{"id":521,"date":"2020-02-03T16:07:03","date_gmt":"2020-02-03T16:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/loyoladancetheatre\/?p=521"},"modified":"2020-02-03T16:07:03","modified_gmt":"2020-02-03T16:07:03","slug":"the-art-of-creating-post-graduation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.luc.edu\/loyoladancetheatre\/?p=521","title":{"rendered":"The art of creating post-graduation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Loyola dance alumni Yariana Baralt-Torres and Maria Blanco of LOUD BODIES<\/a> are curating their first show, Legalize Menstruation<\/a>, at the end of this month and are using what they learned, or realized they did not learn, to guide them through the show-producing process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legalize Menstruation is being produced by LOUD BODIES in partnership with the Chicago Period Project<\/a>.  The Chicago Period Project collects menstrual products to distribute to local shelters, schools and crisis support networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LOUD BODIES founders Maria Blanco and Yariana Baralt-Torres
Photography by Emma Petersen<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The mission of LOUD BODIES is to combine dance and activism to address social issues through movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maria explained that the inspiration for Legalize Menstruation came from watching the documentary \u201cPeriod. End of Sentence\u201d<\/a> on Netflix. The documentary covers the period taboo in India and follows a group of women who make and deliver pads. Maria was quick to tell Yariana about the documentary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cI saw it and immediately texted Yariana,\u201d Maria said.\u201dBecause whenever something inspires us we\u2019re like, \u2018How can we relate this to dance?\u2019 I just thought, \u2018We need to do something about this.\u2019 It was in the back of our minds and one day we just reached out to Chicago Period Project.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The duo said that asking people for help has been important throughout their post-grad journey and for this project in particular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s asking \u2018How can we benefit each other,\u2019\u201d Maria said. \u201cHow can we create a partnership with each other where we\u2019re both benefiting from this? Which is something I think we\u2019ve learned a lot during this process. Asking what people need and what people want out of a partnership. Because it can be different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople do want to help so asking absolutely helps. It\u2019s all about the give and take partnership,\u201d Yariana said. \u201cNothing is for free so let\u2019s work both ways. And I feel like that\u2019s how it works for everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asking for help came into play not only with the Chicago Period Project, but with Free Mvmt Shop<\/a> as well, where LOUD BODIES holds rehearsals. Free Mvmt shop is a space that offers dance, yoga, cardio and sculpt classes. Maria and Yariana met owner Ashley Rockwood and brought up teaching classes in exchange for rehearsal space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Maria and Yariana explained that they both learned how to be scrappy and work to make their ideas happen from their time at Loyola. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLoyola taught us how to be scrappy and that\u2019s what has one of the best things I learned,\u201d said Maria. \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten so creative with-. It\u2019s like, \u2018Hey, we don\u2019t have any money for the show. How are we going to do this?\u2019 How are you going to get creative? And that\u2019s helped us a lot. Specifically for this show.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut I think it\u2019s because of the professors that you learn that,\u201d said Yariana. \u201cBecause they are an example of how to. What I\u2019ve learned from Loyola I learned by observing and seeing how our teachers would go about things rather than from classes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two express that there are lots of things they have had to learn on their own along the way, such as how to write grants, how to create a budget and how to self-produce a show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, neither of the two have experience with social media promotion or marketing, so they brought Jordan Kunkel, another Loyola dance alumni, on-board to help them promote their work. Jordan studied dance and journalism, and graduated alongside Maria and Yariana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy second major has definitely impacted my ability to thrive or survive outside of college,\u201d said Jordan. \u201cSpecifically as a journalism major, early on I was in situations where, as a freshman and sophomore, I had to be making blogs and from day one of studying communications or journalism. I had to have a resume, be thinking about a website, be thinking about social media, and things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, LOUD BODIES co-founders said their biggest takeaway was, if you have an idea, go for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve learned that you have to do things even when you know or think that you aren\u2019t ready,\u201d Yariana said. \u201cIf I had rationally analyzed this I probably would have waited a few years to self-produce my first show. But as I\u2019m in the process I am so glad that we just went for it. If things don\u2019t go perfect then you learn. Go with the flow. Don\u2019t put that much stress on yourself and you will figure it out. And when things get tough, ask for help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tickets for Legalize Menstruation<\/a> are on sale now. Performances are Feb. 29th at 7:30 p.m. and March 1st at 5:00 p.m. at the Mason Hall at the Preston Bradley Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interested in donating menstrual products to the Chicago Period Project? The Loyola Dance Honor Society will be collecting products in the Damen Student Center on Friday, Feb. 7th from 8am-2pm. You can also leave any products with an LDHS member or a dance faculty member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n