Embraced Body

Meet Taja!




[Image Descriptions:
Slide 1: Red background with dark purple ribbon in center-right. Headshot of Taja Will,a non-binary femme with cinnamon toned skin gazes up into the camera with a soft presence. Their long hair is bunned on the top of their head and they have dark brown bangs streaked with silver. They have adorned themself with gold nose piercings and statement earring that reach from their ears down past their shoulders, their skin is artfully tattooed and they are wearing a white silver tanktop delightfully contrasting deep red lipstick. Photo Credit: Isabel Fajardo. With a smaller pic of them in the lower right corner, a bright yellow chair sits saturated in beams of bright light, light layered in through a window in distinct diagonal panels. Taja balances upside down on the ground next to the chair, they are on their back with a slight spiral in their legs which float up the wall as they reach an arm out, their balance almost seems like an illusion. White text above reads “HOW WE MOVE ARTIST”, and below reads “TAJA WILL (they/them)”. Photo Credit: Zoe Prinds-Flash, courtesy of Tence Magazine.

Slide 2: Taja Will (they/them) is a non-binary, chronically ill, q***r, Latinx (Chilean) adoptee. They are a performer, choreographer, somatic therapist, consultant and Healing Justice practitioner based in Mni Sota Makoce, on the ancestral lands of the Dakota and Anishinaabe. Taja’s approach integrates improvisation, somatic modalities, text and vocals in contemporary performance. Their aesthetic is one of spontaneity, bold choice making, sonic and kinetic partnership and the ability to move in relationship to risk and intimacy. Will’s artistic work explores visceral connections to current socio-cultural realities through a blend of ritual, dense multi-layered worldbuilding and everyday magic.

Slide 3: Taja initiates solo projects and teaching ventures and is a recent recipient of the 2021 Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship and 2018-19 McKnight Choreography Fellowship. Their work has been presented throughout the Twin Cities and across the United States. They have led the Taja Will Ensemble for 10 years and is currently working on a new ensemble performance ERODE, to premiere in 2027 at the Red Eye Theater. In addition to dance Taja is a Healing Justice practitioner, consultant, coach, educator and ritualist. They center Disability Justice, nervous system awareness, embodiment and relationship-building in all they do.]

Meet DJ!




[Image Descriptions:
Slide 1: Red background with dark purple ribbon in center-right. Headshot of DJ Robinson with a smaller image of him in the lower right corner. White text above reads “HOW WE MOVE ARTIST”, and below reads “DJ ROBINSON (he/him)”. The large image is a headshot of DJ, a smiling man facing slightly toward the camera against a soft, neutral beige background. He is wearing a bright red knit sweater with a ribbed texture. His hair is closely cropped, and he has a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee. His expression is warm and confident, with a broad smile showing his teeth. One of his eyes appears clear while the other appears cloudy, suggesting visual impairment. The lighting is soft and even, highlighting his facial features and creating a polished, approachable portrait. The overall tone of the image is friendly, professional, and welcoming. In the small image, two dancers move dynamically in a bright indoor performance space. In the foreground, DJ is in a silver vest and dark pants extending both arms outward with intensity, torso pitched forward. Behind them, another dancer in a full silver outfit mirrors the energy with a sweeping arm and lowered stance, suggesting synchronized contemporary movement. Photo Credit: Ethan Candelario and Ghost Crab Production.

Slide 2: Davian DJ Robinson (he/him) is a passionate and boundary-breaking visually impaired dancer, choreographer, and performer. Drawing from his lived experience and athletic movement style, he creates choreography that is both physically powerful and emotionally resonant. His work blends dynamic storytelling with raw embodiment, inviting audiences into a world where rhythm, resilience, and adaptability redefine how we move and connect. Through both performance and education, Davian challenges conventions and opens new possibilities for inclusive expression in the arts.]

Meet Uhuru!




[Image Descriptions:
Slide 1: Dark purple background with red ribbon in center-right. Headshot of Uhuru Moor with a smaller image of him in the lower right corner. White text above reads “HOW WE MOVE ARTIST” and below reads “UHURU MOOR (he/him)”. For both pics, Uhuru is standing in a blue-lit room with a black mesh sleeve top on, his chest out, leather pants and a corset. With his arm crutches moving, he has thick locs in his hair with silver wrap on them, and sunglasses.

Slide 2: Black text on yellow background with purple border reads "The Uhuruverse is THE FREE UNIVERSE, an alternate spacetime/reality in which the universe (everything; the totality: space, time, matter and energy) is FREE/experiences freedom. As Uhuru means freedom in Swahili and "universe" comes from the Latin word universus, which is a mixture of the words versus (turned) and uni (one). Combined they form universus, which literally means “turned into one.”

The Uhuruverse is a PROTEST ARTIST who uses multiple mediums and performance styles to speak against oppression and demand and encourage liberation. As a musician, The Uhuruverse can be best described as experimental. Best known as the electric guitarist for the band F**k U Pay Us (a four piece Black tgnc, q***r, femme punk band demanding land reparations for the African Holocaust and free self defense training for tgnc & femmes),The Uhuruvese also raps and is infamous for live/improv performance.

Slide 3: The Uhuruverse performs drag and invokes interactive art and improv. In 2016 they directed the psychedelic film noir, “FIGHT IN HEELS,” a collaboration with the artist collective (founded by The Uhuruverse in 2014) and directed a follow up in 2018 titled “Channeling Calafia.” They’ve released two albums, “The Brightest Oddest Strangest Star U Ever Did Saw Up Close and Afar From Planet Earth to Mars and Beyond” and “Who Killed Kenisha?!” The Uhuruverse did their first immersive installation titled “Nightmare on Easy Street” in Folkestone, England critiquing the classism of fascism. In 2020, The Uhuruverse established The Deeepspacecraft (a Black disabled tgnc owned and operated sanctuary space) in New Orleans which has housed over 35 Black trans folks in need and/or for creative purposes".]