In Cassils’ first ever dance piece, trans bodies made movement — and a striking canvas of what might be in this world a real-life, historical event
In Cassils’ first ever dance piece, trans bodies made movement — and a striking canvas of what might be in this world a real-life, historical event
The Trans Arts program, under the leadership of executive director Nellie Chang, is a community organization based on the belief that no one can deny the existence of people who cross gender lines and live a true life, says Nellie Chang, the Trans Arts’ executive director.
Chang hopes to be a voice for those who have questions and who feel they are not getting answers from society, but she is finding the program very supportive of their desire to live their lives however they want to.
“Trans bodies have been oppressed and suppressed for many years, but that doesn’t mean now, nor has it always been, it means that for certain groups of people in this country, like trans people, there is still discrimination and lack of acceptance,” Chang says.
In the fall of 2016, a group of students from the University of California, Berkeley went to Cal State Long Beach and began discussing options for their project, which was to perform a contemporary dance piece for a university performance. But while sitting in their art class, the students decided to take up the idea of the Trans Arts program and what it stood for.
“It was sort of a spark,” says junior Andrew Kim, “I was really surprised that just one class could make a difference in the world.”
So that’s why, as part of the Trans Arts program, the students turned their class project into a dance piece called “Transitions.” The class project involved many students and faculty members, because the student body at Cal State Long Beach is made up of such a diversity of races, religions, classes, and socioeconomic backgrounds.
“If the Trans Arts program wasn’t in place, this wouldn’t have happened,” says senior Rebecca Kim, “I think the Trans Arts program is going to make a bigger impact in the world than anything the school could have ever done.”
To make their project, the Trans Arts students worked with three Cal State Long Beach faculty artists: the dance professor and assistant