User:Serita Colette/sandbox/Serita Colette

Serita Colette
Serita Colette is a Malayali -American healing justice educator, facilitator, and performance artist. Serita leads retreats, workshops and dharma talks on Rest & Liberation across the U.S. and Global South and supports the sustained development of direct trauma relief and liberation work in Minneapolis, MN and Los Angeles, CA. Serita's main ancestral practice draws from her healing traditions of Yoga, Ayurveda, Nidra, Tantra, Marma Chikitsa and Dharma. Serita’s work intersects trauma relief, liberation , gender-race-class-sexuality, mutual aid, body neutrality , meditation and rest.

Early Life[edit]
Serita was born in Kerala, India during the monsoon. Serita was raised by her mother Kathleen Lettie Hewitt and Franny Colette Dunning in Minnesota. After the sudden and unexpected death of her auntie, Franny Colette, Serita dedicated much of her studies on grief and healing through loss and later legally changed her last name to honor the passing of her auntie.

Career[edit]
Serita began organizing and healing work at 19 through Common Ground Westside Connection now known as Venice Family Clinic in Los Angeles, CA. During that time she supported safe space for rest and relaxation, body awareness for trans and queer people, in addition and a needle exchange program for homeless youth living in Los Angeles.

In 2015 Serita established one of the first Black, Indigenous and people of color yoga practices in Minneapolis. She has gone on to teach for The National Education Association, Kipp in Houston, Texas, Universities and Colleges in Minnesota and workshops across the country. In 2019 and 2020 Serita led her Rest & Liberation retreats in Troncones, Mexico for Black brown, queer, trans and indigenous people to study rest and liberation.

Since the start of Covid19 Serita has been leading virtual retreats guided meditations and dharma talks on living with grief, resilience based practices, challenging racism, and reminding her students to rest. She has also facilitated virtual retreats and workshops for the Castanea Fellows of 2019, 2020, and cultivated healing practices for The Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and The Women's Foundation of Minnesota.

Performance Art[edit]
Serita began her performance career studying ballet at age four. She went on to perform in the City of Lakes Ballet Company until she was 18. Serita returned to her homeland, Kerala to study Kathakali from Ashan Shiva Das of the world renowned classical Indian arts school Kerala Kalamandalam based in Cheruthuruthy, the Thrissur District of Kerala. Serita has also studied under Ananya Chatterjea, Angharad Davies and Sister Patricia Brown. Serita went on to perform with Angharad Davies in the Walker Art Center's Choreographers Evening in 2013 as well as the late great, Jaime Carrera's Outlet Festival. Her first solo performance "Controlled Burn: Queer Performance for a World on Fire" was in partnership with Patrick's Cabaret and part of the last shows to take place at Intermedia Arts before it closed in 2017. She has also appeared in numerous collaborations with artists including Sarah White, Junauda Petrus , Jeremy Ylvisalker  Torey Erin.

In 2019 Serita competed on the Subversive Sirens synchronized swim team in the International Gay & Lesbian Aquatic Championships in New York on the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. Her team won Gold and Silver medals. The Subversive Sirens are a Minnesota (USA) based synchronized swimming team.

Djing and virtual performance under the umbrella Sunsets  with Ryan Stopera and Nolan Morice whom she is currently working on a virtual art series called HYPERNOVA in collaboration with Public Functionary. Serita is currently finishing her first album of music and meditations: Healing Ourselves Deep which had a featured track on internationally acclaimed singer and artist Mereba's Jungle Journals in 2020.