CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER
Complexions Contemporary Ballet has appointed Muadi B. Dibinga as their new Interim Executive Director! Muadi is a longtime choreographer and strategic advisor to OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center, founded and run by her sisters Shaumba-Yandje and Musau Dibinga. In her new role, Muadi will work with Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson to develop and execute a multi-million-dollar capital campaign, expand the Board of Directors, establish new strategic partnerships, and secure a permanent home for the award-winning New York-based company.
Rachel Bertone, choreographer and director, is the new Artistic Director of the Reagle Music Theatre of Greater Boston. Stay tuned for her personal vision for West Side Story at the Reagle this coming summer!
Even as the Omicron spike wanes (fingers crossed and mask on indoors!) pandemic relief to the battered cultural economy continues to be debated in Washington.
We expect there to be another round of grants under the SVOP (previously known as Save Our Stages) initiative that supports venues that have not been able to operate or are operating at reduced capacity; possible reinstatement and retroactive (Q4) funds through the Employee Retention Tax Credit; and movement on the Creative Economy Revitalization Act under the auspices of the Department of Labor. BDA will share information as this becomes available.
The archived video of January’s “The Power, Peril, and Promise of the Creative Economy” hearing by the US House of Representatives’ Committee on Small Business is available here and you can also read the text of the presenters’ prepared testimonies. We are stronger when we advocate together and use all the channels at our disposal!
Remember that you can get free N-95 masks at area pharmacies, and that as of mid-January insurance companies and health plans must pay for or reimburse you for up to 8 free covid tests per month. You can order these online but they are taking a while to arrive, so if you or a family member needs a test right away, check with your pharmacy or community center. Stay well!
The Syncopated Ladies perform at the Hanover Theatre & Conservatory in Worcester February 17 at 7:30PM. The Syncopated Ladies is a female tap dance band founded by Emmy-nominated choreographer, Chloé Arnold and widely known for their viral videos.
DANCE NOW Boston returns withThe Bang Group and choreographer (and Boston Dance Alliance Board member) David Parker for two weekends of performances at The Dance Complex. Performances run February 19, 20, 26 and 27. Saturday performances take place at 8PM and Sunday performances at 7PM.Performers include Peter DiMuro, Kristen Wagner’s The Click, Aysha Upchurch. The Davis Sisters are the comic emcees.
Wideman Davis Dance Company presents We Dance: An Exploration of Movement, Foodways, and Environments, a love story, deconstructed and distilled into a 12-minute film that is also about movement and migration in Black American identity, lived experience and consciousness. Presented by Theater, Dance & Media and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology. Register here. February 17, 6 PM.
Celebrity Series of Boston presents Sandeep Das & Nino de los Reyes’s Rhythm of Life on February 19 at 3PM. The show traces the rhythms and melodies from the Roma people in the Indian village of Jaisalmer, to Spain and later Mexico. Tabla virtuoso Sandeep Das and Madrid-based flamenco standout Nino de los Reyes team up with Suhail Yusuf Khan, sarangi and vocalist Jose Cortes to tell this fascinating and personal multicultural story.
Join Origination Cultural Arts Center for Our Story, a compilation of poetry, dance, music and scenes from historical and current events significant to African and African-American history. This special performance will feature actors from local colleges, high schools, and middle schools along with OrigiNation’s professional youth dance companies. February 19 at 3PM.
Luminarium’s previously postponed 2021 Arts in Action Project will now take place on February 20th at Dedham’s Mother Brook Arts & Community Center. Participants will dip their toes into movement-based storytelling through a combination of writing exercises and exploring physicality. Absolutely no dance experience is required, the workshops are for all.
OnStage Dance Company is hosting dancer auditions for Season 22 via video submission. Instructional videos of choreography are provided for hip hop, tap, contemporary & jazz. Dancers are asked to film themselves performing the choreography, and submit it to be scored. The audition videos will be available to view from Jan 30 – Feb 17, and video submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis until February 17 at 8pm.
In these long February days, we return to this exquisite corpse masterpiece from Mitchell Rose, “And So Say All of Us,” to remind us of how connected we all are!
Boston Dance Alliance is honored to serve such a lovely and full dance community.
With love and admiration,
__________
Debra Cash, Executive Director