An innocent caress. Touch. There. Place. In that place. My forbidden place. So deep in myself, I became displaced. A journey through my body. Who lives there? Cells, memories, stories. What stories are within my spine? Voice. Voice. Voice. When does the cell become the body and a happening, become a memory and cry become a song?

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The journey, the summoning. Who lives there? Arriving on site. An imagined space,  the journey through the mountains where I have been waiting, the mountaintop deep within myself. The river calls to me, calls me to this place. To wash, to give, to surrender. To wash away the pain, the shame and the silence. The river floor washed away what had become of me and then I stomped the violence. I opened my hip, and my torno became free, unhinged. My voice became free, and I finally spoke. I broke the silence and my voice, echoed. My cry became a song, my stomp the rhythm, and my torno free. I became me, As I am Naturally.

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As I Am Naturally is an autobiographical performance work that consists of a selection of poems and stories that challenge notions of inner beauty, femininity and gender fluidity. Above all, this story speaks of my journey of self-care, self-love, self claiming and self-naming.