University alumnus plans dance show about HIV stigma

by Sandy Zapata/Contributing Writer

Pioneer Winter, 22, is a University alumnus determined to impact his community one way or another.

A South Florida native, Winter received his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology in 2007 and graduated with a Master’s in Public Health in December of 2009.

While interning at Alert Health, a local non profit organization founded by Andi Thomas whose goal is to reduce the barriers to good health and improve the quality of life through accessible integrated preventive care, Winter learned the impact a community can have on one person. Now a part of the Alert Health staff as counselor and special projects director it wasn’t long ago before he stumbled upon a book by Diane Solway titled, “A Dance Against Time,” that inspired him to take his love for dance and public health awareness to a greater level.

“I’m going to do something that catches the eye of both the art world and the academic and health care,” Winter said when asked about his motivation behind this eye opening project.

This idea that began as a joke between Winter and a friend has grown to be much more, especially for those in the arts and public health industry. Thomas says that by the time Pioneer and his colleagues from Alert, Jessica Thomas and Jon Kelly, approached her with the proposal to create a production about the stigma that follows HIV/AIDS through the beauty of dance, 80 percent of the leg work and thought process had already been done.

“You really have no idea how incredibly difficult it is for me to let go of being in charge and I have such a tremendous respect and trust in Pioneer that he just blows me away,” Thomas said.

The show is titled “Reaching the Surface.” It will debut on June 4 at 8 p.m. in the MOCA plaza located at 770 Northeast 125th Street, North Miami, F.L., 33161 followed by an encore date, June 5 in the Little Haiti Community Center at 260 Northeast 59th Terrace, Miami, F.L., 33138. The production is a mix of dance with spoken word storytelling. Each set of stories depict a different stigma faced with HIV/AIDS and it emphasizes the need for healing and understanding of the hardships and pains that people endure because of the social identity constraints placed on them.

“HIV is so hush, hush. So shied away from, so dark and scary and sticky that whenever someone does do something its like their exploding with rage about it,” Winter said.

He compared his show to the work of Edward Stierle.

“[Stierle] did the opposite, he did something that was creating life and sort of carpe diem, and that’s what I hope this piece will be,” Winter said.

Winter said his show is more light hearted and relatable. It seeks to reduce stigma through finding similarities rather than pointing out the differences in a healthy person and someone who has HIV he said of the show.

With an idea set to go and colleagues at Alert Health to support the cause, the question now becomes “How were a dancer and non-profit organization going to fund what they both dreamed could be an incredible event?”

The answer is public health awareness. When it came time to propose their idea in front of a panel of Miami-Dade leaders, it was the public health care representative thatsaw the highest potential out of the show. Winter said that although the arts representative gave them a “generous” offer, it was the health representative that put them over the top and exceeded their expected amount.

This helped Winter and Alert Health receive the grant they were seeking and funding to finally put their months of planning into action.

As the date of post production comes to a close, it was on to an open rehearsal where Winter invited mass media be witness of. In a studio space in North Miami, Winter and Kelly gathered with the dancers that will perform to Jon’s spoken word like perfectly fit pieces to a puzzle.

“I’ve never seen my words translated in dance and it’s powerful when you put them both together,” Kelly said.

From slow tempo scenes to impacting, spoken word pieces, this production if far from lacking any artistic talent to reach out to the community in order to break down the walls of stigma. With a crew of dancers who show nothing but respect towards Winter and Thomas, as she sits in for a second rehearsal, it is clear, as stated by Thomas, that Winter is higly respected by his dancers for his commitment and dedication to this project.

Two of his dancers sit to the side, massaging each others aching necks as they say how patient and kind hearted their choreographer is.

“In the beginning I didn’t know how the message was going to be transcended but now I see that through Pioneers vision the outcome will be great,” said Ivonna Batanero,a five foot girl with brown hair pulled back and sweat drops coming down here fair skin.

Her partner for one of the scenes is Michael Joseph, a man of about six feet tall who joked with Ivonna during the interview. “In life you have to laugh at yourself in order to take the weight off of certain subjects and the way that this is going to be presented is going to bring light to a lot of things that people haven’t had a chance to see,” said Joseph.

As the rehearsal comes to a close, dancers and crew alike are still hard at work, talking about their next rehearsal before this one is even over and joking with Winter as they pack their bags for the ride home. Yet despite the seriousness of what they have just performed, the laughs are many and spirits calm. Hard at work Winter keeps on, staying behind with some of the dancers to perfect his origianally choreographed creation, Winter keeps the thought of Stierle

It is because of Winter’s inspiration through Stierele, that he maintains this mentality with his dancers and colleagues. Never lacking reason or motivation, Winter reminds himself of what Stierle wouldve done and tries to exepmlify if not, perfect, that always inspiring commitment to be different and make a change.