About this Event
How do we remember the people we love? What stories do our bodies carry? And how do everyday acts of care become expressions of love, memory, and connection?
Join Dance Waterloo at the Round Rock Public Library for What the Body Remembers, a guided community conversation inspired by Joy Harjo's poem "Washing My Mother's Body" from her poetry collection An American Sunrise.
Through intimate reflections on caregiving, family, grief, and remembrance, Harjo's poem invites us to consider the many ways we hold on to those we love. A familiar gesture, a treasured object, a family story, or the simple act of caring for another person can carry meaning long after a moment has passed.
Together, we'll explore how our relationships shape the ways we experience memory and loss, how the body participates in remembering, and how rituals both ordinary and intentional help us honor the people and experiences that have shaped our lives.
Bringing together perspectives from mental health, movement, Indigenous cultural practice, and elder care, this conversation will consider the intersections of personal memory, cultural traditions, aging, and the human need for connection.
What to Expect
The discussion will begin with a shared reading of Harjo's poem, followed by a facilitated conversation among three invited panelists whose personal and professional experiences offer different perspectives on the themes of the work.
Together, we'll consider questions such as:
- How do our bodies hold memories of the people and experiences that have shaped us?
- What can caregiving teach us about love, vulnerability, and the changing nature of our relationships?
- How do family stories, cultural practices, and everyday rituals help us navigate grief and preserve connection?
- What does it mean to honor someone's life, particularly as they age, change, or are no longer physically present?
- How can poetry, movement, and storytelling create space for reflection, healing, and belonging?
Audience members will have an opportunity to contribute their own questions and reflections. Whether you have experienced caregiving or loss firsthand, are navigating changing family relationships, or simply find meaning in poetry and storytelling, you are welcome in this conversation.
No prior familiarity with Joy Harjo's poetry is necessary. You do not need to have read An American Sunrise to participate. Come as you are, with curiosity and an openness to listening.
Meet Our Panelists
Carly Bassett, LCSW-S | Psychotherapist and Co-founder of Moonstone Counseling
Carly Bassett is a licensed clinical social worker and co-founder of Moonstone Counseling in Austin, Texas, with a private practice in downtown Round Rock. She began her career as a hospice social worker at Hospice Austin, supporting patients and families through end-of-life experiences. Her work as a psychotherapist now focuses on grief and loss, trauma, relationships, and finding meaning through life's transitions. Carly brings an appreciation for creativity, storytelling, and community as sources of connection and healing, offering insight into how we navigate loss, belonging, memory, and resilience.
Heather Meeboer | Performer and Movement Educator
Heather Meeboer is a performer, movement educator, and certified ActivCore Practitioner who teaches neuromuscular reeducation at Redcord Austin and performs with local dance companies. Having cared for several elderly relatives, Heather brings both personal experience and professional knowledge to conversations about aging, caregiving, and the body. Her perspective emphasizes the importance of movement, strength, mobility, and maintaining independence and quality of life throughout every stage of aging.
Emi Aguilar (Coahuiltecan) | Facilitator, Culture-Bearer, Community Organizer, and Multidisciplinary Artist
Emi Aguilar is a Coahuiltecan facilitator, culture-bearer, community organizer, multidisciplinary artist, and mother whose work centers Indigenous sovereignty, cultural knowledge, and community connection. They serve as Director of Membership & Radical Collaboration at BLIS Collective (Black Liberation-Indigenous Sovereignty) and previously held leadership roles at IllumiNative. Emi is also the creator of @IndigenizingArtsEd, an initiative through which they lead conversations and workshops on decolonization, Indigenizing arts education, Land Back, and repatriation. Their work offers a perspective on the relationships between cultural memory, ancestral knowledge, storytelling, and the responsibilities we carry across generations.
Meet Our Facilitator
Amber Kilgore | Activity Programs Director, Belmont Village West Lake Hills
With 15 years of experience in senior living, Amber Kilgore has supported older adults across a wide range of abilities and stages of life. Her work has included direct caregiving, activity programming, and creating opportunities for meaningful social engagement. Through one-on-one interactions, group discussions, celebrations, and reminiscence activities, Amber has witnessed the importance of connection, personal stories, and shared experiences in supporting quality of life. She brings a thoughtful, relationship-centered perspective to facilitating this conversation.
Event Details
Saturday, December 12, 2026
1:30–2:30 PM
Round Rock Public Library
200 E. Liberty Avenue
Round Rock, TX 78664
Admission is free and open to the public.
Content note: This conversation will explore themes of grief, death, aging, and caregiving. Attendees are welcome to participate in whatever way feels comfortable, including simply listening.
This event is part of Dance Waterloo's An American Sunrise programming, presented through the National Endowment for the Arts Big Read. Through a series of community-centered performances, movement experiences, and literary conversations, Dance Waterloo invites audiences to engage with Joy Harjo's poetry and explore the connections between movement, storytelling, identity, and belonging.
About Dance Waterloo
Dance Waterloo is a nonprofit contemporary dance organization dedicated to cultivating connection and belonging through dance in everyday environments. By bringing movement and artistic experiences into shared community spaces, Dance Waterloo creates opportunities for people to encounter art, engage with one another, and discover new ways of connecting with the world around them.
Acknowledgment
This project was supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support from Arts Midwest. To learn more about how National Endowment for the Arts grants impact individuals and communities, visit www.arts.gov. Additional support provided by Round Rock Public Library.
Event venue & nearby stays
Round Rock Public Library - RRPL, 200 East Liberty Avenue, Round Rock, United States
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