AUSTIN, Texas — Austin-based performance art collective Ashé Arts hopes to inspire Austinites with its upcoming performance.
- Performance is April 20, 8 – 9:30 p.m.
- Takes place at AISD Performing Arts Center
- Workshops throughout the week
Melanated Chrysalis is the title of the group’s performance at the AISD Performing Arts Center on April 20.
The show is based on the analogy of how a butterfly gets its wings. Melanated refers to skin pigment. Chrysalis refers to the form a caterpillar takes before it breaks out of its cocoon.
“The butterfly, when it wakes up, it doesn’t remember it’s a caterpillar. All it knows is that it’s in this dark hard place it can’t get out of,” said Ashé Arts co-founder Sadé Jones. “Your own personal transformations, when you give birth to yourself, when you waken to yourself, it kind of feels raw and tender and confusing.”
The show includes music, dance, and theater.
“I’m new to Austin and I wanted to see what the best acting company out there was and trying to see what performances I could be a part of and I stumbled across Ashe Arts,” said actress Adwoa Danielle. “I love the work that Sadé is doing with the collective.
“We feel out each other’s energies and just try to play off of each other,” said dancer Raymond Adrien Jones. “As an individual it requires follow ups with myself, running the routines on my own. Really understanding where a move is coming from in my body, so that I can best articulate the message.”
Melanated Chrysalis includes several workshops on the days leading up to the performance. Jones says creatives will show attendees how to use various art forms for healing and empowerment.
Schedule of Events
- Art Alchemy: Manifest w/Symbolism, April 15, 6 – 7 p.m., George Washington Carver Museum
- Freedom + Healing Through Hip Hop, April 16, 6 – 7 p.m., George Washington Carver Museum
- Intuitive Painting, April 17, 6 – 7 p.m., Space 512
- EMPOWords: Poetry + Lyrics 101, April 18, 6 – 7 p.m., African American Heritage Facility
- Melanated Marketplace April 20, 6 – 7:30 p.m., AISD Performing Arts Center
- Melanated Chrysalis Experience, April 20, 8 – 9:30 p.m., AISD Performing Arts Center
