Access is more than opportunity—it is the right to fully inhabit one’s body, voice, and identity. As a Mexican-Honduran American creative/performing artist, lecturer, and PhD candidate, Celéste Lanuza has lived the power of movement and voice as tools for reclaiming agency in a world that imposes limitations. Growing up with a stutter, dance and music became my first languages, offering a space where she could express freely without fear. Lanuza's talk explores how embodiment—through dance and voice—can be an act of resistance, healing, and empowerment, particularly for those silenced, marginalized, or made to feel invisible. Society privileges specific ways of speaking, moving, and being, making it difficult for many—especially women, artists of color, and those with non-dominant narratives—to access full self-expression. By reconceptualizing limitations as sites of transformation, we create pathways for self-reclamation. This talk speaks to anyone who has ever felt unheard, unseen, or constrained by societal expectations. Celeste Lanuza is an award-winning artist and Fulbright Specialist who has been featured in TIME Magazine and Dance Teacher Magazine. She graduated from the University of California Irvine with an MFA in Dance and the University of the Arts with a BFA in Dance and Musical Theater. A Professor of dance and industry professional with over 30 years experience, Lanuza is passionate about mentoring and empowering upcoming artists to reclaim their bodies as instruments of agency resisting any notion of feeling unseen, thus mobilizing visible acts of resistance igniting leaders of tomorrow. Lanuza is currently a PhD Candidate in Dance at Texas Woman’s University where she has led numerous presentations at the ebi Dance Symposium. When not mentoring upcoming artists, Celeste Lanuza can be found producing films, performing with her band, and going out salsa dancing. A proud Latina and advocate for education, she believes there is no significant impact without continual life-long learning. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx