Joel Mejia Smith: It’s Been a While…

It’s Been a While… is a multidisciplinary body of work by choreographer and artist Joel Mejia Smith that reflects his recent research in live dance-making and digital practice, shaped in part by the effects of the global pandemic. The program explores themes of home, grief, loneliness, desire, and the ways people navigate changing worlds. The evening begins with a series of short dance films, including Close, created with Liz Casebolt; Fading, created with Mike Esperanza; and Son, created with Mauro Sacchi. Through choreography, film, and digital practice, the works move between interior and exterior spaces, home and landscape, and presence and absence. The program offers an intimate exploration of personal narrative and the emotional landscapes that emerge when familiar places become sites of both comfort and restlessness.