We Know What We Need: The Brilliance Remastered Need Ensemble Convenes!

Last night was the first session of the Brilliance Remastered  weeklong digital performance intensive honoring Audre Lorde's "Need: A Chorale for Black Women's Voices" as a resource for community accountable artist/intellectuals.  Inspired by Omi Osun/Joni L. Jones and the Jazz Aesthetic Manifesto we created this group poem as a performance, practice and primer on what we need in order to be present in our lives and in this intimate work together across time zones and geographical borders.  Here is one arrangement of our poem:





 We Know What We Need

i know
i need love
i know
i need to know that
i am loved

i know that
(i need hugs on hugs on hugs)

i know
we need water
i know
we need art
i know
we need our imaginations
i know
we need trust
i know
we need to breathe deeply
i know
we need LIFE
i know
we need to trust the miracles
yes! i know
we need miracles

i know
I’m needing
dancing

i know i
need to forgive
i know i
need to let go
i know i
need to accept that
I exist.

i know we
need to stop being shamed of our natural smells shapes ideas loves
i know we
need to remember what we hid
i know we
need to forgive ourselves
i know we
need to be courageous
i know we
need our ancestors breathing
i know we
need to continue learning
i know we
need to surrender to freedom
i know we
need to cry
i know we
need to work it all out
i know we
need to exhale
i know we
need to laugh... belly laughs...
i know we
need to mother ourselves
I know we
need to (continue to) connect
i know we
need to reach out for support when the terrors begin
i know we
need to hold hands
i know we
need to practice self love


i know
we need each other
we know
we need one another
i know
we need to heal
i know
we need to speak each others names
i know
we need to speak each others names in prayer
i know
we need sacred space
i know
we need ritual
i know
we need space to dream
i know
i need this space
this space!!!!

I know
i needed to come here tonight... this week.
i know
i need this life because i am here
i know
i need to overcome fear of the unknown
i know
it takes presence to perceive the miracles
i know
that i can always find this space when
i need it

yessss
!!!!!!!