Liliana Gomez
Liliana Gomez is a dance-maker making dances outside; in galleries, canals, museums, gardens, rivers, libraries, art centers and more. For these site specific performances Liliana has collaborated with many Arizona Artist, Art museums and organizations to present dance in public spaces. She has been fortunate to have presented work at Phoenix Art Museum, Mesa Arts Center, The Rio Salado, Desert Botanical Gardens, Heard Museum, Tempe Center for the Arts, The Rio Salado Habitat Restoration site, Arcosanti, The Clarendon Hotel, CityScape Phoenix, Burton Barr Central Library, Canal Convergence/Scottsdale Public Art, Unexpected Gallery, {9} The Gallery and Palabra Art Collective. Her collaborations with Performance in the Borderlands, The Soul Justice Project, CALA Alliance and FORM Arcosanti creates insightful dialogue about social issues through dance.
In her pursuit to bring Dance to the forefront and moving the Arts forward, in 2017 Liliana produced The BlakTina Dance Festival Phoenix. A dance festival that celebrates the powerful and dynamic work of Black and Latinx choreographers. She did this by collaborating with the non-profit The Latina Dance Project. The annual show has sold out each year, it premiers work by Arizona choreographers and visiting choreographers from Los Angeles. In return Liliana takes Arizona Artist to perform in Los Angeles where the festival first started, thus creating professional opportunities for Arizona Artist of color, giving them recognition they deserve. As Co Artistic Director of Phoenix’s BlakTina Dance Festival, she is the organizer, grant writer and marketing director. Liliana is passionate about doing this work that moves dance to a more inclusive, equitable place that is more representative of what dance in Phoenix actually looks like. This festival has been partially funded by a festival grant from The Arizona Commission on the Arts. ?
Liliana not only collaborates with many different museums and organizations within the state, bringing dance to the public, she contributes to the development and growth of the arts in Arizona by working with the youth of our community. Liliana was a teaching artist with Childsplay, an organization that brings artists into the school system to teach elementary students movement based creative lessons and worked first hand with the school teachers to continue developing this creative process. She is a teaching artist with Rising Youth Theater, where she also serves as choreographer and co director for The LightRail Plays. A play that happens, on the trains and platforms of the valley metro light-rail stations. Rising Youth Theater, is based at Phoenix Center for the Arts, she has been working with them for about 5 years. She enjoys the process of being paired up with a youth artist where she get to mentor them in their process of becoming future artists in the community. Her ability and finesse with these children, all coming from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, creates a powerful learning environment for their growth.
In addition, Liliana has been a guest artist and choreographer, creating original dance works for Metropolitan Arts Institute, Central High School, Glendale Community College, Grand Canyon University, Movement Source Dance Theater, Scorpius Dance Theater, Dulce Dance Theater and Conder/Dance, These workshops are creatively based intensives to add to the dancers artistic education. Ms. Gomez brings a voice to the students and dancers that she works with, allowing them to work and create and be heard, becoming viable citizens in our community. Liliana is the dance department coordinator at The Phoenix Center for the Arts where she oversees the dance program, teaching classes, creating new classes and workshops for the Center. Liliana is passionate about creating a dance department that is 100% accessible to all by offering classes for those just starting, those getting back to dance, and the professionals seeking classes. She is also one of the dance teachers herself and loves to teach adults and children.
Liliana serves on the board of directors of Roosevelt Row CDC, Artlink Phx, and is a member of the Artlink Artist Council. Liliana is passionate about being apart of these Board of Directors. She is honored to work and advocate for Artist like herself in the community; bringing dance to the forefront. As a board member for Roosevelt Row, Liliana is creating opportunities for artist to teach classes for the community. She and other board members are creating the Roosevelt Row Academy, a roster full of Artist that will teach art classes for free to the community on Third Fridays in downtown Phoenix. The academy is funded by a grant form The City of Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture. As a member of Atlinks Artist Council, Liliana brings insight to performance art and working with the committee on how to bring more opportunities for dance artist. Liliana is passionate about being apart of these Board of Directors. She is honored to work and advocate for Artist like herself in the community; bringing dance to the community.
Liliana has received much recognition, she is the 2015 Cliff Keuter Dance Artist Award winner for The Phoenix Mayor’s Arts Award. Was named one of Phoenix New Times’ “100 Creatives.” She has been a finalist nominee for the Governor’s Arts award in 2017 and 2018. She was featured in AZ Central’s “Who’s Next” series; the Artist series and Phoenix’s Magazines “40 under 40” in the Artist category. community.
The work Liliana Gomez is creating is not only unprecedented in it’s unique public art approach, it is cutting-edge and tangible. She has designed a way to bring dance into “the streets”; developing audiences across many lines and many communities in Arizona. She is a true collaborator and trailblazer for the arts, working alongside artists and public servants of all genres. Lilliana “speaks” about things that are real; things that need to be said and conversations that need to be had. She is one of the Arizona frontierswomen in our Arts Community.
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