Angelina Benitez and Rebecca Lang are both life and creative partners. They started dancing together four years ago at Salem State University where they were both recipients of the Presidential Arts Scholarship. There, Angelina received a B.A. in both Modern/Contemporary Dance while Rebecca received a bachelor's degree in Social Work, as well as a minor in dance. Their recent performance credits in the Greater Boston area include Mind the Gap, Salem Arts Festival, Dancing Queerly and Tiny & Short: A Drop in the Bucket. Their collaboration We are. was presented at New England’s American College Dance Association Conference in a formal adjudicated concert. Angie and Becca continue to teach dance locally as well as pursue other passions. You can follow them on Instagram @she_moves_and_makes and @rebeccalangdance_2019.
"As creative and life partners, we strive to explore the unknown, specifically through improvisation and collaboration in the Contemporary or Modern style. It’s our greatest belief that the creation of community and appreciation of vulnerability are the fundamentals of any mover or maker. We often use collaboration in our work with others to enhance a sense of community. We often question whether the boundaries between dancers and choreographer are necessary."
- Angie & Becca
- Angie & Becca
ABOUT THE WORK
Angelina Benitez and Rebecca Lang are creative and life partners that strive to explore movement through improvisation and collaboration. When a family member told Rebecca “if I just saw you two in public, I would never think you were a couple” it sent them deep into conversation about heteronormativity and public versus private displays of affection. When the couple was given a platform to showcase their work in “...that’s what she said”, they knew just what they wanted to dive into.
How they (and many queer couples) present in public contrasts greatly against how they behave behind closed doors. In public we filter and opress so much, from physical contact to tonality of our language. In this project the two explore their unfiltered relationship--not only through movement, but through a compilation of somewhat incomprehensible “field recordings” of the two lesbians in their natural habitat. For days Angelina became “Alexa” --always listening and recording the most candid moments of their relationship. Since the two live together, the soundscape highlights their everyday interactions that simply can’t be fabricated in a dance studio; from fights about cheese, to genuine worries.
Even the most content and comfortable relationships have a side that is rarely seen or discussed. Angelina and Rebecca’s piece fluctuates abstractly between different intimate aspects of their relationship: romance, anxiety, sensuality, anger, and absurdity.
How they (and many queer couples) present in public contrasts greatly against how they behave behind closed doors. In public we filter and opress so much, from physical contact to tonality of our language. In this project the two explore their unfiltered relationship--not only through movement, but through a compilation of somewhat incomprehensible “field recordings” of the two lesbians in their natural habitat. For days Angelina became “Alexa” --always listening and recording the most candid moments of their relationship. Since the two live together, the soundscape highlights their everyday interactions that simply can’t be fabricated in a dance studio; from fights about cheese, to genuine worries.
Even the most content and comfortable relationships have a side that is rarely seen or discussed. Angelina and Rebecca’s piece fluctuates abstractly between different intimate aspects of their relationship: romance, anxiety, sensuality, anger, and absurdity.
