Disappearing Acts @ 50 is a multimedia performance that first premiered in 2018 at The 8th Floor Gallery as part of the celebration of Elia Alba’s The Supper Club exhibit. The performance, inspired by ageism in the art world as experienced by women of color, is both testimony and ode to antidotes, ointments, stretch marks, remedies shared between mature women and those acquired in secrecy. When I was invited to revise Disappearing Acts in 2020, I was turning 50, a milestone for many in the midst of the COVID pandemic. Notions of self-care and mutual-care took on broader meaning. The piece was presented for a third time at the Movement Lab at Barnard College and features North African dancer and educator Esraa Warda. These are excerpts from the hour-long text.
Works Cited
Diggs, Latasha. “Excerpt from Disappaering Acts @ 50.” Filmed March 18, 2021. Barnard College’s Movement Lab, 16:50.
