Aurora Tabar is an interdisciplinary artist, teacher, and healer who is concerned with bodily awareness and the physical inter-connectivity between individuals. For the past six years she has worked collaboratively to create public actions, site-specific performances and installations around Chicago and beyond. Inspired by the life and work of individuals such as Jack Smith, Tatsumi Hijikata, and Teching Hsieh, she studies the line between art and life and the possibility for transformation, both for performers and witnesses.

For the past two years Aurora has been collaborating with Sara Zalek (formerly Thompson). In April 2010 the two created a series of performances in their homes entitled Habit(at)S that incorporated movement, storytelling, meditation, drawing, and cooking. Additionally they have been engaged in an ongoing performance project called Hug, which promotes love and healing through touch. Every week for a year Aurora and Sara hugged continuously in public sites around Chicago and documented their experiences through writing. Hug continues to promote healing and build community through participatory public events.

Currently, Aurora and Sara are LinkUp artists in residence at Links Hall where they are continuing their investigation into the connection between healing and movement. They will present their finding in the spring of 2012.

Aurora Tabar studied Theater and Middle Eastern Studies at New York University and completed her degree in Performance at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Currently she is a teaching artist through the Hyde Park Art Center, where she combines visual arts training and movement as a foundation for individual expression and creative problem solving skills. She is studying to be a yoga teacher at Tejas Yoga and practices Traditional Thai Massage.