Title: Perfectionism Detox: a 3-hour workshop
Description: Ready, set, go! We have three hours to detox from perfectionism in this workshop. Let’s start with being perfect. Identify what you’re good at so you can become a professional at it. Learn the rules, master them. Meet the criteria, or well enough to get by. Mask any flaws. Leave it in the closet. Push aside anything that isn’t useful. Learn the codes, then code-switch. Be flexible, be punctual, submit that Sachbericht. Get a BA. Get an MA. Go for a PhD, and then a post-post-post Doctorate. Go to the gym. Go to the therapist. Realign your chakras. DO NOT PROCRASTINATE. 

What if I told you that perfectionism is rooted in white supremacy? As professional artists, we participate in a culture steeped in abuses of power, piled on deadlines, and perfectionism. The detox from all this sometimes feels impossible. I propose to start a conversation with one another, collectively detoxing, slowly. We will practice self-awareness, share dances, witness and respond to one another using our artistic talents to meet each other where we are with all of our complexities. In the end, we will identify how we can swerve to avoid this colonial trap.The session will include watching video excerpts from a six-part web series, results of my artistic research process undergone at Ponderosa and the Frankfurt Lab between 2020-21 with a team of migrant practitioners sharing roots in the Global South. They are Diana De Fex, Abril Lukac, Luz Zenaida Hualpa García, An*dre Neely, and Suzette Sagisi. You are welcome to watch these on your own, starting with the introduction: https://vimeo.com/646417342

Amelia Uzategui Bonilla (she/they) was born in Lima, Peru. She has performed in the United States, South America, and Europe. They choreograph solo and group work, and have learned through collaborations with an eclectic variety of artists, notably, Marina Abramović, Adam Barruch, Cunamacué- Afro-Peruvian Dance, Luís Antonio Vílchez, Anna Halprin, NAKA Dance Theater, and Tino Sehgal. A graduate of Juilliard (BFA Dance) and the Tamalpa Institute (Expressive Arts Somatic Education) Amelia frequently guest teaches in training contexts like the BA Tanzabteilung at the HfMDK Frankfurt where she also completed her MA in Contemporary Dance Education. Combining theory and praxis, Amelia is committed to challenging the coloniality of power in contemporary dance. Together with Mareike Uhl, they co-lead ID_Frankfurt- Independent Dance and Performance e.V.’s ID_Tanzhaus Frankfurt Rhein-Main, providing alternative infrastructures and increasing visibility for a wide variety of freelance dancers.