HONORING ERICA

Erica Saucedo in Building a Better Fishtrap/from the river’s mouth. Image by Erik Carter.

Good Evening. I’m Paloma McGregor, and I’m saddened, humbled and honored to share a few words about our beloved Erica. I’ve written them down so that the words can carry me through this moment when my emotions might not.

Erica had just finished undergrad when I met her in 2014. I was a few months pregnant and birthing a significant new choreographic work. 

From her first day with us, Erica immediately revealed an artistry and wisdom beyond her years.  

“She both took my breath away and reminded me to breathe when she danced,” said fellow dancer Jessica Lee. 

Another collaborator, Jaime Dzandu, described her dancing like this:

“When Erica danced it was like time slowed down. So intentional. So grounded. There was something both steady and expansive in the way she moved, like her body was in quiet conversation with the world around her. She didn’t just take up space; she softened it, made it more generous, more possible. Watching her dance felt like witnessing a prayer.” 

Because Erica approached her work and life as sacred, but also seasoned well with silly, she and I quickly became artistic kin. As our relationship deepened she began calling me tía, an honor and responsibility that I cherish, especially here among the blood kin she so loved. 

I was a mentor to Erica, but like the best of these kinds of relationships, I learned as much or more from her as she did from me. 

And I was certainly not alone. 

So today, as you have already heard, I have brought the words of some other beloved kin with me to help share just a couple lessons Erica taught us AND to remind us ALL of the many ways we can continue to carry her wisdom into the world. 

Because Erica and I shared a deep commitment to community practice, I’m going to occasionally say a thank you to Erica for a lesson, and then invite you to repeat a collective thank you together. 

ERICA TAUGHT US ABOUT VISION

In her creative practice, she unearthed ways to transform the stereotype of the forlorn middle child into a unique, hilarious and ingenious philosophy and practice. The last time I saw her, she had just produced an evening of work that was equally rooted and rising. I saw her as part of the next generation of leaders in our field.

But her visioning was not exclusive to art making: 

• Coming back home to Austin, to be with her grandmother and family was a visionary act.

• Marrying Bryan and making a life together was a testament to her collaborative visioning. 

• And every single fight for her life in recent years, carried her willful, expansive capacity for vision. While we might also call her brave, I think for her it was even bigger than that. She had an unrelenting commitment to her vision for her life. 

All these lessons in vision, WE must carry forward.

I invite you to repeat after me:

Thank you, Erica, for teaching us about vision.

ERICA TAUGHT US ABOUT LOVE

Every person I asked to share memories about Erica talked about her joy and care, and the way that helped to build kinship. Her form of love seemed effortless and abundant, and she practiced it in everything she did:

• In her clear, committed laughter

• In her long, sweet, genuine hugs

• In her capacity to listen attentively and with curiosity to each person she encountered 

“She had the most amazing ability to make you feel lighter after even a few moments with her,” said Stephanie Mas.

“Whenever something was awry, she was your cheerleader, whenever something was spectacular she was your cheerleader. Her generosity of spirit was bountiful, IS bountiful,” said Joya Powell. 

All these lessons in LOVE, WE must carry forward.

I invite you to repeat after me:

Thank you, Erica, for teaching us about Love.

AND finally ERICA TAUGHT US ABOUT LIVING, in all she did and was.

She possessed a rare vitality and brilliance, which she brought to her creative visions and to her beloved communities. As an artist and spirit, Erica was wholly alive. 

She lived fully in every dance, performing with equal parts love, deliberation and abandon. She was virtuosic and authentic in all the states of being that she embodied. Her moving form and her brilliant mind were clear, curious and clever.  

And she lived fully in the world with care and joy. She moved with divine purpose — which invited everyone she was near to do the same. 

All these lessons in LIVING, WE must carry forward.

I invite you to repeat after me:

Thank you, Erica, for teaching us how to live.

Erica, may your expansive spirit move with ease to a place big enough to honor the breadth of your life, your love and your vision. And may we continue to thank you by LIVING, LOVING and VISIONING – dancing and dreaming, laughing and listening – in honor of ALL YOU TAUGHT US. 

Thank you, Erica.

END