In 2018, Wendy’s second visit to Brazil included a residency in São Paulo with students from USP (University of São Paulo), under the guidance of Professor Tarina Quelho. Wendy, then serving as president of the Body-MInd Centering® Association, led a two week exploration that combined somatic study and choreographic experimentation. 

Through classes on skin, bone, and blood — approached from Body-Mind Centering® perspective of experiential anatomy — and a choreographic Score that invited both structure and improvisation, the group investigated ways of embodying personal identity. Performers introduced themselves on stage by speaking their names and aspects of who they were, beginning with objective facts such as age and ethnicity, and expanding into expressions of religion, sexuality, and other deeply personal layers.

This residency, along with the residency in Curitiba was a pivotal moment, while the first duet with Damaris marked the start of a collaborative practice, the work in São Paulo demonstrated its broader potential when shared with multiple interpreters. It affirmed Standing Together as a framework where individuality shapes the collective, and where difference is revealed through the presence of the other.

PHOTOS BY: Jorge Samuel