SF Legacy Artist Awardee, Alleluia Panis’s Nursing These Wounds is an immersive dance performance investigating the impact of colonization on Pilipinx health and caregiving through the lens of Pilipinx nurses’ history, whose experiences with Westernized medical education and subsequent migrations laid the groundwork for the continuing global export of Pilipino labor, shaped the United States medical field, and created a fissure between traditional forms of knowledge and our community’s conceptions of well-being.
The project expands on Alleluia Panis’s ongoing development of a community-based ritual and ceremonial language that allows diasporic Pilipinx people to create a space of belonging, informed by rigorous traditional shamanistic practice but within the language and context of the Bay Area’s Pilipinx American community.
“It is an impressively educational production, but just as important, it is a touching one — especially when dramatizing individual experiences in movement.”
This production is created with funding from Hewlett Foundation 50 Arts Commission by William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, San Francisco Arts Commission, National Endowments for the Arts, SF Grants for the Arts, California Arts Council.
ARTISTS
CREATIVE + PRODUCTION TEAM
ALLELUIA PANIS
DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER
Alleluia Panis, Artistic & Executive Director, is the driving force behind KULARTS and respected elder artist in the US and the Philippines. She has created 20 full-length dance theater works since 1985. She was awarded the prestigious 2017 SFAC Artist Legacy, 2019-20 Gerbode Special Artist Award, 2019-2020 Dance USA Artist Fellow, and 2020 Hewlett 50 Arts Commission.
LADISLAO ‘JUNE’ ARELLANO
COSTUME DESIGNER
Ladislao ‘June’ Arellano was born in Bataan, Philippines. He trained at the Philippine Women’s University and New York’s Broadway Dance School. He is a lead dancer in Parangal Dance Company since 2008 and performed in works by Alleluia Panis and Sydney Loyola.
ALVIN ‘CAS’ CASASOLA
MEDIA ARTIST
Alvin ‘Cas’ Casasola has been a tattooist since 2010 and specializes in American Traditional, Asian, Geometric and custom work. He operates out of a private studio located in the SF Mission District. Cas also has a background in graphic design, animation, videography and digital art.
MARIO ‘NOMI’ DE MIRA
VOCALIST & SONGWRITER
Mario ‘Nomi’ de Mira is a hip hop artist, cultural worker and community advocate. He is the lead vocalist/MC of Power Struggle and operations manager at SOMA Pilipinas, San Francisco’s Filipino Cultural Heritage District.
AIMEE AMPARO
VOCALIST
Aimee Amparo has been combining music, spiritual work & healing arts, and travel for 9 years. Each song is a connection to the other, revealing a shared human experience. She uses music to tell the stories that have been passed down to her and to create intention for the future.
JOSHUA ICBAN
COMPOSER
Joshua Icban is a musician, sound designer, and composer based in Vallejo, CA, and worked with prestigious talents and organizations such as Grammy winner Fantastic Negrito, KULARTS under the direction of Alleluia Panis, Oakland Hip Hop Collective Grand Nationxl and The SF Symphony orchestra with Michael Tilson Thomas.
O.M. FRANCE VIANA
INSTALLATION ARTIST
O.M. France Viana is a multimedia artist, working in photography, painting, collage, video, performance and installation. Her artworks interrogate the semiotics of color, spirituality and consciousness, and Filipino American and Venezuelan identity.
GRISEL TORRES / gg
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Grisel Torres / gg (they/them) is a lighting and sound designer, dj, energy and body work practitioner based in Ohlone Chochenyo Territory. They studied Light Design, Stage Management, and Props Design at SFSU’s School of Theatre and Dance and has been a staff lighting designer, carpenter, production manager and venue manager for various theatre companies in the SF Bay Area since 2013.
JOYCE LU, PhD
DRAMATURG
Joyce Lu, PhD teaches contemporary drama and performance. She specializes in applied theatre, movement, Asian and Asian American performance, with expertise in guiding people to devise autobiographical, self-revelatory work. She is a certified Feldenkrais Method practitioner and the founder and director of LA Playback Theatre Company.
HANA SUN LEE
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Hana Sun Lee is an arts organizer and administrator based in San Francisco/Bay Area. She is currently serving as the Managing Director at KULARTS. She has over 8 years of experience in multidisciplinary arts programming, administration, and project management. Prior to KULARTS, she was at the de Young Museum/Legion of Honor and Luggage Store Gallery in San Francisco.
DANCE ARTISTS
DRE ‘POKO’ DEVIS
Dre ‘Poko’ Devis is a born-and-raised San Francisco Pinay, emerging from matriarchal roots. Poko moves with a foundation of competitive gymnastics, martial arts, aerial dance, and hard-hitting animalistic synergy.
FRANCES TEVES SEDAYAO
Frances Teves Sedayao is a multi-disciplinary artist who has performed both in the US and abroad for 25 years. She’s an alumna of Alvin Ailey in NY & CSUEB where she now teaches. Frances is a SF Apature Featured Artist, Art resident of NY OMI International, & a Jefferson Awards recipient. She is currently in collaboration with Dance Brigade, Sarah Bush, Yiddish Theater Ensemble, Joe Goode Performance Project & Nina Haft Company. This is Frances’ 7th season with KULARTS and dedicates ‘Nursing these Wounds’ to her ancestors and loves, Gloria and Mike.
KAO SEBASTIAN SAEPHANH
Kao Sebastian Saephanh winner of a 2014 sjDANCEco ChoreoProject Award for Best Choreography, is based in San Francisco, CA. He is currently the co-artistic director of LV Dance Collective, and dancer for PUSH Dance Company and KULARTS.
SYDNEY RAE LEONG
Sydney Leong is a performing/teaching artist and Pilates instructor based on Ramatush/Ohlone land in San Francisco. She attended CA State Summer School for the Arts, Ailey School Summer Intensive, LINES Ballet Winter Intensive, and State Street Ballet. She currently dances with Parangal Dance Company.
ALLEGRA BAUTISTA
Allegra Bautista is a San Francisco native. She trained at San Francisco Ballet, City Ballet School and the SF Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division for classical guitar. She graduated from Saint Mary’s College of California earning a BA in Liberal & Civic Studies and Performing Arts. She currently dances with Margaret Jenkins Dance Company and Kristin Damrow & Company.
JESS DEFRANCO
Jess DeFranco grew up in the Bay Area and is a San Francisco based dancer and teacher. Jess received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Asian American Studies from San Francisco State University. She’s performed for Garrett + Moulton Productions, Robert Moses Kin, Kristin Damrow and Co., Alyssa Mitchel, and Tim Rubel’s Human Shakes.
JOHAN CASAL
Johan Casal is a multidisciplinary artist based in the Bay Area producing work in film, music, theater, and dance. He performed as a lead dancer in Netflix’s production of “The Queen’s Ball: A Bridgerton Live Experience,” and directed and produced an original feature film, “Manalo: The Movie Musical,” highlighting the shared struggles of Filipinx-Americans and the diverse cultures of the Philippines.
JONATHAN M. MERCADO
Jonathan Michael Mercado is an interdisciplinary Filipino-American artist in the Bay Area. His movement is inspired through his experiences of hip-hop/urban choreography and Filipino folk dancing. He currently dances with KULARTS under director Alleluia Panis and Parangal Dance Company under director Eric Solano.
ANGEL VELEZ
Angel Velez (they/them) is a dance artist who has performed works by Parangal, eMotion Arts, LV Dance Collective, Embodiment Project, and notable others in the Bay Area. Trained in multiple dance lineages from a young age, Angel draws from Laban/Bartenieff fundamentals and is informed by internal sensations, emotions, and visualizations.
GENEVIE DELA CRUZ
Genevie Dela Cruz (she/her) is a San Diego-born dancer and choreographer. She began dancing at San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts and is currently pursuing degrees in Dance and Kinesiology at San Francisco State University. Genevie blends contemporary dance with cultural dances from the Philippines to promote her rich cultural background.
PERFORMANCES + EVENTS
2021
March 24, 2021 • Nurses in the Diaspora Panel Discussion • Virtual Convening
April 28, 2021 • Nurse Narratives in the Arts Panel • Virtual Convening
October 15-December 10, 2021 • Nursing These Wounds Story Circles • VIrtual Convening
2022
June 18, 2022 • Nursing These Wounds Ritual Performance • Asian Art Museum, San Francisco
October 1, 2022 • Filipino American History Month 2022 Kick-Off Event • Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco
October 21-30, 2022 • World Premiere of Nursing These Wounds • Brava Theater Center Cabaret, San Francisco
2023
September 22-24, 2022 • Nursing These Wounds Performance • ODC Theater, San Francisco
MEDIA + PRESS
VIDEOS
VIRTUAL PANEL DISCUSSIONS
NURSE NARRATIVES IN THE ARTS PANEL
An online panel of interdisciplinary Pilipinx American artists engaged in the poetics and politics of care and migration
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
5:00–6:30 PM (PST) • 8:00–9:30 PM (EST)
MODERATOR:
Joyce Lu, PhD
Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance, Chair of Theatre and Dance, Pomona College; Contributor to California Dreaming: Movement and Place in Asian American Imaginary
PANELISTS:
Jason Magabo Perez, PhD
Writer, Educator
Alleluia Panis
Choreographer, KULARTS Executive & Artistic Director
Jenifer K. Wofford
Visual Artist, Educator
NURSES IN THE DIASPORA
An online panel on Pilipinx nurses as laborers of the healthcare industry. A discussion on its history, labor organizing, pandemic realities, nursing education, colonialism, racism, and health care inequities.
Wednesday, March 24, 2021
5:00–7:00 PM (PST) • 8:00–10:00 PM (EST)
MODERATOR:
Jason Magabo Perez, PhD
Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies, CSU San Marcos
Community Arts Fellow, Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies
PANELISTS:
Catherine Ceniza Choy, PhD
Professor, Department of Ethnic Studies, UC Berkeley
Associate Dean, College of Letters & Science Undergraduate Studies Division, UC Berkeley
Claire Valderama-Wallace, PhD, MPH, RN
Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, CSU East Bay
Chairperson of GABRIELA Oakland
David Monkawa
Labor Organizer
Former Assistant National Organizing Director, California Nurse Association/NNU, AFL-CIO
Haniely 'Han Han' Pableo, RN
Toronto General Hospital Surgery Nurse
Emergency Response Intubation Team (ERIT)
Rapper & Musician
Ritchel Gazo, RN, MS
Bay Area Kaiser Pediatric Nurse
Executive Director, Parangal Dance Company
MORE INFO + RESOURCES
Nursing These Wounds
PRESS
Medium (October 4, 2023) KULARTS’s Bedside Manner by Andréa Spearman
48hills (September 17, 2023) In ‘Nursing These Wounds,’ dancing a precarious Pilipinx immigrant experience by Mary Carbonara
Art Heals All Wounds Podcast (June 14, 2023) Alleluia Panis: Dancer, Choreographer, and Cultural Leader: Decolonizing Art, Discovering Yourself hosted by Pam Uzzell
SF Chronicle (October 22, 2022) Kularts honor and celebrate Filipinos on the frontline of the pandemic in ‘Nursing These Wounds’ by Rachel Howard
Inquirer (October 21, 2022) Art, dance, ‘Special Healing Cocktail’ honor nurses lost to Covid by Malou Babilonia
Eastwind (October 19, 2022) KULARTS’ “Nursing These Wounds” by Alleluia Panis, SF Artistic Legacy Awardee and Musical Score by Joshua Icban, Composer and Educator, Delves Deep in Dark Spaces About Pilipinx Nurses in the Diaspora. Opens in SF on Oct. 21, 2022. by Eleanore Fernandez
Stance on Dance (October 10, 2022) Dancing the Private Lives of Pilipinx Nurses by Emmaly Wiederholt
In Dance (Fall 2022) Decolonizing Industries of Care: Nursing These Wounds by Joyce Lu, PhD
Inquirer (September 2, 2022) ‘Nursing These Wounds’ by KULARTS to premiere in October
Asian Journal (September 1, 2022) KULARTS Presents The World Premiere Of ‘Nursing These Wounds’