Help us continue to support the Boston dance community
Boston Dance Alliance has an exciting new reason to be thankful this holiday season – we received an unprecedented & time-limited matching gift from two anonymous donors. YAY! This allows BDA to double your donations in December. Your gifts support BDA’s DANCE ACCESS & EQUITY programs like Dance with Disability and our Dancewear Distribution. You’ll also impact our ability to provide the community with INFORMATION & INFRASTRUCTURE through our weekly free Pro/Motion newsletter and portable floor rentals.
Donating this season will also support our annual “springboard” programs such as our Open Call Auditions – a day-long event providing professional-level classes & try-outs for local dance companies – and the Dancemaker’s Residency – a comprehensive partnership with BCA supporting the creation of new work.
Please donate to BDA today to help broaden these professional pathways for local dancers. Thanks to a matching gift from two anonymous donors, any amount you donate in December will be doubled. Now is your chance to do twice as much for dance!
Thank you,
Aaron Myers, Executive Director
Donate and double your impact today!
A Gift for BDA’s Future Celebrates a Dance Community Member
Boston Dance Alliance received a $150,000 donation from the estate of Christine Hamersley (l.), a dance enthusiast and adult
dance student who lived in Duxbury, Mass. The donation, arranged by Hamersley’s sister Barbara Bollin, will support the purchase of a new portable dance floor and establish a fund for BDA’s annual Open Audition & Dancer Health Day initiative, which will be named for Hamersley. Bollin says Hamersley was a beloved figure in the Boston dance community, known for her warmth and inclusivity, and for welcoming dancers of all backgrounds to the Jeannette Neill Dance Studio, where she studied for decades.
Hamersley also created and managed a regional Dance Affinity Facebook group that became a platform where dancers and
organizations alike made connections and found professional opportunities. The gift will fund critical resources for local dancers, including a new professional grade portable dance floor that BDA will offer at below-market rates to dance companies and
organizations hosting dance events across Greater Boston. It also will support and expand BDA programs that manage open-call auditions each year (allowing dancers to find work with regional choreographers) and offer dancer health and wellness resources through a BDA partnership with Spaulding Rehabilitation and its Director of Dance Medicine Lauren Elson, MD, a BDA board member.
BDA Executive Director Aaron Myers says the donation, which Elson helped to facilitate, will be structured to provide support in perpetuity and honor Christine’s spirit of kindness, inclusivity and passion. “These gifts to Boston Dance Alliance create a legacy of support for the Greater Boston dance communities and its artists,” Myers says. “That they also honor a cherished member of our community makes it even more special. Boston Dance Alliance takes great pride in celebrating and carrying on Christine’s remarkable dance legacy for many years to come.”
Dear BDA Community,
This year, Boston Dance Alliance celebrated its 30th anniversary. And while continuing to support dancers success through our signature programs & services, in 2024 we added some new ones to help dance flourish in Greater Boston:
- Fall into Dance: In partnership with The Dance Complex, BDA brought together 65 dance presenters & professionals to cross-promote one another’s classes & performances for which we garnered positive press coverage on air and in print.
- Community Dance Series: From “Dance on Display” at the Omni Boston Hotel to “International Moves & Food” on The Esplanade, BDA orchestrated half a dozen performances & classes that showcased nine dance leaders and engaged more than 100 people.
These are just two examples of BDA innovations that inspired two anonymous donors to a matching gift that will double any & all donations in December.
So, if in 2025 you’d like to see more convenings & series like these and to help us build an even more vibrant dance community, don’t delay; donate to BDA today!
Thank you & Happy New Year!
Aaron Myers, Executive Director
Congratulations to all MCC grant awardees!
Mass Cultural Council announced 394 grants in FY25 totaling $7.2 million to organizations throughout Massachusetts. These organizational support grants – ranging from $5,000 to $55,000 – were awarded across two Agency programs: Cultural Investment Portfolio and Operating Grants for Organizations.
These grants will work to strengthen a cultural sector that generates an economic impact of $28.6 billion, employs some 134,000 people, and constitutes 4.1 percent of the state economy.
BDA extends a special congratulations to recipients who are members of our dance community:
Abilities Dance (BDA member)
ANIKAYA/Akhra
beheard.world
Boston Ballet
Boston Bhangra
City Ballet of Boston (BDA member)
Jean Appolon Expressions (BDA member)
KAIROS Dance Theater
OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center (BDA member)
The Flavor Continues
Unique Steps Dance Academy Two
Urbanity Dance (BDA member)
Nozama Dance Collective is now Novum Dance Collective!
“Novum”–meaning new, fresh, novel, unusual–reflects our evolution as we shift to a more professional model. With this new name and model, their core mission remains: creating socially-conscious art that sparks change and celebrates intersectional identities.
At Novum, they remain dedicated to their roots as a true collective and community of artists—collaborative, inclusive, and focused on exploring intersectional identities through dance. With this new identity, they’re embracing a more focused, professional model. Performances will be more ambitious, creative processes more intensive, and their dancers more dedicated than ever before. They’re introducing higher expectations for artistry and technique, a rigorous rehearsal schedule, and new opportunities for dancers to grow as choreographers, teachers, and arts leaders.
As part of this shift, Novum will be paying dancers as contractors and applying for more community performance opportunities throughout the Northeast. They’re excited to raise the visibility of their work and continue to build a space where dance becomes a powerful force for social change.
While their structure may be evolving, their core values remain unchanged: community, collaboration, and a commitment to celebrating diverse and intersectional identities through movement.
BDA is a proud fiscal sponsor of Novum and congratulates the group on this new stage!
Other events in the community this week:
Kick off the year dancing at the Arlington Community Barn Dance. The dancing is both easy and fun. Dances in circles, squares, and lines are led by a caller, who teaches every dance. It’s a community event – dancers of every age are welcome; singles, couples, and families. No previous dance experience necessary. If you have any questions email jacob@jacobbloom.net or call 781-526-4721. Sunday, January 5, 3-5 PM at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 74 Pleasant Street (enter on Lombard Road), Arlington. Suggested contribution: $10 (individual), $25 (family rate).
Community Contemporary Repertory Experience
Register for The Click‘s Community Contemporary Repertory Experience, an opportunity for all movers to dive into improvisation, technique, and play while fostering relationships new and old, thus creating and/or expanding their creative community. Commit to eight weeks of class and choreography, and have the chance to perform alongside The Click in their winter performance, Moving Through March, presented with développé Studios at The Foundry, March 1-2, 2025. Classes take place on Thursdays, January 9 – February 27, 6:30-8:30 PM, at The Dance Complex. Tech and Dress Rehearsal take place on Friday, February 28, 4:30-9:00 PM, at The Foundry. Registration: $160.
Youth aerial silks sessions
Register for youth aerial silks sessions, designed for small groups of beginners, or intermediate level dancers. Private lessons are also available. First session starts on January 25th. Please contact budance@bu.edu if you have questions.
Audition for Danza Orgánica
Danza Orgánica is seeking dance artists with a strong foundation in Afro-diasporic, Indigenous, and/or contemporary techniques, alongside strong improvisational techniques, a commitment to social justice, cultural exchange, and community engagement. Alternatively, applicants with deep knowledge of their own cultural dance forms are encouraged to apply. They are looking for creative, motivated, and collaborative individuals who are passionate about using dance as a pathway for liberation and storytelling. Apply by Monday, January 6. Auditions will take place on Wednesday, January 15, 5:00-9:30 PM at the Cultural Equity Incubator, 15 Channel Center Street, Boston.
Audition for Novum Dance Collective
Novum Dance Collective (formerly Nozama) is seeking professional contemporary dancers who are interested in improvisation, collaboration, and the creative process to join their company for the 2025 season and beyond. Must be available to begin rehearsals (Sundays 2-6 PM) immediately following the audition, starting January 2025 and available for July 12 and December 6 shows. Apply to audition by Tuesday, January 14. Audition will take place on Sunday, January 19, 2:30-5:30 PM, at the SomArt @ The Hive, 561 Windsor St 4th Floor, Somerville.
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