Carnival of Ritual

Overview

Carnival of Ritual is a multi disciplinary visual and performance art piece that explores the emergence of American circus and its relationship to black people in the US. This piece uses the juxtaposition of the sacred of and the silly as a backdrop to reconciling iniquitous origins mired by race and racism, it is a reconciliation and reimagining. Through movement, visuals, sound and participation we invite you to move through the past , present and future with us. We want to ignite imagination delivered through circus, carnival, revelry and the sacredness of black ancestral traditions as we ascend

NOTE: the 9/25 performance of this show has been canceled.

About the Artist

My name is Alexandria White and I am an artist. I start with that definition because so much of my work personally, professionally, physically, spiritually, socially comes from that place of wanting to create, discover and change.
About 15 years ago, I stumbled upon aerial and circus arts and unlocked a new level of myself that I didnt know about. I have always enjoyed physical movement as a previous dancer and athlete, but the joy and freedom of being suspended above ground and moving my body in ways that defied gravity awakened me. I once again found myself immersed in a world that didn't seem to represent or welcome black women.
Taking up space, experiencing the full range of my talents, abilities and limitations while providing spaces for others to do the same brings me joy. The innate kindness that is giving people, especially black, brown, and queer people pastures of wild experimentation and exploration of future, past and present is the crux of who I am as an artist and how i am inspired. Telling our stories individually and collectively combined with movement provides an innate somatic therapy that I am happy to participate in and share with others. It is my intention to use my imagination, love, gifts and abilities to share and conjure as much juicy joy and pleasure that is humanly possible.