Dear BDA Community,
Happy Pride Month! I hope you make time to both celebrate love in all its forms as well as reflect on how we can move towards progress in inclusivity, justice and making sure everyone feels safe in every space. Specifically in dance spaces, in which many times we share vulnerable experiences, I hope conversations can be sparked and actions can be taken aside from beautiful dancing celebrations.
As the weather heats up, so does the dance scene in the area! There’s so much to come this month, indoors and outdoors, so stay tuned! Read on for what’s happening this week and for more information on our 30th Anniversary celebration!
Keep dancing on,
Carmen S. Rizzo, Operations & Membership Associate
Boston Dance Alliance turns 30 and we would love to celebrate with you!
In a new partnership with the OMNI hotel, the evening will include raffles, refreshments, performances by previous Dancemakers Residents Laura Sanchez, Jessie Stinnett, and Jenny Oliver and so much more!
As we gear up for this celebration, we recommend checking the OMNI’s Art Collection booklet. We’re excited to be bringing dance to this arts-centered hotel. The OMNI also is home to Kestra Restaurant, a weekly Jazz Lounge Series, which occur every Thursday-Saturday from 7-10 PM and a year-round rooftop pool, which makes for a great staycation option.
We hope to see you there, Thursday, June 27, 5 PM at the OMNI Seaport.
Ticket information coming soon!
Congratulations to the National Dance Project Finalists! We want to extend a special congratulations to Massachusetts-based Jean Appolon Expressions and Michael Sakamoto on their works being among the finalists.
JAE’s Pouvwa is an evening-length Haitian contemporary dance performance that explores corruption of leadership, especially in Haiti and the U.S.A. Carefully selected rhythms of Haitian folkloric dance and music will be used to portray the cancerous manner in which corrupt leaders take advantage of the very people in their care, as well as alternate visions of healthy leadership enabled by folkloric themes such as spiritual communities, connection to nature, and the life-death cycle. Throughout the production, these messages will be amplified by electro-Haitian musical compositions, video projections, and poetry.
Michael Sakamoto’s time/life/beauty is a collaboration with dance theater artist Michael Sakamoto and new music artists Paul D. Miller aka DJ Spooky and Rubin Kodheli inspired by the legacy of composer, artist, and environmental/anti-war activist Ryuichi Sakamoto. Applying Sakamoto’s “neo-geo” ethos of each creation as a unique intersection of personal and cultural identity to ourselves as Asian American, African-American, and Euro-American artists, they unpack nuanced connectivities among diverse identities, languages, art forms, and bodies.
BDA Member Events This Week
FREE! – A Trike Called Funk, in partnership with The Dance Complex, brings Juxtaposed Flows: Breaking -x- Martial Arts to Starlight Square. Guest artists include Vayu Kieta “The Kracken” (Breaking) and Mestre Deraldo Ferreira of Centro Esportivo de Capoeira Angola – Boston (Martial Arts). Juxtaposed Flows is designed to bring together dance communities to engage with one another in a fun and interactive format. Participants will learn steps from the featured dance forms followed by a chance to participate or watch dance battles where competitors will be challenged to incorporate the steps they have learned in freestyle rounds. Thursday, June 6, at 6:30 PM.
FREE! – The Salem Arts Festival features several local artists and includes dance lessons and performances. Whether you’d like to learn to salsa or watch several dance groups and soloists outdoors and indoors, the festival certainly has something for you. Performers include BDA members The Click, Carmen S. Rizzo, OnStage Dance Co., Holly Stone, among many other dance artists. Friday, June 7, 5-9 PM, Saturday, June 8, 11 AM-7 PM, and Sunday, June 9, 11 AM-6 PM in downtown Salem.
Northeast Arts presents HEARTSONGS, a climate inspired performance featuring new choreography by Gianni di Marco, an innovative climate-centered dance, art and photography collaboration with Alyssa Fortin and Jill Palese, and Northeast Arts’ continuance of their series Portraits of Women. Special guest Janelle Gilchrist Dance Troupe opens the show. Join for light refreshments to round out the evening and celebrate the arts. Friday, June 7, and Saturday, June 8 – 7:30 PM at the Northeast Arts Studio Theater, 85 Seaverns Ave., Jamaica Plain. Tickets: $25.
Boston Center for the Arts presents Simon Montalvo‘s a house with no walls: first floor. This evening-length dance production shares stories of transgender and gender nonconforming people through movement, physical theater, and audio interviews. Drawing parallels between the physical body and a house, this work explores the possibilities of existing outside of traditional structures, as a means to look towards a utopian vision. Friday, June 7, 8 PM, Saturday, June 8, 2 PM & 8 PM at the Plaza Theatre at BCA, 539 Tremont Street, Boston. Tickets: $25.
FREE! – Join the Greater Boston’s largest and most popular outdoor/indoor dance event! The 14th Annual Dance for World Community Festival a public, all-day event featuring performances and classes from over 60 local dance companies, as well as over 20 social justice organizations and non-profits designed to raise awareness about dance and its potential to address social and environmental issues. Performances and classes will be held across outdoor stages along Mass Ave and inside Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre studios. Advocacy organization partners – including BDA – will also be set up along Mass Ave in addition to local artists, businesses, and food vendors. Come celebrate and support your local dance community! Saturday, June 8, 12-8 PM at Harvard Square, Cambridge.
FREE! – The National Endowment for the Arts has commissioned AEA Consulting to conduct a study of the dance and disability field in the United States to understand opportunities and barriers Deaf and Disabled artists face within the current infrastructure of the dance ecosystem.This Listening Session, – a part of the study – will be a facilitated discussion of the recent developments, barriers, and opportunities in the field of dance and disability. The specific areas of focus will be decided based on suggestions provided by registered attendees. Wednesday, June 5, 6 PM, on Zoom.
City Winery Boston presents Swing Into Summer with The Late Risers featuring guest vocalist Farayi Malek live in concert. Right before the concert, learn to swing dance. Thursday, June 6, 6:45 PM lesson and 7:30 PM concert, at 80 Beverly Street, Boston. Tickets: $20.
Boston Bollywood brings together 100+ dancers to present its Season Thirteen Dance Performance. Watch them pay tribute to the Indian Film Industry in a spectacular dance show featuring original choreography set to some of the most popular dance numbers. Friday, June 7, 8-10 PM, and Saturday, June 8, 7-9 PM at the TSAI Performance Center, 685 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston. Tickets: $20-$30. ,
FREE! – Boston Pride For The People’s Pride Month celebration will include a parade, a festival, and more! Catch dance performers such as Olivia Moon, Missy Ky, and Valkyrie Heels Crew. Saturday, June 8, 11 AM-5 PM, parade starts at Clarendon St., Boston and ends at the Boston Common. Festival will take place at the Common and the party will be at the City Hall Plaza.
FREE! – Joy as Resistance is an AfroBrazilian dance workshop series and showcase. This intergenerational program is open and takes place on Saturdays in June, 12:30-2:00 PM (showcase on June 29) at the Roxbury Branch of the Boston Public Library, 149 Dudley Street, Boston.
The Deborah Abel School of Modern Dance will be hosting their annual student performance: “Alive with Magic“. Sunday, June 9, 6 PM at the Lexington High School. Tickets $8-$10. Questions? Contact managingdirector@deborahabeldance.org.
Volunteer at the 14th Annual Dance for World Community Festival this weekend. The festival is only made possible by the generous help of volunteers. This year’s festival will feature over 60 local dance groups, 20 advocacy organizations, and 20 local businesses including arts market vendors and food vendors! Performances and free intro-level dance classes will be held throughout the day across 5 stages along Mass Ave where vendors will be lined up on the street. Saturday June 8, 12-8 PM, on Mass Ave between Putnam Ave and Bow St in Harvard Square, Cambridge.
The new Boston Pride for the People is dedicated to creating a community centered event to celebrate, empower, educate and support all members of the Boston LGBTQ+ community. This vision cannot happen without volunteers’ help. Volunteering is more fun with friends, so ask them to sign up too. You may also register to march as an individual. Celebration takes place on Saturday, June 8, 11AM-5PM, Boston.
Apply for the City of Boston’s Opportunity Fund. This year, thee Opportunity Fund is awarding grants of $3,000 to 100 creative workers to increase their community impact in Boston. Deadline is Sunday, June 9, 11:59 PM.