BIO
Briana Chapa is a movement artist and educator from Harlingen, Texas. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and is currently pursuing her Master of Fine Arts at Texas Woman’s University.
Her technical and somatic training integrates contemporary and modern dance with practices such as yoga and Pilates. Briana traveled to Rishikesh, India, where she completed her 200hr yoga teacher training. She most recently embarked on comprehensive certification in Pilates, completing Level 1 and currently working toward Level 2 under the mentorship of Tanya Swayze Miller, a second-generation Pilates educator.
As a performer, Briana has worked with Fred Darsow, performing flamenco-modern works and contemporary pieces informed by his artistic lineage through Merce Cunningham and Trisha Brown.
Briana's choreography “Evergreen” has been presented and adjudicated at the American College Dance Association South Conference. Her artistic practice investigates the body as an archive, exploring memory, ancestry, and fluidity through improvisation. As an educator, she centers embodied awareness, breath, and anatomical curiosity to support sustainable movement practices.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My work engages memory through sensory and atmospheric remembrance. Nature functions as inspiration and breath serves as the backbone. By prioritizing sensation I approach memory as a guide toward connection.
I position the witness as a co-participant, inviting viewers to encounter the work through sensation, breath, and presence rather than interpretation. This openness allows meaning to remain fluid, shaped by each body in the space. My art creates environments where performing and witnessing bodies can meet in shared states of recognition.