“Stories from Home centers Nuevomexicana, Xicana, and Mexican American bodies, aesthetics, and experiences from the U.S. Southwest on concert dance stages, where such themes and aesthetics are rarely seen,” comments choreographer Yvonne Montoya.
Stories From Home is a series of dances embodying the oral traditions of Latino communities in the American Southwest. Choreographer Yvonne Montoya draws upon personal histories as well as ancestral knowledge, including stories from Montoya’s great-grandmother, grandmother, great-aunts, and father.
With palpable theatricality, moving spoken word, a movement aesthetic informed by vibrant ancestral and contemporary sources, and universal themes of love, family, and home, Stories From Home brings these largely underrepresented experiences to the stage.
The format and presentation of Stories From Home is flexible; it can be performed as a full-length dance work for the traditional stage; as single, brief solos; paired with a keynote address for conferences or educational events; and outdoors, on proscenium stages, in blackbox spaces, digitally, or in classrooms.
Montoya, a 23rd-generation Nuevomexicana, began to develop Stories From Home after her father’s passing in 2015; compelled to continue his storytelling tradition for her own child, she turned to dance.
Stories From Home is a vessel for personal and specific tales, while also offering a broader look at various cultural traditions throughout the Southwest. The grounded, sometimes incongruous choreography embraces abrupt shapes and connected, fluid shifts, balancing disarticulation with a moody softness.
The sections of the work -- solos, duets, and ensemble dances -- address issues such as the Bracero Program, loss of language, Nuevomexicano querencia, connection to land and ancestors, love of family, spiritual symbolism, the creation of the Atomic bomb in Los Alamos New Mexico and its impact on the surrounding Nuevomexicano communities, and the experience of the Sefardim people during and after the Spanish Inquisition.
The cast of Stories From Home originates from communities throughout Arizona and New Mexico, and features an all Latine cast, including Nuevomexicana, Mexican American and immigrant artists. This intentional geographic spread addresses the isolation of Southwest-based dance artists, instituting a community of Latine dancers. The far-flung group of artists also allows for an embodied sense of the array of landscapes that are integral to the work. Site-specific creation residencies played a key role in developing Stories From Home, providing spatial and historical context for the performers.
Presenters
GALA Hispanic Theatre | 2023
GALA Hispanic Theatre announced us as part of their 2023/24 artistic season. The Stories from Home team is excited to share this work with the DC community in October. Tickets can be purchased here.
Western New Mexico University: Fiesta Latina | 2023
In June, an enthusiastic crowd joined us at the Light Hall Theater in Western New Mexico University in Silver City, NM for a workshop + performance of Stories from Home.
Tempe Center for the Arts | 2023
In April, the cast of Stories from Home shared an evening of dance and storytelling at Tempe Center for the Arts. This workshop + performance took place as a part of the Tempe Center for the Art's 48 Live series.
Community Performance & Art Center | 2023
The Community Performance & Arts Center in Green Valley, AZ presented the soft premiere of Stories from Home on February 8, 2023.
Tempe History Museum: Sunset Series | 2020
The Tempe History Museum’s Sunset Series presented Tempe Stories from Home digitally on October 6, 2020. Tempe Stories from Home was an evening of digital dance and storytelling that centers contemporary Latinx experiences while animating the city’s Latinx history.
The evening featured the Tempe premiere of three dance films from the film series, Stories from Home: COVID-19 Addendum, as well as a live dance performance inspired by historical Tempe photographs, and an audience Q&A. Tempe Stories from Home features work by Tempe-based dance artists Steve Rosales, Delia Ibáñez and composer Samuel Peña.
Funders
Arizona Community Foundation Community Support Grant
This project was supported by a grant from the Arizona Community Foundation. Established in 1978, the Arizona Community Foundation is a statewide family of charitable funds supported by thousands of Arizonans. Since inception, ACF has awarded over $1 billion in grants, scholarships, and loans to nonprofit organizations, schools, and government agencies. More information is available at azfoundation.org.
National Performance Network Creation Fund Grant
Safos Dance Theatre was awarded the 2022 National Performance Network Creation Fund for Yvonne Montoya's Stories from Home. This grant was awarded in collaboration with two co-commissioners, GALA Hispanic Theatre (Washington, DC) and Su Teatro (Denver, CO). Thank you NPN, Su Teatro, and GALA Hispanic Theatre for your support!
The Creation and Development Fund is made possible with support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency), and co-commissioners.
This project is supported by the National Performance Network (NPN) Documentation & Storytelling Initiative with funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For more information, visit www.npnweb.org.
National Endowment for the Arts Grants for Arts Projects
Safos Dance Theatre was awarded the 2022 Grants for Arts Projects for Yvonne Montoya's Stories from Home. This project is one of 14 projects awarded funding in Arizona. Thank you NEA for your support!
The MAP Fund
Yvonne Montoya is a 2020 MAP Fund Grantee for Stories from Home. She is among 171 performing artists and arts organizations grantees who received funding from all over the country in 2020.
The MAP Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Thank you MAP for your support.
New England Foundation for the Arts National Dance Project
Yvonne Montoya is a 2020 NEFA National Dance Project Production Grant recipient for the creation and production of Stories from Home. She is honored to be the first Arizona-based artist to receive this award. Montoya and the Stories from Home team is very excited about what this means for Arizona-based dance artists, and Nuevomexicna and Xicana stories from the Southwest being shared nationally. Congratulations to all of the grant recipients and finalists!
This grant is made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Thank you NEFA!
Arizona Commission on the Arts
This project is supported in part by the Arizona Commission on the Arts which receives support from the State of Arizona and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona
This project is supported by the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona
Funded in part by The National Endowment for the Arts, City of Tucson, and Pima County
Arizona State University
Projecting All Voices, a program of Arizona State University Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, and Arizona State University Gammage.
The Projecting All Voices Fellowship, a program of the Studio for Creativity, Place and Equitable Communities at Arizona State University Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.
Kennedy Center
This project was developed as a part of the Kennedy Center Office Hours Page to Stage Residency program at the REACH.
