The Sovereign Collective
The Sovereign Collective
A Complete Re-Visioning of a Traditional Dance Company
“Sovereign” is a movement arts and social action collective pledged to elevate social consciousness toward a reverent connection to the human body. This project is an effort to mobilize concerned citizens around an issue that can seem too large for an individual to take on: sovereignty of the human body.
Transgressions against physical self-determination manifest across international, cultural, religious, political and economic lines in a multitude of practices: genital mutilation; legally sanctioned infantile marriages; elder abuse; sexual servitude; censorship of sexual information; slavery; honor killings; media-influenced distortions of body-image; domestic violence; military torture; inaccessibility to affordable healthcare; forced medical intervention or end of life management; etc.
Rather than perceive the body as an obstacle to spiritual or intellectual progress, a tool to be mastered and punitively controlled, or an instrument of abusive escapism, collective members of Sovereign hope to inspire society to realize the body as an inherently intelligent life companion worthy of honor, attentiveness, and engagement.
To this end, the actions of the Sovereign Collective include education, outreach, and advocacy. As artists/dancers, we aim for our performances to be thematically relevant and artistically striking in order to generate interest in our subject matter. As dance and movement instructors, we are dedicated to providing safe, supportive, and accessible spaces for community members of all socio-economic backgrounds and experiences to develop personal somatic intelligence and healthy body-mind associations. All collective members are trained in a cross-disciplinary movement studies approach and curriculum galvanized by Donna Mejia that effectively renders visible participants’ social programs, defenses, and defaults. Free/low-fee workshops are available to groups such as victims of domestic violence, the financially disadvantaged, the differently-abled, recovering trauma victims, and any group lacking access to therapeutic movement arts.
The Sovereign Collective supports the efforts of organizations and artists working toward similar goals through fundraising and networking. We hope to use our visibility to bring attention to and connect those already working for social change while setting new standards for body-mind awareness.
For more information or to schedule an engagement, please contact Donna Mejia through this website.
