Past Projects
STORIES FROM HOME: COVID-19 ADDENDUM 2020-2022
Available for Film Screenings
​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Stories From Home was originally scheduled to premiere on stage and in person on Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage September 2020; this engagement has been postponed and will be rescheduled.
Facing the realities of COVID-19 and its impact on the performing arts industry, along with postponed performances and residencies, Montoya evolved the presentation of the work.
She also identified ideological parallels with her 2016 piece Motherhood and the Performing Arts, a solo work that explored the joys and challenges of parenthood and a performing arts career, as her work as an artist was suddenly combined with new responsibilities as a home school educator. These ideas and circumstances were the catalyst for Stories From Home: COVID-19 Addendum.
The Stories From Home: COVID-19 Addendum series is an evolution of and supplement to the full-length Stories From Home work, integrating new choreography and ideas.
This online series presentation is divided among two acts.
The first act encompasses five dance films, performed by Montoya and her son Buddy, that reflect upon the challenges of homeschooling and parenting while working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The second act features the cast of Stories From Home in five dance films that feature the dancers’ stories from home during the time of COVID-19.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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Yvonne Montoya covered with marker drawings while holding an expo marker to her skin, sitting in front of her son’s school schedule written on a whiteboard.
Presenters
​Art After Dark
Children's Museum Tucson | 2022​
The Children's Museum in Tucson presented Act 1 of the Stories from Home: COVID-19 Addendum as a part of Art After Dark in January 2022. In addition to the screening of the six dance films, Yvonne and her son Buddy co-led a multigenerational creative movement class for children and their caregivers. There was also a short performance of Stories from Home choreography by dancer Steve Rosales.​
BUILD Forward: Advocacy, Artistry, Adaptability
FoolsFURY Theater Company | 2021​
FoolsFURY Theater Company presented its national convening of ensemble theater makers digitally on October 2021 titled, "BUILD Forward: Advocacy, Artistry, Adaptability." The dance film Postcards was shared from the Stories from Home: COVID-19 Addendum. ​
Digital Connections
ASU Gammage | 2021​
ASU Gammage presented four films from the Stories from Home: COVID-19 Addendum on April 6, 2021. The Digital Connections performance featured work by dance artists Yvonne Montoya, Steve Rosales, Ruby Morales and Emigdio Arredondo- Martínez.
Arizona Drive-in Dance Film Festival
Methods of Madness Dance Theatre | 2021
Walking, an excerpt of Stories from Home: COVID-19 Addendum was presented at the inaugural Arizona Drive-In Dance Film Festival and produced by Methods of Madness Dance Theatre. The Drive-in and livestream showing were held in February 2021 at The Graduate Hotel in Tempe.
Walking was awarded the Arizona Creative Excellence Award at the 2021 Film Festival!
Thank you Arizona Drive-in Dance Film Festival with Methods of Madness Dance Theatre for presenting this event! Dance enthusiasts, film lovers and drive-in movie day dreamers came together for an evening of choreography for camera and community gathering through the comfort of their own cars. The Arizona Drive-in Dance Film Festival received submissions from all over the state. I was excited to share work along with so many fabulous Arizona dance artists. ​
Choreographer's Showcase
Keshet Dance and Center for the Arts | 2021​
Walking, an excerpt of Stories from Home: COVID-19 Addendum was presented at the virtual version of Keshet’s annual Choreographers' Showcase on February 20, 2021.
This is the first time that Yvonne’s work was digitally presented in her home town of Albuquerque, NM!Walking was presented along with a collection of dance works by choreographic voices from throughout the country.​​
BUILD from Here: The Future of Ensemble Theater
FoolsFURY Theater Company | 2020​
FoolsFURY Theater Company presented its national convening of ensemble theater makers digitally on September 12, 2020 titled, "BUILD from Here: The Future of Ensemble Theater." Before the pandemic, an excerpt of Stories from Home was set to be presented at the festival in San Francisco. Due to COVID-19, the performance was pivoted, and the dance film Walking was shared from the Stories from Home: COVID-19 Addendum. ​​​​​​
The Motherhood and the Performing Arts (MPA) Project 2015-2020
photo by Dominic AZ Bonuccelli Featuring Yvonne Montoya and Buddy and Loula
photo by Dominic AZ Bonuccelli Featuring Yvonne Montoya and Buddy and Loula
photo by Dominic AZ Bonuccelli Featuring Yvonne Montoya and Buddy and Loula
photo by Dominic AZ Bonuccelli Featuring Yvonne Montoya and Buddy and Loula
Yvonne and her son Buddy created the Motherhood and the Performing Arts (MPA) Project in 2016 as a reflection of the challenges and joys of juggling motherhood and a career in the performing arts.
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The original MPA Project encompasses 3 components: 1) the dance film Reflections, a collaboration with film maker Dominic AZ Bonuccelli, 2) a blog, and 3) a handmade upcycled earring collection.​
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In 2020, the original MPA Project was re-imagined. The dance film Reflections was folded into Stories from Home: COVID-19 Addendum, the handmade upcycled earring collection was retired.
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​In 2021, the mother and son duo decided to transition the project to reflect their love of dance, family, and travel. The new travel blog launched October 2021! ​
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For more information, visit www.mpaproject.com ​
Las Fronterizas 2018-2025
The Las Fronterizas Ensemble is an intergenerational team led by six mujeres artistas from Sonora and Arizona, working collaboratively across and between borders and art forms. Yvonne Montoya, along with M. Jenea Sánchez, Isis América Tovar, Ammi Robles, Paula Ortega, Xanthia Walker, Rising Youth Theater, Border Arts Corridor and Safos Dance Theatre comprise Las Fronterizas ensemble. Yvonne, Safos Dance Theatre and Sonora-based dance artist Isis América Tovar are the dance artists in the Las Fronterizas ensemble.
Las Fronterizas Ensemble engages the communities of Douglas, AZ, and Agua Prieta, SON to develop a public performance that blends dance, music and theatre, presented on both sides of the US/ Mexico border.
The ensemble is made up of youth and adult artists from Arizona, USA and Sonora, MEX. Las Fronterizas have participated in border exchanges with artists at the Mexican/Guatemalan border.​​​​​​​​
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Mis Amores Fronterizos, was a free binational dance and theater performance that took place Saturday, March 12, 2022, at the Douglas/Agua Prieta Border Fence, West of Port of Entry. The show was the culmination of a multi-year collaborative, community-engaged research, and exploration process. The show featured new choreography by Yvonne with Isis América and a cast of dancers from Los Ángeles de Agua Prieta and Stage Dance Studio in Agua Prieta, Sonora and Bibi Danceur Academy in Douglas, AZ. The show also features choreography by guest artists Bibi Carson y Juan Luis Angeles González.​
Las Fronterizas also presented the art film "Del norte a sur" was presented in Douglas, AZ, Agua Prieta, SON, MEX and Comitán, Chiapas, MEX in November and December 2021. The film was a collaboration between performing artists in the USA, Mexico, and Guatemala.
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For more information about Las Fronterizas, visit https://www.lasfronterizas.com/
​Dancing the Mural/Color the Mural 2013-2015
Dancing the Mural /Color the Mural was a two-year community based multidisciplinary arts project that took place in the City of South Tucson, 2013-2015.​
A brain child of Yvonne Montoya, Color the mural included 264 community members who voted on the theme and design of the mural, 290 community painters from ages 0-88 , and over 30 visual and performing artists, arts administrators, community members, donors, and volunteers worked on the project.
Under Yvonne’s direction, choreographers created seven new pieces of choreography inspired by the images of the mural.
For more information about this project, visit https://safosdance.wixsite.com/color/the-project