University of Colorado Boulder dance educator Helanius Wilkins likes to say that he'll most likely keep tweaking his current project, Stitching the Geopolitical Quilt to Re-body Belonging, until he dies. It all began when the pandemic lockdown collided with the murder of George Floyd, when Wilkins would walk alone for up to sixteen miles a day, gathering his thoughts about being a Black man, a dancer and an artist seeking both his place and a realization of social justice in an unstable world. That led him to visualize a project akin to sewing a quilt, which has developed into a process that begins by hosting conversations with communities of marginalized people across the nation. Each group's unique stories culminate in a movement performance choreographed by Wilkins. It's a beautiful cycle, and it's only just begun.
helaniusj.com/the-conversation-series