Luck of the Dance

    Steve Adelson is Boston Dance Alliance’s 2023 Unsung Hero! The second generation at the helm of Teddy Shoes in Central Square, Cambridge serves dancers with the tools of their trade and constant enthusiasm for building an inclusive community. We look forward to celebrating Steve and our three Dr. Michael Shannon Dance Champions — Ann Brown Allen, … Continued

Ready, Set, Forward MARCH

Congratulations to Kieran Jordan on the release of FOOTNOTES, a new online platform for Irish Step Dancing! This living archive and video library of traditional and original steps is the first part of a larger project. with 50 videos in this initial collection. You’ll find up-close camera angles of  footwork, clear break-down of steps, videos by Lindsay Caddle LaPointe and music … Continued

March Dances in Like a Lion…

  HELLO! my name is… is a virtual event where BCA Dancemakers Lab Residents Audrey MacLean, Laila Franklin, and Wendy Jehlen, will explore  simple human tasks and rituals, climate change and technology, and the ever-shifting landscape of love with Laila Franklin. Join and be part of the conversation! Thursday, March 2, 12 PM via Zoom.   The Boston Center for the Arts hosts Makeda Wallace in #HellaBlack Live … Continued

BDA Champions Announced and Plans for a Dance-filled Week

2023 Dr. Michael Shannon Dance Champions Named! This year for the first time, at the encouragement of a panel of prior BDA Dance Champions, BDA will be honoring three women who have built extraordinary legacies in our dance community — Deborah Mason, Ann Brown Allen and Dianne “Lady Di” Walker!   Born and raised in East Cambridge, Deborah … Continued

Loving Dance

MassCreative has sent a letter to the new administration of Governor Maura Healey endorsed by many local arts organizations and individuals calling for $5 per capita for the Mass Cultural Council in the next state budget. This would bring the budget to $35 million from its current  $23.4 million in FY23, approximately $3.28 per capita, which was a … Continued

Dance’s Aha! Moments

The cities of Boston, Cambridge and Somerville have joined forces to address the critical need to protect and plan for cultural spaces and infrastructure in what is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the country. The Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) has made a grant of $140,000 for “Making Space for Art.”  Under this initiative, the … Continued

Dance Champions – and continuity!

Nominations for the 2023 Dr. Michael Shannon Dance Champion award are open! This award, created in 2004 and renamed in honor of the late, beloved physician and dancer who served as President of the Boston Dance Alliance board, recognizes a member of the metropolitan Boston dance community over the age of 60 who has made a great contribution to Boston’s … Continued

Art and Opportunities – and More Year of the Rabbit Celebrations!

We are thrilled to share the news about Boston Center for the Arts 2023 Dancemakers Laboratory Residents: Wendy Jehlen, Laila J. Franklin and Audrey MacLean!  This residency offers choreographers and dancers the opportunity to further research and revise works that address pressing issues and reflections on humanity. Through a series of open rehearsals, the artists create a feedback loop with mentors … Continued

Celebrating MLK and the Year of the Rabbit!

Congratulations on recipients of the first round of 2023 National Endowment for the Arts Grants for Arts Project grants, Jacob’s Pillow, Jean Appolon Expressions and our friends in Rhode Island, Island Moving Company. Northeastern University received a grant to host an NEA Research Labs using participatory action research methods to evaluate whether and how community arts workshops in East Boston, Massachusetts, … Continued

Dance Bridges Cultures…

  SMU DataArts released its report on the top 40 arts-vibrant communities of 2022 and both Boston and Cambridge and the surrounding suburbs (Newton and Framingham) got a nod. There is no overall ranking this year, since the researchers took into account the complicated pandemic-related changes that have affected every aspect of the arts ecology. But interestingly Boston ranked … Continued