Hello BDA Community,
Happy Tuesday! We have received some of your requests for brand new dancewear donations and we are extending the deadline to Wednesday, November 20, 11:59 PM. Please fill out the form to receive these donations. We are excited to get these donations to communities in need! Aaron, myself and some of our board members are rolling up our sleeves to sort and deliver the hundreds of items we received from our valued partners at Dance this Way. If you filled out our form and requested donations, stay tuned for more information in the coming weeks.
As we approach holiday season – usually filled with dance – here’s your easy access guide to promoting your events with us. Fill out our events form at least one week before your event so it can be included in our newsletter, community google calendar and website. The same applies for workshops, jobs and auditions, each having their own form to fill out.
We love sharing what’s happening in the community and boosting your event attendance! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions: crizzo@bostondancealliance.org.
Have a great week,
Carmen S. Rizzo, Membership & Operations Associate
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)
Boston Dance Alliance warmly welcomes BOMBAntillana, a new fiscally sponsored group. BOMBAntillana, founded by Eli Pabon, is a diverse group of people of varying ages and lived experiences learning together, building community and connecting to ourselves and to our ancestors through Bomba. Bomba is the oldest living musical tradition of Boriken, the island currently known as Puerto Rico, and reflects the powerful forces that shaped the island’s history, drawing from the West African (Bantu) and Taino (Indigenous) experience with enslavement enforced on the island by the Spanish Crown prior to the 1700’s. Bomba music and dance originated in sugar plantations when the enslaved were “allowed” one day of rest.
Show them your support by making a donation today and congratulating them on this new stage!
BDA Member Events This Week
FREE! – Dance Caliente has two events for you this Wednesday! Their multi-costumed and interactive ballroom show will give you a taste of Waltz, Argentine Tango, Swing and Merengue. Dancing Joy will take place Wednesday, November 20, 1:00-2:00 PM, at the Brookline Senior Center, 93 Winchester Street, Brookline. Register by calling 617-730-2753. Later, join them for an Argentine Tango workshop at the Charlotte and William Bloomberg Medford Public Library. Wednesday, November 20 from 7:00-8:30 PM, at 11 High Street, 2nd floor, Medford. Registration is required. If you have any dance questions, please email Eileen at hermanhaase@comcast.net before 5 PM, November 20.
Origins 2024, a Dance Theatre Group tradition, is a fall dance performance that showcases a variety of pieces choreographed by BU students. The pieces range from traditional to experimental, thematic to abstract, and lighthearted to contemplative. Friday, November 22, 8:00 PM and Saturday, November 23, 3:30 pm & 8:00 PM, at Boston University Dance Theatre, 915 Commonwealth Ave (Buick St entrance), Boston. Tickets: $12-$20.
Decent Dance presents Why So Serious? a blend of contemporary dance and stand up comedy in an audience-interactive performance. Comedians will commentate modern dance, and the audience will vote for their favorite, who will then close the evening with an extended set. Choreographers include Tony Guglietti, Alexandria Nunweiler, Audrey MacLean, and Decent Dance (Tony Guglietti and Kristin Wagner). Saturday, November 23, 7:30 PM at the Foundry, 101 Rogers St., Cambridge. Tickets: sliding scale starting at $20.
Evolve Dynamicz presents ImproviZe, a night of performance and mingling with the company dancers. Celebrating the past and future of the company with informal showings of new work, innovative dance films and insight into their creative process, they will introduce Improv Dynamicz, their new sub-section of Evolve, through real-time improvisational pieces. Learn more about how their artistry led them on a journey of dancing about calculus, to dancing about grief, to becoming the contemporary, all-abilities company that they are today. Saturday, November 23, 7:30 PM, at The Dance Complex, 536 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge. Tickets: $25-$100.
FREE! – For this Dance Historian Is In, Carlota Santana and K. Meira Goldberg present images and video footage surveying the early years of Spanish dance through the present day. For more than 10 years, The Dance Historian Is In at the Library for the Performing Arts has highlighted a diverse range of dancers and choreographers across history. This event will take place online via Zoom as well as in person at The Library for the Performing Arts in NY. A streaming link will be emailed to everyone on the morning of the event for those wishing to attend virtually. Wednesday, November 20, 1 PM.
On the heels of celebrating 40 years of dancing at Tufts, members of the Dance Program have put together a Fall Dance Concert showcasing the outstanding work of students, faculty, and two guest artists.Friday, November 22, & Saturday, November 23, 7 PM, at Tufts University Dance Lab, Jackson Lab 50 Talbot Avenue, Medford. Tickets: $0-$20.
The 21st annual Boston Bhangra Competition will host some of the best bhangra teams from North America. Saturday, November 23, 6 PM (doors open at 5 PM) at the Strand Theatre, 543 Columbia Rd, Boston. Tickets: $20-$100. Afterparty will take place immediately following the competition at the Middle East Club in Cambridge.
FREE! – Join FirstWorks in An Evening with Aretha Aoki and Ryan MacDonald. IzumonookunI is a dance/post-punk/glam-goth multimedia performance weaving together the eclipsed (her)story of kabuki and its real and imagined influences and offshoots. Monday, November 25, 5:30-6:30 PM at Jacqueline M. Walsh School For The Arts, 350 Division St., Pawtucket RI.
SALVAGE (working title) is a contemporary dance / theater project with choreography by Alexandria Nunweiler, and music by Calvin Hitchcock exploring the American Evangelical Christian experience. They are seeking 4 dancers for the upcoming process to create SALVAGE. These folks are aged 21+ with at least two years of professional dance and/or performance experience and come from a variety of backgrounds. Please send your resume or CV (max 2 pages), a headshot, and a video of you that best represents your ability as a dancer (10 minutes or less). Please also include why you’d like to be a part of this process in a cover letter or email and outline your experience performing in a work of this nature (even if it’s zero!). Rehearsal pay for dancers is $17/rehearsal hour and includes a $50 stipend for the informal showing. Kindly send these materials directly to Alexandria Nunweiler at aknunweiler@gmail.com by Friday December 13, 2024 with the subject line: SALVAGE. Questions? Email Alexandria at aknunweiler@gmail.com.
Join Nozama on stage for Resilient. They are seeking 2-3 guest artists for their show on Saturday, December 7, at BU Dance Theater. Groups or individual artists are invited to apply with up to 5 minute dances of any dance style (bonus points if your piece connects to our theme of Resilience). Must be available for tech on Friday, December 6, 6-10 PM, dress rehearsal and show Saturday, December 7, 3-10 PM. You will be compensated with 50% of revenue from tickets attributed to you. Apply by November 22.
The Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark graces the stage of Emerson Cutler Majestic Theatre on February 28—March 1. Hailed as a “can’t-miss dance event of the year” by The Guardian, this magical fusion of theater and dance with an original score showcases the collaborative genius of world-renowned director Robert Lepage and an internationally acclaimed superstar dancer/choreographer Guillaume Côté (The National Ballet of Canada, Paris Opera Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre). The hand-picked cast from Côté Danse features the masterful choreography of Guillaume Côté, who also stars in the title role.
As a valued member of Boston Dance Alliance, you are invited to enjoy the exclusive code HAMLET5 for a special presale ticket offer. Hurry! Presale offer ends Thursday, November 21 at 11:59 PM. Give a dance lover in your life tickets to this incredible Spring show as a holiday gift this festive season!