Today we’d like to introduce you to Zaquia Mahler Salinas.
Hi Zaquia, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a dance artist, and my practices center community building and collaboration. I work to promote expressive embodiment as a form of creative reclamation, healing, and resistance. My work encompasses live and filmed dance creation, arts education, community organizing, performance and production. I am motivated by the potential of embodied art and practice to create a better world.
This has been a life-long journey; I grew up dancing in a small studio in San Diego, got my AA at San Diego City College, then completed my BA at UC Santa Barbara. Post graduation, I served as Assistant Director at Visionary Dance Theatre, an organization for pre-professional and youth dancers in San Diego. From 2012 to 2018, I worked for San Diego Dance Theater where I served as a dancer, teacher, social media coordinator, and dancer liaison to the board of directors. Simultaneously, I further involved myself in the community, like helping to establish San Diego Dance Connect and producing myself and other artists. I’ve served as dance faculty at San Diego City College and Coronado School of the Arts in various capacities since 2015 and have guest taught for programs throughout the state. I have participated in international artist residency programs, including in Bethlehem, Palestine with Diyar Dance Theatre in 2019. In 2017, I completed an MFA in Creative Practice with emphasis in dance for social justice from Saint Mary’s College of California and reaffirmed my belief that dance is revolutionary.
In 2018, I co-founded DISCO RIOT, a nonprofit movement-arts organization that is a culmination of my previous experience. We work to support local dance, provide creative possibilities for advancing the dance scene, and advocating for social justice, especially within the performing arts. The organization is an ever-evolving response to the needs of the community, and I am grateful to be able to serve as Artistic Director of something that is making an impact in my hometown.
In 2021, I assumed the role of Coordinator of the Envision Dance program at Canyon Crest Academy and have been thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to more deeply engage with some of San Diego’s most talented young people as they explore dance in an academic and conservatory setting.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
DISCO RIOT exists because it is challenging for up-and-coming artists to find resources to create (especially for marginalized movement-artists) which I experienced personally throughout my early years of self-production. The dance world can be a very difficult place and often upholds oppressive and restrictive power structures that do not allow for accessibility and equity for or the empowerment of diverse voices. It has taken a tremendous amount of commitment and belief in our mission to slowly but surely establish our organization in the local nonprofit scene, build access to resources for artists, and weather the storm of Covid-19. However, we have persevered because we believe that our work will impact the future of dance in our region. We have successfully pivoted the format of presentations, shifted collaborations with guest artists, and adapted entire seasons to meet the needs and conditions of the moment. Practicing integrity with our values and mission, we are finding innovative ways to continue growing and creating. Moving into 2022, in addition to our staple programming, we will engage new activities like public art with the City (Park Social) and Queer Mvmnt Fest (June 2022) which provide platforms for more San Diego dance-makers and offer more educational opportunities for the community.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Disco Riot?
DISCO RIOT is a 501(c)3 organization focused on expanding the dance scene in San Diego. Founded in 2018, DISCO RIOT is a grassroots nonprofit organization focused on creating equitable and accessible opportunities to independent, local movement-artists. We design platforms to elevate more diverse dance voices and to encourage the local dance scene to work together rather than in competition. Our mission is to grow social consciousness and connection through collaborative movement-based arts. Our leadership, staff, and collaborators include a mix of artists and allies who strive to make San Diego a better place for dance and provide an educational space that reflects contemporary and progressive professional realities. Over the past four years, DISCO RIOT has grown from a fledgling seed organization to an influential and respected dance establishment in San Diego. We have accomplished this through innovative approaches to programming, artist relations, and connection to the community at large. Developing residency programs in non-traditional spaces, hosting performances in roller rinks, art galleries, and online, adapting and reimagining the possibilities of movement-art in our region is a highlight of what we do. In 2020, DISCO RIOT produced and supported the creation of work by 21 dance artists and their collaborators from San Diego and beyond; all but four of the 21 identify as BIPOC and/or LGTBQ+. Of these, 19 of them are considered young artists under the age of 40. These dance artists also make up our teaching staff, performers, collaborators, and leaders. In 2021, we produced ten new dance films, mounted three outdoor COVID safe productions, offered nearly 100 donation-based or free dance classes, hosted three artist residencies and the performance of their work, hosted four free community-building events, nurtured new partnerships with local organizations, and grew established relationships with partner organizations. 2022 is a big year for us as we launch San Diego’s first queer-focused dance festival and more.
We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
Dance and the performing arts has been significantly impacted by the pandemic – dancers moving to less expensive cities, studios and venues permanently closed, systems for generating performance broken, etc. Unsurprisingly, the artists most impacted by the pandemic are BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and disabled artists who were already facing job, housing and food insecurity, in a country and economic structure that does not value artists as essential. We’ve been asking ourselves: how do we rebuild the performing arts in San Diego in a way that reflects progressive, inclusive and transformative realities that reflect a healthy way forward? We cannot make dance without dancers, and we have to be incredibly thoughtful about how we come out of this crisis with a focus on collective wellbeing and communal support.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@discoriot.org
- Website: discoriot.org
- Instagram: @disco_riot
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DISCORIOTSD
- Other: https://vimeo.com/discoriot
Image Credits
Sam Zauscher Kerry Constantino Sarah Navarrete
