“Christopher “Unpezverde” Núñez, a choreographer, dramaturg, educator, and disability advocate, speaks about his experience as an undocumented Central American immigrant with moderator Marielys “Lely” Burgos Meléndez, advocate, artistic researcher, somatic educator, writer, and audio describer. The discussion will explore the intersection of the politics of immigration, indigeneity, artistry, gender, and disability. The speakers will also consider the role that disability and heritage play in the development of new aesthetics in art-making. This event is held on the occasion of National Hispanic Heritage Month.
BIOS AND STATEMENTS PROVIDED BY THE ARTISTS
Christopher “Unpezverde” Núñez is a Costa Rican/American visually impaired choreographer, educator, and accessibility consultant based in New York City. His performances have been presented at The Brooklyn Museum, The Kitchen, The Joyce Theater, Danspace Project, Movement Research at The Judson Church, The Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, Battery Dance Festival, Performance Mix Festival, and Dixon Place, among others. His work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Brooklyn Rail, and The Dance Enthusiast. He has held residencies at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Danspace Project, The Kitchen, Movement Research, Center for Performance Research, and New Dance Alliance. As a performer, his most recent collaborations include “Dressing Up for Civil Rights” by William Pope L, presented at The Museum of Modern Art.
Marielys “Lely” Burgos Meléndez, MA Dance Studies, AfroTaina-Arawak independent artistic researcher, somatic movement educator, embodied writer, dance audio describer, and communicator from Boriké (Puerto Rico). Since 2014, I investigate the narratives, experiences, and poetics of artistic mobility/ migration of dancers & performers from Puerto Rico, the Greater Caribbean, and Latin America. I am a 2021-2023 Artist-in-Residence at Movement Research excavating experimental dance history, body and media, the body as living archive and memoir, contemplative movement, and indigenous somatics. Errática is my first self-published artist book (2019).
While in Lenapehoking, I have danced with Pramila Vasudevan, Antonio Ramos, iele paloumpis, Jill Sigman/ThinkDance, and most recently with zavé martohardjono. As a Dance Administrator/ Communicator I have supported performing arts organizations like Artichoke Dance Company and Buglisi Dance Theatre/ The Table of Silence Project 9/11, among others. Currently, I work as Digital Content Consultant for Yanira Castro -A Canary Torsi-, and as a Media and Communications Manager at Movement Research.
My creative endeavors have been shared at academic and non-academic institutions in México, Belgium, Cyprus, Greece, Scotland, Dominican Republic, and my native Boriké, among other places. http://www.marielysbm.com
This event was recorded on September 21, 2022.