I AM AS WE ARE – May 2026
Malaspina Theatre, Nanaimo, BC.
Accompanied by violinist and vocalist, Sejal Lal.
I began creating this piece in December 2025 writing a poem about a pimp who had infiltrated my friend circle when we were teens. Now that I am able to see the situation from an adult perspective, recalling this experience unearthed new feelings, some of which I feel compelled to share. Though the full poem is explicit and told in three pages, this movement has allowed me to share the depths of this story without oversharing the details that are personal to me and my communities growing up.
From the poem, I began to develop the choreography of this piece though it became clear that the story I needed to move through was rough, ungrounded, and ugly in many ways – so much that I was struggling to embody it on my own. Its emotional expressions felt grossly vulnerable to work through. So, when I was selected to develop this piece through Leaf Society’s 10-week Groundwerk Movement Residency, it felt serendipitous to create the story alongside Geneviève Johnson and Sam Letourneau. At the same time, I was nervous to explore the story’s movements while being witnessed by dance mentors who I had yet to meet.
However, these feelings quickly shifted as the residency progressed. The weekly butoh-inspired trainings offered guidance to explore movement intrinsically. Both Geneviève and Sam’s experiences as dancers, performers and mentors encouraged me to break away from habitual movement patterns and expand my depths of expression. I believe their mentorship, butoh-inspired trainings and exercises allowed me to really begin expressing this story with emotional depth and honesty as I now continue to develop the story on my own. I am entirely grateful for this opportunity to have Sam and Geneviève support developing the early editionsof this piece, offering incredible care, attention and generosity.
INJURY – Short film, October 2025.
Funded by Canada Council of the Arts.
This project started as a question: what happens when a story is told through the words held in our minds alongside the memories we carry in our bodies?
This short film is the result of processing a year of spinal injury which resulted after hesitating mid-flip from the pole. I wanted to explore this experience from the perspectives of my brain and body in unison, through writing and movement however possible. Experiencing major pain and mobility flares, I needed to reach out for help. So it felt natural that my story became a collaborative piece that is both personal and collective. Shortly after filming, I received MRI results revealing severe spinal stenosis in my neck deforming my spinal cord – a chronic condition my body has learned it can adapt to, I believe, in part due to the process of creating this project.
With encouragement from community, friends, and mentors, the lessons I have gained from this process are of acceptance. Even through limitations, we can express ourselves in ways that are both expansive and within our capacity. If we can stay within that range, we will notice that our capacity can also grow. I am very grateful to everyone who has been part of this project, some of whom have been involved for the better part of a year. It is a gift to be able move as I am, and as We are.
Original Poem by Kian Cham & Francis Arevalo
Recited by Francis Arevalo
Music composition & Guitar: Alvin Brendan
Violin & Vocals: Sejal Lal
Choreography: Kian Cham & Lydia Tang
Videography: Jaguar Pampa
NAME, 2023-2024
Vancouver and Nanaimo.
Choreography by Lydia Tang
Original song by Sejal
Photo credit: Melissa Langen
Kian Cham 