Interpretive dancer Awilda Rodriguez Lora danced and sang an “inspiration performance” Thursday night at “Inspired to Live Awake: Activism Through Performance,” hosted by NCDC, Rainbow Alliance and Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Incorporated. The Puerto Rican dancer calls her work “Latina queer” art, and uses her performances to encourage awareness of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender identities and sexuality. Lora has been a performance artist for almost 10 years, and her work takes her to New York, Chicago and abroad.
The event, held on the ground floor at Norris University Center, included Lora’s performance followed by a question and answer session. Many of the questions revolved around the experience of being gay, specifically in the Latino community. Although she admitted that it can be difficult to reconcile cultural expectations and sexual orientation, Lora encouraged to find their own identities.