Maddi Lane: Conjuring The Female Future
Maddi Lane, organizer of The Female Future, describes herself as a “creator, performer, choreographer, and dancer”. It’s quite a mix, and it’s all true. I’ve been lucky enough to see Maddie perform, take class from her, and participate in one of her shows (as a ticket taker). She brings a wonderful energy to everything she does.
One of her ongoing projects is The Female Future. She introduced Chattanooga to The Female Future last October with a public performance of dance and art at SPOT Venue. Since the pandemic, The Female Future has gone online.
Lane began The Female Future as “a showcase to highlight feminism, and how feminism looks different for every single person,” she says. After the show, she wanted to turn her exploration of feminism into something more enduring.
“As time went on, I wanted it to become a platform where different women in the community can come together, share their mediums, and learn from different artists,” she says. “Not only to learn about different mediums, but about people and where their arts come from. [We’re] coming together from all different walks of life, creating sisterhood.”
Lane has formatted her online platform as a sort of open university, where anyone who wants to teach or learn can come together to explore ideas and create art.
“We were going to do another showcase this year, host different workshops, and maybe do a community outreach program through different mediums,” Lane says. “Now, because of the pandemic, all those [programs] went online. We are trying to make it accessible and also free to everyone.”
The Female Future’s lineup of instructors and classes includes:
- Loren Clifford, yoga
- Tanqueray Harper, burlesque
- Sara McKenna, tap dance
- Chrystal Parker, flow arts
- Carson Whittaker, visual arts
- Key Young, bellydance
Classes usually last 45 minutes, Lane says, and stream live every Saturday on Instagram at instagram.com/thefemale.future. The Instagram also serves as a starting point to learn about women activists and performers from other places and eras, Lane says.
“On our Instagram, we share women — trans women too, not just binary, as well as women of color — we share the history of different artists who have impacted the community.”
People have defined “feminism” in many ways. For The Female Future, Lane centers the term in the power of choice — especially the power to choose what “feminism” is for yourself.
“I think that as I got older and more involved in politics, I saw how women in my life were impacted by feminism or the lack thereof,” Lane says. “I got curious about the concept of choice and how I feel like it is the root of feminism. My personal life has been trying to steer in the direction of choice and finding power in these choices.”
One central choice, Lane says, has been living in the South. She’s realized how different lifestyles and locations flavor each woman’s feminism.
“What makes someone else empowered isn’t what makes me empowered,” she says. “Feminism isn’t one size fits all; it’s a choice in what brings you power and what we can do to support each other.”
As many of us have, Lane has struggled with the absence of face-to-face contact this year.
“It’s a struggle not being able to see and connect and hear the voices of these people coming together to learn,” she says. “But one thing that’s made us stronger is realizing the power of social media to connect us all together. It’s a powerful tool.”