The complexity within stories that illustrate finding your authentic self is at the core of the work I engage with. As an artist, I don’t just investigate the truth, I interrogate it by unraveling the inner workings of an oppressive society that is rooted in abiding by an unyielding system. Through my work, I am able to uncover the honesty in a moment by curating a process where actors have autonomy over their bodies; colliding movement with shape, form & texture to create spectacle & crafting a moving image of the nuanced human experience.  Although my work is rooted in the queer experience, I don’t confine myself to being exclusive, I choose to engage with a multitude of different works that speak to a call-to-action, encouraging the audience to question, think, & inspect how they play a role.

As a latinè, queer, interdisciplinary artist who grew up in the agricultural Central Valley of California to working-class parents, I saw firsthand what it meant to hustle for what you want. At a young age I was determined to create with very little, creating routines in the garage with chairs, blankets, & anything I could find while my parents weren’t looking. Searching for a space to be my full self. I was fortunate enough to start dance classes at the age of 15 through a program at school where I was introduced to diverse styles & techniques in dance & finally discovering a place where I felt like I could express myself in my authentic form. Upon entering high school, I discovered theatre & was soon performing & partaking in musicals & plays which also became a sanctuary for me, especially as an adolescent not fully accepted by the inflexibility of my parent’s conservative values & religious faith. All I knew was I felt different from the rest of my family. With a feminine voice & mannerisms to match, I always searched for spaces where I could fully be myself. Watching my parents speak in tongues, & talk about the church as a sanctuary, made me feel envious: how could they feel safe within the walls of the church, but why couldn’t I?

When I went to college in San Diego, California & finally moved away from my conservative town, I was able to flourish in my queerness & discover what a sacred space was for me. My church became the gay clubs in the gayborhood of Hillcrest, the rehearsal spaces in the city, & the found family; my community I found along the way. As a director, I strive to create the same space in my rehearsal room. Where the preservation of sacred space allows for a trust & bond that acts as a foundational force in the room & therefore enacts honesty in the work. As an interdisciplinary artist, I lean into the expressionist nature of the Avant Garde & externalize through movement; a physical vocabulary for actors to embody. Through this, I am able to use musicality as a function to serve the moment.

My choreographic work can extend to the spectacle of Musical Theatre to the incorporation of stylistic choreography to accompany a Tennessee Williams play, widening the spectrum of utilizing the form of dance & movement as a narrative device & living adjacent to the poetic language of a play.

I lead by striving to form my own congregation with other artists that share the same values as I, reflecting our right to always be our authentic selves, generating curiosity, examining the past, contesting current structures, & exemplifying how we want to see the future through the work we create.

• Michael C. Flores