The U.S.? | AJ+

The United States has a lot of Filipino nurses. How did that happen?

The Exploits of a Capitalist Labor System
The Exploits of a Capitalist Labor System

“It’s this kind of racial hierarchical attitude that influenced their [U.S.] decision that in order to uplift Filipinos, we need to educate them in American ways” —Catherine Ceniza Choy, professor and chair of Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley

Read More →

GET INVOLVED + EVENTS

Nursing These Wounds
I KNOW A NURSE / I AM A NURSE
I KNOW A NURSE / I AM A NURSE

Ongoing

In honor of those who have worked or currently work in the nursing field, we are compiling a list of names and/or photos for the Nursing These Wounds multimedia performance in the fall.

Submit Here →

Ritual Performance
Ritual Performance

June 18, 2022

Join us for an excerpt performance from the upcoming project Nursing These Wounds featuring dance artists Frances Teves Sedayao, Angel Velez, Jess DeFranco, Allegra Bautista, and Dre 'Poko' Devis.

Register Here →

Nursing These Wounds: Story Circles
Nursing These Wounds: Story Circles

October 15 - December 10, 2021

KULARTS is in the beginning stages of planning Nursing These Wounds and we would love your help! If you are a nurse, whatever the stories, we would love to hear them!

Learn More →

Nurse Narratives in the Arts Panel

April 28, 2021

An online panel of interdisciplinary Pilipinx American artists engaged in the poetics and politics of care and migration. Featuring panelists Jason Magabo Perez, PhD, Jenifer K. Wofford, Alleluia Panis and moderated by Joyce Lu, PhD.

Learn More →

Nurses in the Diaspora Panel Discussion

March 24, 2021

An online panel on Pilipinx nurses as laborers of the healthcare industry. A discussion on its history, labor organizing, pandemic realities, nursing education, colonialism, racism, and health care inequities. Featuring panelists: Catherine Ceniza Choy, PhD; Claire Valderama-Wallace, PhD, MPH, RN; David Monkawa; Haniely 'Han Han' Pableo, RN; Ritchel Gazo, RN, MS and moderated by Jason Magabo Perez, PhD.

Learn More →

 

 ABOUT THE ARTISTS

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CREATIVE + PRODUCTION TEAM

 

ALLELUIA PANIS

DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER

Alleluia Panis, Artistic & Executive Director, is the driving force behind KULARTS and respected elder artist in the US and the Philippines. She has created 20 full-length dance theater works since 1985. She was awarded the prestigious 2017 SFAC Artist Legacy, 2019-20 Gerbode Special Artist Award, 2019-2020 Dance USA Artist Fellow, and 2020 Hewlett 50 Arts Commission.

LADISLAO ‘JUNE’ ARELLANO

COSTUME DESIGNER

Ladislao ‘June’ Arellano was born in Bataan, Philippines. He trained at the Philippine Women’s University and New York’s Broadway Dance School. He is a lead dancer in Parangal Dance Company since 2008 and performed in works by Alleluia Panis and Sydney Loyola.

ALVIN ‘CAS’ CASASOLA

MEDIA ARTIST

Alvin ‘Cas’ Casasola has been a tattooist since 2010 and specializes in American Traditional, Asian, Geometric and custom work. He operates out of a private studio located in the SF Mission District. Cas also has a background in graphic design, animation, videography and digital art.

MARIO ‘NOMI’ DE MIRA

VOCALIST & SONGWRITER

Mario ‘Nomi’ de Mira is a hip hop artist, cultural worker and community advocate. He is the lead vocalist/MC of Power Struggle and operations manager at SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco’s Filipino Cultural Heritage District.

AIMEE AMPARO

VOCALIST

Aimee Amparo has been combining music, spiritual work & healing arts, and travel for 9 years. Each song is a connection to the other, revealing a shared human experience. She uses music to tell the stories that have been passed down to her and to create intention for the future.

JOSHUA ICBAN

COMPOSER

Joshua Icban is a musician, sound designer, and composer based in Vallejo, CA, and worked with prestigious talents and organizations such as Grammy winner Fantastic Negrito, KULARTS under the direction of Alleluia Panis, Oakland Hip Hop Collective Grand Nationxl and The SF Symphony orchestra with Michael Tilson Thomas.

O.M. FRANCE VIANA

INSTALLATION ARTIST

O.M. France Viana is a multimedia artist, working in photography, painting, collage, video, performance and installation. Her artworks interrogate the semiotics of color, spirituality and consciousness, and Filipino American and Venezuelan identity.

GRISEL TORRES / gg

LIGHTING DESIGNER

Grisel Torres / gg (they/them) is a lighting and sound designer, dj, energy and body work practitioner based in Ohlone Chochenyo Territory. They studied Light Design, Stage Management, and Props Design at SFSU’s School of Theatre and Dance and has been a staff lighting designer, carpenter, production manager and venue manager for various theatre companies in the SF Bay Area since 2013.

JOYCE LU, PhD

DRAMATURG

Joyce Lu, PhD teaches contemporary drama and performance. She specializes in applied theatre, movement, Asian and Asian American performance, with expertise in guiding people to devise autobiographical, self-revelatory work. She is a certified Feldenkrais Method practitioner and the founder and director of LA Playback Theatre Company.

HANA SUN LEE

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Hana Sun Lee is an arts organizer and administrator based in San Francisco/Bay Area. She is currently serving as the Managing Director at KULARTS. She has over 8 years of experience in multidisciplinary arts programming, administration, and project management. Prior to KULARTS, she was at the de Young Museum/Legion of Honor and Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco.

 

DANCE ARTISTS

DRE ‘POKO’ DEVIS

Dre ‘Poko’ Devis is a born-and-raised San Francisco Pinay, emerging from matriarchal roots. Poko moves with a foundation of competitive gymnastics, martial arts, aerial dance, and hard-hitting animalistic synergy.

FRANCES TEVES SEDAYAO

Frances Teves Sedayao is a multi-disciplinary artist who has performed w/ many Bay Area notables in the US and abroad over the past 20 years. She’s an SF Apature Featured Artist, Art-resident of NY OMI International and currently in collaboration with Nina Haft-Co., Yiddish Theater-(actor), Naomi Newman, Sarah Bush and SF Dance Generators. 

KAO SEBASTIAN SAEPHANH

Kao Sebastian Saephanh winner of a 2014 sjDANCEco ChoreoProject Award for Best Choreography, is based in San Francisco, CA. He is currently the co-artistic director of LV Dance Collective, and dancer for PUSH Dance Company and KULARTS.

SYDNEY RAE LEONG

Sydney Leong is a performing/teaching artist and Pilates instructor based on Ramatush/Ohlone land in San Francisco. She attended CA State Summer School for the Arts, Ailey School Summer Intensive, LINES Ballet Winter Intensive, and State Street Ballet. She currently dances with Parangal Dance Company.

JESS DEFRANCO

Jess DeFranco grew up in the Bay Area and is a San Francisco based dancer and teacher. Jess received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Asian American Studies from San Francisco State University. She’s performed for Garrett + Moulton Productions, Robert Moses Kin, Kristin Damrow and Co., Alyssa Mitchel, and Tim Rubel’s Human Shakes.

JOHAN CASAL

Johan Casal is a multidisciplinary artist based in the Bay Area producing work in film, music, theater, and dance. He performed as a lead dancer in Netflix’s production of “The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Live Experience,” and directed and produced an original feature film, “Manalo: The Movie Musical,” highlighting the shared struggles of Filipinx-Americans and the diverse cultures of the Philippines.

JONATHAN M. MERCADO

Jonathan Michael Mercado is an interdisciplinary Filipino-American artist in the Bay Area. His movement is inspired through his experiences of hip-hop/urban choreography and Filipino folk dancing. He currently dances with KULARTS under director Alleluia Panis and Parangal Dance Company under director Eric Solano.

ANGEL VELEZ

Angel Velez (they/them) is a dance artist who has performed works by Parangal, eMotion Arts, LV Dance Collective, Embodiment Project, and notable others in the Bay Area. Trained in multiple dance lineages from a young age, Angel draws from Laban/Bartenieff fundamentals and is informed by internal sensations, emotions, and visualizations.

 

GENEVIE DELA CRUZ

Genevie Dela Cruz (she/her) is a San Diego-born dancer and choreographer. She began dancing at San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts and is currently pursuing degrees in Dance and Kinesiology at San Francisco State University. Genevie blends contemporary dance with cultural dances from the Philippines to promote her rich cultural background.