D. Allen

NET/WORK: wheelchair bound (remix)

When the artist, who has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, finally received their first insurance-covered power wheelchair in early 2023, they encountered the same question from medical professionals and community members alike: are you wheelchair bound? As a poet, an ambulatory wheelchair user whose abilities fluctuate from day to day, and a kinky queer and trans person, D. began developing a joyful exploration into experiences of being restrained, confined, and beholden. But in April, an accident left D. unable to bring the original concept to fruition, and what emerged in its place is a sobering reflection on ableism, violence, grief, and adaptation. In a society that often renders us invisible, isolated, disposable, and/or hyper-vulnerable, this piece asks us to remember that our fates—disabled and abled—are inextricably bound together, and that none of us can abandon disabled and ill members of our community without also abandoning ourselves. 

D. Allen is a multidisciplinary poet, performer, and artist living in Minneapolis. Hybridity is central to D.'s creative practice. Their works typically interweave elements of text, image, movement, performance, mixed-media objects, and/or sound to explore themes of disabled embodiment, queer and trans identity, kinship beyond blood, and intimacy with place and the natural world. Their first book, A Bony Framework for the Tangible Universe, was published by The Operating System in 2019. These days, D. is writing a book-length lyric essay and making new material for their ongoing performance project, NET/WORK. After Isolated Acts, their next public performance will take place in Minneapolis at the Center for Performing Arts on the evening of September 23.  www.thebodyconnected.com 

Alys Ayumi Ogura

Do not assume anything. Things may not be as they appear.

Collaborator: Akiko

Alys Ayumi Ogura welcomes a new collaborator to the “Yumi-verse”! Both Ogura and Akiko, a multimedia storyteller, are originally from Japan, but they took different paths to get to the Twin Cities. Each is a dancer, but they pursue different styles. And while they can both be put into the same category of “Asian, Japanese woman,” they are not the same—though many people would like to think they are. Ogura builds her one-woman show Never Underestimate a Short Asian Woman with an Accent into a duet, blending story, humor and surprise. This piece will illustrate the very complex and layered identities of two women who share very similar cultural backgrounds, yet are very different people who cannot be put into the same box.

Alys Ayumi Ogura is a storyteller through her movements, voice, and quirky humor. Growing up an only child in Japan gave her enough room to develop a strong imagination. After trading Japanese rice fields for Iowa corn fields, Ogura saw that dance and movement are the best outlets for her to share her ever-percolating stories from her life experiences. Ogura’s movement and choreography are most influenced by her first two mentors, the late Mika Kurosawa, godmother of Japanese contemporary dance, and Rob Scoggins, her former college dance professor, each of whom offered boundless encouragement. Ogura has worked in the Twin Cities since 2010 with more than 30 artists—near and far—including Hauser Dance, Emily Johnson/Catalyst, Emily Gastineau, Sandrine Harris, Kata Juhasz, Pam Gleason, Pramila Vasudevan, and Laurie Van Wieren. She has toured with April Sellers’ ASDC and with Sarah LaRose-Holland’s KEDC, and she has performed her choreography at various Twin Cities venues, including the Southern Theater, Walker Art Center, and the Cedar Cultural Center. She has created more than 10 works, and she has shown her improvisations in various places, including the St. Paul skyway and the Mississippi riverbank. Ogura is a former Arts Organizing Institute Fellow (2017-18) through Pangea World Theater, and a Naked Stages Fellow (2021) through Pillsbury House Theatre. She serves on the DanceMN steering committee and she supports MN Artist Coalition efforts.