Pro/Motion – week of February 5

Hello BDA Community,

Happy Black History Month! Boston Dance Alliance gives thanks for all of the dancers of African descent who contribute to the diversity & vitality of greater Boston’s dance community.

This includes but is not limited to movers & shakers like Victoria Ariel of Dance Therapy 508, Shakia Barron of Kia The Key & Company, and Yana Rankine of Valkyrie Heels just to name a few of BDA’s valued members of African descent.

Whether you are carrying forward dance traditions from across the African diaspora or pushing the boundaries of so many other dance forms, we celebrate your artistry and are grateful for how much you enrich our dance community.

With gratitude & respect,


Aaron Myers, Interim Executive Director

 

BDA Member Events This Week

Northeast Arts hosts a Winter-Spring series of Master Classes starting off with Louise Hautefeuille this weekend! You may have seen her in leading roles recently at Boston Ballet. Saturday, February 10, 10:00-11:45 AM. Registration: $22.

 

Other events in the community this week:
The “T” Tap Club presents their show Slyde! Named after the iconic performer Jimmy Slyde, this show is simply a celebration and tribute to tap dance, highlighting and honoring the history of tap through both live music and live tapping. Thursday, February 8, 8 PM at the Berklee Performance Center, 136 Massachusetts Ave., Boston. Tickets: $0-$12.

BLACK HOLE—Trilogy And Triathlon is a multidisciplinary performance choreographed by the award-winning movement artist Shamel Pitts and co-created and performed by his Brooklyn-based arts collective TRIBE. Deeply inspired and infused by the spirit of Afrofuturism, the performance combines dance, original sound, video projection, and light design in a tale of vitality and tenderness, darkness and light, personal growth and collective empowerment.
Friday and Saturday, February 9 & 10, 8 PM at The Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston,25 Harbor Shore Drive, Boston. Tickets: $20-$30.

Welcome the Year of the Dragon with a vibrant festival heralding new beginnings and the coming of spring. Enjoy storytelling, art making and performances including Gund Kwok: Asian Women’s Lion and Dragon Dance Troupe 11:30 AM–12:30 PM at the Main Atrium. Saturday, February 10, 10 AM-4 PM, at the Peabody Essex Musem, East India Square, 161 Essex St., Salem. Tickets: $0-$20.

PLAYSPACE is an open interdisciplinary improv jam for artists of all walks of life and disciplines. Move, groove, jam, connect, exchange art, and build community. The event will have live music by Nate Tucker.
Please reach out with any questions to Mira Göksel at miragoksel@gmail.com or Olivier Benson at obesson@berklee.eduSunday, February 11, 12-2 PM at the SomArt Space @ Armory, 191 Highland Ave., Somerville. Registration is on a sliding scale: $10-$20. No one is turned away due to lack of funds.

Call for Choreographers! Applications for Boston WiP are now open! Boston WiP is a low stakes platform for dance and performing artists to present movement driven work. This installment will be presented in partnership with SomArt @ the Hive! All forms of movement driven performance from artists at any stage of their professional career are invited to apply. Given the capacity limitations of the space there will be two back-to-back shows to accommodate a larger audience.
Show Date: April 6, 2024
Show Times: 6 PM and 8 PM
Tech: April 4, evening
Guidelines:
*Run time of the work should be between 2 and 10 minutes.
*Choreographers may not be enrolled in an undergraduate program.
*The work should be new or recently re-imagined.
*Applications are due by February 18 at midnight! You will be notified about invitations to participate by March 1. If you have any questions please reach out to: amelia.rose.estrada@gmail.com

Mobius is excited to announce an open call for submissions for their upcoming event, “1 Minute Movement Solos,” an evening of solo movement performances to be held March 24, 4 PM at The Lilypad in Inman Square, Cambridge. Be a part of this event where artists are given the freedom to interpret “movement” in its broadest sense. To apply, please email your submission to jimena@mobius.org by the deadline on February 24.
Include the following in your submission:
1.    Name and Contact Information: Clearly provide your full name and a reliable means of contact.
2.    Written Proposal or Video Link: Share a written proposal outlining your idea for the 1-minute solo movement piece. Alternatively, you can include a link to a video showcasing your work or a draft of your performance.
3.    Link to Portfolio: Share a link to your website or any online platform featuring images or videos of your past work.
4.     Performance Guidelines: movement piece should be strictly one minute in length and presented as a finished work. Artists are responsible for their own technical requirements, props, and any additional elements needed for their performance. However, there will be access to sound. There is very little time in between performers, so plan accordingly.

The Spring 2024 WIP Application is now open! As a part of Improvisational Performance Weekend: Celebrating the lives of Nancy Stark Smith and Peter Schmitz, only improvisational works will be programmed for this round of WIP.
Applications Due: February 29, 11:59 PM
​Performance: May 10, 7 PM at 33 Hawley St.