AUGUST 2025 - YELAMU (SAN FRANCISCO, CA)
the way home is an upwards spiral
How do we move from a perpetual stasis of survival to palpable thrivation? In a world that has forgotten its inherent responsibility to the earth and each other, ritual for thrivation no. 2 poses ancestral reverence, intergenerational healing, and urban-indigenous futurism as urgent and fundamental to alleviating our current climate crisis.
commissioned and presented by Yerba Buena Gardens Festival
Choreography + Artistic Direction: SAMMAY
Sound Design + Live Musical Performance: JoJo Ramirez, Joshua Icban, ET IV
Costume Design: Jamie Cardenas
Set Design: Stephanie Gancayco
Production + Stage Manager: Charito Soriano
Production Assistants: Lynie Abadilla, Sharleen “Boomer” Ignacio
Dance Collaborators
Dre “Poko” Devis
Cece Egidi
Danielle Galvez
Amber Julian
Laila Shabazz
Vi Vu
—
This ritual performance is dedicated to our ancestors who are inextricably interwoven into our personal narratives and to whom we journey towards liberation with. In light of the current political climate in our shared motherland, we also dedicate this performance to the survivors and martyrs of Martial Law (1972-1981) and their descendants. May we never forget the numerous atrocities and forced disappearances that characterize this dark time in our history and its everlasting imprint on our narrative as the Philippine diaspora. There is no true progress without accountability. May we commit deeper to our re-membering, so that our collective grief can finally have a place to be transmuted and freed.
Photos by Robbie Sweeny