Ensemble performance in the Rio Grande
Laughing doesn’t need your help
Amid the present moment of climate catastrophe, rapidly escalating administrative violence, and widespread anxiety, Laughing doesn’t need your help a new ensemble performance manifesting our inevitable movement toward each other, tenderness, and meaning.
Staged in and around the Rio Grande River, a cast of Performers are born from a murky collective unconscious into their own looping, improvised movement cycles that lead, perhaps inexplicably, back into joyful, muddy communion.
Inspired by literary references including Kaveh Akbar’s acclaimed Martyr! and Toni Morrison’s canonical Beloved一as well as ongoing conversations with local queer, melanated, and allied creatives一the contemporary dance project envisions a cosmic pull toward connection, even when relief from everyday struggle feels inconceivable.
Performance Dates / Time
- Sunday, July 20, 2025, 11am
- Sunday, July 27, 2025, 11am
- Sunday, August 3, 2025, 11am
Location: Mirador del rio
park in the Tingley Beach lot to the right towards the “River Outlook.”
enter the YCC trail, cross the paved bike path, and proceed straight to the boardwalk overlooking the river. A performance ambassador will direct you to seating from there.
Credits
- Produced and directed by Rica Maestas
- Choreography development by Julianna Massa and Stella Melina
- Performed by Gabriel Carrion-Gonzales, Zoe Luh, Rica Maestas, Julianna Massa, Stella Melina, Paloma Navarrete, Ernestina Savage, Stacia Vu, and Hannah Yohalem
- Soundscape by Ryan Parker
- Supported by Fulcrum Fund, a grant program of 516 Arts in partnership with the Andy Warhol Foundation
- Special thanks to Black Widow Pole Arts
rica maestas 