Catharsis: A World AIDS Day Event

Date: Monday, December 14, 2015

I am Thomas John Davis an NMAC Youth Scholar

To kick off World AIDS Day I am collaborating with The Lula Washington Dance Theater with an event entitled "Catharsis". The goal of this event is to raise awareness around HIV & AIDS by using performance art as the ice breaker to start conversations between parents, youth, artists, and advocates about disclosure, support, getting tested, and what living with HIV is like. The event will feature professional dancers and testimonies from people living with HIV as well as their allies. 

Target Audience and Importance

The doors are open to everyone but the focused group is Parents and their children. I've chosen to focus on these two groups in particular because that's where the information needs to start to make a change in how we talk about HIV when it comes to prevention. Children follow what their parents know weather they are aware of it or not. To lower stigma and increase the flow of valid information into a child's life we have to also give parents the information so they are informed and up-to-date. By having youth attend with their families we are giving them an opportunity to ask questions about what they saw and to give them information that may be updated from what their parents know. This way the child and parent are getting information together.

The agenda for the evening

The event will start out with a quick "what do you know about HIV?" to figure out where the audience stands. This is meant to be a brief but informative section that will transition into the first performance. The first piece is about the challenges two friends face when one of them discloses that he is HIV+. This piece will be followed by a testimony from an ally who saw a family member pass away from HIV related complications. The second piece is about a patient going to the clinic to get their labs drawn for the first time. This piece is followed by a testimony from Thomas Davis and what it was like to be told that he was HIV+ and what he did from there. The final piece is a duet followed by a testimony from a sero-discordant couple and how they navigate their relationship where HIV is concerned. After each testimony/story questions and conversations are encouraged.

Why dance?

When it comes to talking about HIV we tend to find the same conversations happening over and over again and as necessary as these conversations are we need to find more innovative and engaging ways of presenting them. Using dance as a way to communicate and tell a story is a great way to educate and inspire people. You are able to escape the idea that everything you say needs to be "Politically Correct". It's a way for the audience to experience a story rather then having one talked at them. To show this one of the pieces being shown is filmed below. This is a story of the struggles a couple goes through when HIV is introduced into their relationship. This piece is about the anxieties of the waiting room and was used to start conversations about testing, doctors visits, support, and dating. Do you go and get tested with your partner? When was the last time you two talked about your sexual health to each other? If one of you was positive would the other stay? All these questions and many more are asked in the heads of these two individuals as they wait. 

The Long Wait 

Choreographed by: Thomas Davis

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm6f1PhG5eo

NMAC, formerly the National Minority AIDS Council, will educate, advocate, collaborate and compel – with urgency – for health equity within communities of color in our tireless quest to end the HIV epidemic. We aim to advance our mission through a variety of programs and services, including: capacity building, national and regional training conferences, treatment and research programs, publications, and a website: http://www.nmac.org/. NMAC also serves as an association of AIDS service organizations providing valuable information to communitybased organizations, hospitals, clinics and other groups assisting individuals and families affected by the AIDS epidemic.