To coincide with Trans Awareness Week, Ballet Queer will present the première of This is How I Move: Naia, a new dance film directed by Jonathan Watkins and featuring dancer Naia Bautista, available via Ballet Queer’s YouTube channel and Nowness from 14 November 2024.
Exploring Naia Bautista’s experience as a trans woman and dancer, This is How I Move starts at a point where dance exists in her body but not in her authentic self. Through moments of contemplation, the film explores Naia’s journey through transitioning and relationship to movement, as she challenges and rewrites her lived experience to discover a new world through dance.
Director Watkins, who is also the founder and Artistic Director of Ballet Queer, said, “working with a team of 14 queer artists to bring Naia’s story and amazing artistry to the screen has been a privilege and a joy. We are so proud that this film launches the first public facing work from Ballet Queer and we look forward to bringing more important and exciting stories from across the LGBTQ+ community to life as our work continues.”