Art that Heals — with Joy

"When systems tell us that we need to change to fit in, leaving behind some elements of who we are, ...we have practices like fandango through which we can reclaim those things — not only individually, but as a group," says Iris Viveros Avendano. Media credit: Corinne Thrash

Iris Viveros Avendano had recently moved to Seattle from Mexico when a UW graduate student spotted her performing music and dance from Veracruz, Mexico. That sighting, and the connections it established, would lead Viveros all the way to a UW doctoral degree in gender, women & sexuality studies (GWSS) and a dissertation on fandango, a participatory art form that combines...