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Please click on the photo below to access the promotional video for my new work, "Nearly." Premeiring April 15th, 2020 at 4pm GMT/11am EST on my Instagram Live feed. Instagram Handle: kayla_mccl Nearly is a culmination of 3 years living between countries. Inspired by Anne Carson’s chapter “Distances” in Autobiography of Red, McClellan’s new work is a meditation on isolation and relationship. The piece considers imagined and real distances—exploring the effects of them on her mind and body. Nearly engages with the world’s present human blueprint: 2 meters apart, don’t come any closer. In a hungry attempt to foster connection with the earth and others, the performance is set outside of McClellan’s London flat and broadcasted over Instagram live. 
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 I'm really excited to kick off this workshop series that will be spread over 3 months! It's an honor to be commissioned to lead a movement workshop in support of mental well-being through two great organizations: Arts and Health Hub and RCPsych Arts Special Interest Group. You can find the link here and read about the other artists as well!
... Kayla McClellan will be running a workshop in November focusing on sound walking. “This practice essentially aims to ‘rediscover and reactivate our sense of hearing’ (Westerkamp, 1974). I fuse Soundwalking with bodily/spatial awareness and memory: reinforced by creating a memory map after completing my walk. Kayla is an international multidisciplinary artist and dance scientist from Florida. She received her BFA Dance Degree in 2017 from Florida State University and her MFA Dance Science Degree from London’s Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in 2019. McClellan has also been granted a UK Global Talent visa, endorsed by Arts Council, due to her arts and research work created around the world. Among McClellan’s artistic and scientific endeavors in the UK/US, she has created relationships in the Netherlands while working with organizations and dance companies like Fiber and ICK Amsterdam. McClellan ultimately desires to serve whatever community she resides in by connecting with individuals through her artistic practice and research.  When the only representation of people like you is stereotypes, that is all people will see. Every action becomes about denying or affirming their preconceived notions. Being a nonbinary Chinese-Colombian-American pansexual, it is hard to see myself represented in media. It is rare to see queer characters in movies and shows, especially portrayed by people of color. I want the world to know I am not a supporting character in someone else’s narrative. I am the main character and I am not your model minority.
 I've dated a spectrum of people, but my last two serious relationships were with cis men. In both cases, there was a sense of uneasiness with my bisexuality. It's consistently combated by my partners and others with words like, 'but you like boys more, right?' or 'you can't be bi because you're with me' and 'why don't you just date a girl then.' These comments received from those I've dated, family members, and friends make me feel belittled, overlooked, and ultimately unseen by those who I love unconditionally. But I won't let my sexuality be determined by others to make them feel comfortable. It's mine. And I'll be who defines it. Text graphic 'Yes and I'm still bi' created by Jessica.
 I'm Out, Let Me In
You think I’m fake and threatening. A shape-shifting monster Lurking in your territory Who can’t choose their final form. But I counter with unconditional love. Infinite possibilities. To connect beyond a binary expectation To constantly evolve my representation, Separate from my sexual partner. LGBTQAI+ I have a place in this line-up, All of us. Regardless of what you think you see You and me are we. |
© Rachel Coleman @rachelelizabethcoleman
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